In the actual production of coatings, inks, and coating materials, surface flatness is a key indicator of quality. However, many producers often face surface defects such as orange peel, craters, pinholes, and poor wetting, which not only affect product appearance but may also reduce the protective performance of the coating. The root causes often lie in uneven surface tension within the formulation, poor substrate wetting, or insufficient leveling of the resin itself. How to solve these problems efficiently and economically has become a common focus of the industry.
Chemi Tech believes that targeted leveling agent addition is the key to breaking through the bottleneck. Our silicone leveling agent series is developed based on in-depth research into coating flow and rheological behavior. Its mechanism of action lies in efficiently reducing the surface tension of the system to promote full wetting of the substrate by the coating; at the same time, during coating curing, it forms a uniform monomolecular layer on the surface, effectively balancing surface tension gradients, eliminating local flow differences, and thereby guiding the coating to level uniformly.
The specific solution can be divided into three steps. The first step is problem diagnosis: clarify the specific type of defect and the stage at which it appears, whether wetting spots occur during application or craters appear during drying. The second step is product selection: Chemi Tech provides a variety of modified silicone leveling agents. For example, for systems requiring extremely high slip and scratch resistance, high-molecular-weight products are recommended; for applications requiring strong wetting without affecting recoatability, grades with better compatibility are chosen. The third step is process optimization: it is recommended to determine the optimal dosage through gradient addition experiments, with a typical starting dosage of 0.1%-0.5% of the total formulation, and to pay attention to the order of addition with other additives to ensure full effectiveness.
We once assisted an industrial coating manufacturer in solving the orange peel problem of its topcoat for aluminum panels. The customer's original formulation produced uneven gloss and obvious texture. After evaluation by our technical team, we recommended introducing a silicone additive with both wetting and leveling functions. After adjusting the dosage to 0.3% and optimizing the dispersion process, the coating surface gloss increased by more than 15 units, the appearance became uniform and smooth, and the customer was satisfied with the final results. This proves that correctly selecting and using leveling agents can directly enhance product competitiveness.
By choosing Chemi Tech, you gain not only high-quality silicone leveling agent products but also full technical support from problem analysis to solution implementation. We are committed to helping every customer achieve a perfect coating surface.