Compatibilizers for Base Paint and Colorant: Optimal Selection and Use

Stringent regulation on APEO surfactants, organic solvents, VOC… is making compatibilizers more needed than ever when formulating paints & inks. Today formulators, by lack of self-understanding of interactions occurring in their tinting system, either rely on their colorant suppliers’ suggestions or waste their precious time with trial-and-errors to come up to a satisfying formulation.

1. Save your time and effort by adopting a systematic approach to choose a compatibilizer based on the chemistry of your based paint and colorant.
2. Troubleshoot faster issues (lack of reproducibility or color uniformity, color instability, rub-up, lower VOC…) by knowing their root causes & best solving strategies
3. Get advice on your own technical challenges by interacting live with a season formulator ( >40 year experience)

Technical support and formulators of water- and solvent-based paints and inks
Manufacturers of paints, pigments and colorants

The following sections will be covered during this session:

1. Introduction
2. Tinting systems
3. Colorants
• Universal colorants
4. Base paints
• Waterborne systems
• Solventborne systems
5. Color development
• Colorant acceptance
• Test procedures (rud-ub test, wetting test, brush-out test...)
• Colorant acceptance shortcomings and practical solutions:
  • Poor mechanical stability
  • Slow color development
  • Strong rub-up and / or weak color development in SB paints
  • Floatation: Benard cell formation
  • Haze formation, low gloss
6. Compatibilizers
• Compatibility and color development
• Selection procedure for colorant acceptance problem solving
• Technology of compatibilizers
• Examples of problem solving (surfactant drift, slow color development...)
7. In-plant tinters
8. Summary