In coating application, surface defects such as orange peel, craters and pinholes have long troubled practitioners. Conventional silicone-containing leveling agents improve flow but often reduce intercoat adhesion or cause defects in subsequent coats, and may impair recoatability. The market needs a new solution that levels efficiently without side effects.
Targeting this pain point, Chemi Tech has developed a silicone-free leveling agent series. Through special polymer structure design, the product forms a uniform layer on the coating surface, effectively lowering surface tension and promoting flow, while avoiding the risks introduced by siloxane substances. Its mechanisms include rapid interfacial spreading, suppression of Bernard cell formation and assistance with bubble escape, significantly reducing surface defects.
The solution follows three steps: first, add 1%–3% of the silicone-free leveling agent to the coating formulation and mix at low speed; second, control film thickness by adjusting spraying parameters during application; finally, keep the environment clean during curing to avoid contamination. An automotive parts manufacturer faced severe orange peel in a primer-topcoat combined coating. Using Chemi Tech's silicone-free leveling agent KMP-302 at 2%, they achieved mirror-level leveling, and the film passed the 500-hour salt spray test and cross-hatch adhesion test, with the pass rate rising to 99.6%.
This solution suits industrial coatings, plastics coatings and ink systems, and is especially advantageous where multiple coats or subsequent processing are required. The Chemi Tech laboratory provides targeted technical support and sample trials to help customers optimize formulations and verify application results.