Clariant aims to elevate paint workability and performance with additives

Clariant, a sustainability-focused speciality chemical company, has launched a set of wetting and dispersing agents that enable coatings’ manufacturers to extend the open time of their acrylic lacquers and polyurethane (PU) lacquers, and lengthen current post-application correction windows for these water-based systems.

“The switch from solvent to water-based paint systems has made the control of the drying and film-forming process a key property for all paint formulators. Particularly within the decorative and industrial coatings markets, increasing the workability time to fix painting errors on a freshly applied film and avoid permanent visible brush marks can add value to help differentiate a brand’s product for users. We are providing paint manufacturers with pre-assessed, easy-to-compare solutions to support their product development and open time goals,” comments Sebastian Prock, Head of Marketing Industrial Applications, BU Care Chemicals, Clariant.

Customers can have confidence in finding the perfect match for their specific requirements from the new portfolio. Clariant has used its two new industry-leading in-house open-time testing methods to assess each additive in both paint systems using fast and reproducible measurements, which avoids the inaccuracy of the visual evaluation and low reproducibility of the current standard industry methods. As well as support for extending open time, the wetting and dispersing agents also offer formulators the possibility to solve multiple problems at once. The multifunctional additives have been tested for their performance regarding blocking resistance, gloss, leveling and sagging, highlighting the potential for even more end-product improvements.

“There has been a need for quantitative determination of open time which allows for accurate comparison of paint additives and their performance. Our formulation expertise and new measuring techniques put us in a unique position to support formulators with recommendations for acrylic and PU lacquer systems, making it easier to find the right solution to extend the open time of their paints, and simultaneously other properties too,” comments Zhigang Miao, Head of Industrial Applications, BU Care Chemicals Clariant.