Wet, grind and permanently stabilise pigments — for full colour strength, clean gloss and reproducible tinting.
A pigment dispersion goes through three steps: wetting, mechanical break-up and stabilisation. The third one decides the result — if the separated primary particles are not kept apart, they re-agglomerate and colour strength, transparency and gloss collapse. Wetting and dispersing additives anchor onto the pigment surface and keep the particles apart electrostatically or sterically.
Which additive fits depends less on the coating type than on the pigment: carbon black and organic pigments need a different anchoring group than inorganic pigments or extenders. A mismatch usually shows up late — as flocculation during tinting, as a rub-out effect, or as a viscosity increase in storage. We narrow the choice down with you via pigment type, binder and target system.
What matters when choosing
Pigment type: inorganic, organic or carbon black — it determines the anchoring group required
Water- or solvent-based system
Dose relative to the pigment surface, not to the total formulation
Universal use or optimised for one concentrate
APEO- and label-free grades where the target system demands it
Check behaviour in the tinting system (rub-out, flocculation)
Selection guide at a glance
Type
Pigment / system
Typical dosage (on pigment)
Watch out for
Low molecular weight, wetting
Inorganic pigments and fillers, mainly solventborne
0.5–2 %
Lowers millbase viscosity, fast wetting
High molecular weight, steric stabilisation
Organic pigments and carbon black, industrial coatings, concentrates
10–50 %, more for fine carbon blacks
Colour strength and transparency; check rub-out in tinting systems
Controlled flocculation
Primers and matt systems, against settling and floating
0.5–3 %
Deliberately builds slight structure
Waterborne / universal
Tinting pastes and aqueous pigment concentrates
5–40 % depending on pigment
APEO-free grades available; also check foaming tendency
Guide values for initial orientation — our assessment as a distributor. The manufacturer's technical data sheet and trials in your own system are decisive.
Trade names in our range
Extract from our product database. Click a name — Coaty will explain the product to you.
Technical data sheets and free samples come directly from us — no detour via the manufacturer. Prices on request.
