Anti-floating color additives: the invisible guardian of paint color
In our daily life, from the walls of the home to the body of the car, from children's toys to outdoor billboards, the colorful
world can not be separated from the decoration of paint. However, have you ever thought that behind these bright and
long-lasting colors, there is actually an “invisible guardian” - anti-floating color additives? Although it is not obvious,
it plays a vital role in ensuring the uniformity and durability of paint colors.
What is floating color?
Before discussing anti-floating additives, let's first understand what is “floating color”. Floating color refers to the
phenomenon that during the drying or film-forming process of a coating, due to the uneven interaction between
pigment particles, some pigment particles float to the surface of the coating while others sink, ultimately resulting in
uneven color on the surface of the coating. This not only affects the aesthetics of the coating, but also reduces its
weather resistance, corrosion resistance and other properties.
Reasons of floating color
The phenomenon of floating color is usually related to the following factors:
Differences in pigment properties: Different pigments have differences in particle size, shape, density and surface
charge, etc. These differences may lead to uneven dispersion of pigments in the coating system.
Resin-pigment interaction: the different affinity between resin and pigment may also affect the distribution of pigment
in the coating.
Construction conditions: Changes in construction conditions such as temperature, humidity, coating thickness and
drying speed may also exacerbate the floating color phenomenon.
Mechanism of anti-floating color additives
Faced with the problem of floating color, anti-floating color additives come into being. They are a kind of chemical additives
that can improve the dispersion of pigment and adjust the interaction force between pigment and resin. Anti-floating
additives work through the following mechanisms:
Wetting and dispersion:
Anti-floating additives can effectively reduce the surface tension between pigment particles, so that the pigments can be
more easily wetted by the resin solution, thus promoting the uniform dispersion of pigments and reducing the aggregation
between pigment particles.
Spatial resistance effect: some anti-floating additives can form a protective film on the surface of the pigment, increase the
spatial distance between the pigment particles, and prevent them from flocculation or settlement due to their proximity to
each other.
Charge adjustment:
by adjusting the charge state on the surface of pigment particles, anti-floating color additives can reduce the electrostatic
attraction between pigment particles and further promote the stable dispersion of pigments.
Control of drying process: Some anti-floating color additives can also influence the drying speed or mode of the coating
to ensure that the pigments are evenly distributed during the drying process of the coating.
Application examples of anti-floating additives
Architectural Coatings: In interior and exterior wall coatings, anti-floating additives can ensure the uniformity of wall color
and enhance the overall decorative effect.
Automotive Coatings: Automotive paints have extremely high color requirements, and the application of anti-floating color
additives can ensure that the body color can remain bright and colorless under different angles and lighting conditions.
Industrial Coatings:
In anti-corrosion coatings for ships, bridges, pipelines and other large-scale facilities, anti-floating color additives not only help
to maintain a beautiful appearance, but also enhance the protective properties of the coating and prolong its service life.
Art Coatings and Printing Inks: In the field of art creation and printing, anti-floating color additives ensure the accurate
reproduction of colors, so that each piece of artwork and each print can perfectly present the designer's intention.
Conclusion
Anti-floating color additives, as the “invisible guardian” in the coating industry, are not directly involved in the creation
of color, but play an irreplaceable role in ensuring the color quality and enhancing the performance of coatings. With the
progress of science and technology and the improvement of environmental protection requirements, the future research of
anti-floating color additives will pay more attention to high efficiency, environmental protection, multifunctionality, and bring
more colorful and long-lasting visual enjoyment to our life. Next time, when you stop to enjoy those colorful scenes, think
about it, behind the scenes may be a part of the credit of the anti-floating color additives.