Solving Coating Defects with Wetting and Leveling Agents

Craters and fisheyes are common in waterborne coatings on low-energy substrates (e.g., PE plastics) or oily surfaces. Chemi Tech wetting agents address these through molecular innovation:

Crater & Fisheye Prevention

Craters stem from local tension mismatch, while fisheyes arise from oil contamination. Chemi Tech’s fluorocarbon-modified agents provide:

Oil Tolerance: Emulsify contaminants to prevent fisheyes in imperfectly cleaned automotive parts;

Rapid Migration: Reduce dynamic tension to ≤25 mN/m within 3–5 seconds, eliminating spray-induced craters.

Wetting Challenges on Low-Energy Substrates

For nylon and silicone (surface energy <30 mN/m), phosphate-acrylate agents offer:

Polar Anchoring: Hydrogen bonding with substrates enhances adhesion;

Spreading Enhancement: 0.3% addition increases coverage on nylon by 50%, preventing edge retraction.

Dynamic Wetting for High-Speed Application

Automated lines require millisecond-level spreading. Key features include:

Low-Shear Stability: Maintain microflow integrity to protect molecular structures (e.g., in PCM coatings);

Dynamic Tension Control: Instant tension reduction (<100 ms) ensures uniformity on complex geometries.

Coating Uniformity & Appearance Enhancement

Agents improve final appearance by optimizing material distribution:

Pigment Stabilization: Prevent floating in high-pigment systems (e.g., metallic paints);

Gloss Consistency: Reduce micro-pits in matte coatings, narrowing gloss fluctuation from ±5 GU to ±2 GU.

Chemi Tech’s process guidance includes:

Smart Dosing: Gradient additions (0.1%–1.0%) based on substrate type;

Synergy Validation: Compatibility with matting agents/thickeners to avoid competitive migration.