Boosting color strength is on the forefront of coatings formulators’ and manufacturers’ minds. However, for many systems, improving color performance is a difficult task. Whether it is a ready-made dispersion or a fully formulated system, large adjustments to the formula can be unfeasible due to manufacturing, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and consumer restraints. Borchers technology allows for post addition of an additive to improve color acceptance, color strength and quality of the pigmented system. A simple addition of a color booster or compatibilizer to the base will result in a stronger, cleaner and more chromatic color. Benefits are evident in tints with a variety of difficult pigments. An additional benefit is a reduction or elimination of color rub-out and improved compatibility of universal water-based systems used in solvent-based bases.
There are three key factors linked to the rise in challenges with today’s tinting systems. The first is universality of colorants, meaning a formulator is tasked with making a single dispersion line work across a wide range of technologies. A colorant system must perform identically in acrylics, solvent-based alkyds, vinyl acrylic esters, alkyd emulsions and many additional base chemistries. The second is an industry-wide move towards globalization. With chemists working on formulations across the globe, harmony is something coating companies are targeting. A formulator working in the United States is being asked to use the same tinting systems as a fellow formulator working for the same company in China. This means specialized colorants for each region are being replaced by global tinting systems. The third factor is the reduction or elimination of VOCs in coatings. By eliminating VOCs, universal tinting systems have become primarily water-based, leading to compatibility restraints, as VOCs are useful in compatibility with solventborne alkyd paints.