Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additivefor waterborne systems

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Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additivefor the transportation market

Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive is derived from natural and renewable cellulose, one of the most abundant, natural, and renewable biopolymers on earth.

1.A key challenge in the waterborne automotive (OEM &

refinish) coatings market is balancing and optimizing

performance and productivity without making critical

compromises in either area. As a multifunctional additive,

Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive is specifically

engineered to help return formulation freedom to its users

by bringing distinct value in both the performance and

productivity arenas.

Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive benefits

Performance

• Better redissolve/strike-in resistance

• Superior flow and leveling

• Improved atomization

• Optimal metallic-flake control

• Increased flexibility in Al flake selection

Productivity

• Reduced dry-to-touch time

• Improved wetting (fewer defects)

• Improved block resistance (early hardness)

• Fewer coats/thicker coats (increased sag resistance)

• Superior application consistency over wide range of

climatic conditions

Performance

When it comes to curb appeal, a smooth, bright-metallic

basecoat is unmatched in eye-catching power. Formulations

delivering this unmistakable presence require a finely tuned

coatings formulation that delivers optimal performance

and appearance without negatively impacting productivity

in paint lines. Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive

is a multifunctional performance additive specifically

engineered to meet these needs through optimal metallic-

flake control, increased flexibility in metallic-flake selection,

better redissolve/strike-in resistance, exceptional flow and

leveling, and improved atomization. These benefits not

only translate into superior-looking coatings, but can also

mean superior performance and productivity.

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Table 1 Improved metallic-flake orientation and strike-in resistance

A key aspect in achieving the brightest, most attractive

basecoat is metallic-flake orientation. Because Eastman

Solus™ 3050 performance additive has the ability to

improve aluminum flake orientation, both our tests in

OEM and refinish basecoats containing Solus 3050 showed

much higher face brightness and flop index compared with

the control (both before and after applying clear coat).

After application of the clear coat, the face brightness and

flop index of the control decrease considerably as the

clear coat attaches to and disturbs the basecoat surface.

Comparatively, the basecoat containing Solus showed

less decrease in face brightness and flop index.

This indicates that Solus 3050 improved the clear

coat strike-in resistance of the basecoat (which is

especially vital for good layer separation in three

wet one-bake systems), enabling paint suppliers

to meet OEM appearance specifications and

increase their market share.

Basecoat onlyBasecoat

+ clear coat

Description

Additive level to total

formulation

Face brightness

L*15° Flop index

Face brightness

L*15°Flop

index L*15° change after clear coat

OEM basecoat (see Section 3 for formulation)

OEM control 0% 130.2 11.5 120.8 10.0 -7.3%

w/Eastman Solus™ 3050 0.9% 136.0 13.0 126.8 11.5 -6.8%

Refinish basecoat (see Section 3 for formulation)

Refinish control 0% 136.7 13.0 124.0 10.6 -9.3%

w/Eastman Solus™ 3050 1.35% 143.5 15.3 133.8 13.0 -6.8%

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Superior flow and levelingThe topographs below illustrate the superior flow and

leveling in the early stages of drying a basecoat containing

Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive vs. the control.

The topographs were constructed using a non-contact surface

profilometer after basecoats were spray-applied to smooth

substrates. As illustrated, Solus 3050 can help minimize the

wrinkling and shrinking that normally occurs during drying

to help create a smoother dehydrated film.

The graph on page 5 shows the change in surface roughness

as a film containing Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive

and a film containing the control dries. Compared with the

control, Solus 3050 provided superior flow and leveling early

in the drying process and produced a smoother film after drying.

Figure 1

30 seconds

2 minutes

10 minutes

Control

8% Eastman Solus™ 3050

on resin solids – 2.0

–

– 0.0

–

– -2.0

–

– -4.0

–

– -6.0

–

– -8.0

–

– -10.0

–

– -12.0

–

– -14.0

–– -15.7

um

5

Graph 1 Surface roughness of drying waterborne coatings

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

RM

S (n

m)

Time (sec)

Control Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive

Ability to use lower-grade aluminum flake without sacrificing surface appearanceAluminum pigment is the single most expensive ingredient in

an automotive metallic basecoat formulation. Since Eastman

Solus™ 3050 performance additive can improve the aluminum

pigment orientation and greatly enhance the performance

of pigment, it is possible to utilize less expensive aluminum

pigment in combination with Solus 3050 to achieve the same

or superior appearance.

Three basecoats were prepared and tested to illustrate

this benefit. The first basecoat (A) contained a high-end

automotive grade pigment (Stapa Hydrolan® 8154 from Eckart

GmbH). The second basecoat (B) was prepared using a less

expensive industrial-grade aluminum pigment (Stapa

Hydrolan® 501). The third basecoat (C) was the same as

the second with the addition of 8% Eastman Solus™ 3050

performance additive. As shown in Table 2 below, basecoat

A with the more expensive flake has higher brightness at

greater cost than basecoat B. The addition of Solus 3050 to

the basecoat containing the less expensive flake produces

basecoat C with a much higher brightness than basecoat A

at less cost. An added benefit of including Solus 3050 in the

formulation is the reduction in mottling.

Description

Face brightness

(L*15°)Flop

index

Formulation cost

($/gal)

Color uniformity (mottling)

A Control with

Stapa Hydrolan® 8154 133.9 12.43 23.41 Mottling

BControl with

Stapa Hydrolan® 501130.1 11.53 21.30 Mottling

C

8% Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive

with Stapa Hydrolan® 501 141.6 14.54 22.75 No mottling

Table 2 Face brightness, flop index, and formulation cost

Benefit analysis of Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive vs. alternative offeringsTable 3 compares Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive

with other offerings in terms of aluminum flake alignment

(brightness and flop index) and strike-in resistance (change

in brightness and flop index after applying the clear coat).

Some of the comparisons were done in an OEM formulation

which uses an acrylic swellable thickener and a clay thickener,

and some were done using a refinish formulation which uses

a rheology modified resin to impart aluminum flake alignment

and strike-in resistance. Brightness and flop were measured

and a number was assigned on a scale of 1 (did not deliver)

to 5 (delivered the best) for each additive in terms of how

well the benefits of aluminum flake alignment and strike-in

resistance were delivered in the formulation. As shown in the

table, Solus 3050 delivers the best performance.

Product Al flake

alignment Strike-in

resistance Use level

Potential issues

Eastman Solus™ 3050 5 5 0.5-1.5%

Solution must be prepared

Acrylic swellable thickener 2 2 6%

Tends to hold water & causes

drying issues

Clay type thickener 2 3 1%

Water sensitive; viscosity unstable

Wax #1 1 1 8-30% Reduces gloss

Wax #2 2 2 1-6% Reduces gloss

Wax #3 4 3 5-10%Reduces gloss; hurts adhesion

Rheology modified

resin 3 2

Up to 80% of

resin solids

Expensive — 4 times more than other resin at min.

15% level

Table 3 Performance of Eastman Solus™ 3050 compared with other offerings

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Improving productivity

Achieving the highest performance and appearance in

automotive coatings is of little value if it drives down the

productivity of an OEM paint line or a refinish shop.

Utilizing Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive as a

multifunctional additive for delivering both performance

and productivity can help establish a new standard in

coatings solutions. Specifically, Solus 3050 can drive

improved productivity through shorter dry-to-touch

times, superior application consistency over a wide range

of climatic conditions, and improved wetting. These

functional benefits translate into superior coatings that

can dramatically reduce rework and boost throughput.

Steel panels with e-coat were equally contaminated with

a low surface tension liquid, BYK-088 defoamer. When a

basecoat containing Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance

additive was spray-applied to a contaminated panel, the

contaminated areas were gradually wetted and covered

by the basecoat. Under the same conditions, the control

basecoat failed to wet or cover the contaminated areas.

With an improvement in wetting on contaminated surfaces,

reapplication can be minimized, shortening application

time and lowering material costs.

2.

Figure 2 Improved wetting

Control waterborne basecoat

Waterborne basecoat with 6% Eastman Solus™ 3050

performance additive

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Variations in climatic application conditions such as

humidity and temperature can dramatically impact the

overall performance of a coating. Eastman Solus™ 3050

performance additive can help reduce the impact of these

varying conditions to maximize performance — saving

time, energy, and material. To illustrate this, Eastman

prepared waterborne metallic basecoats and applied them,

using Eastman’s multimillion-dollar robotic spray booth, to

e-coated steel panels. The paint was applied with an

electrostatic bell over different temperature/humidity

conditions. These conditions include wet, dry, and

intermediate or standard conditions. The basecoat containing

Solus 3050 not only gave higher face brightness at any given

booth condition, it also provided a relatively stable color over

a variety of application conditions ranging from wet to dry.

Application consistency at varying climatic conditions

Graph 2 Face brightness (L*15°)

Graph 3 Face brightness loss after clear coat

-1 7

-1 6

-1 5

-1 4

-1 3

-1 2

-1 1

-1 0

-9

-8

-7

Face

bri

ghtn

ess

loss

aft

er c

lear

coa

t (L

*15°

)

Dry (28°C/50% relative humidity)

Standard (24°C/65% relative humidity)

Wet (20°C/80% relative humidity)

Eastman Solus™ 3050

Control no CE

130

132

134

136

138

140

142

144

146

148

150

Dry (28°C/50% relative humidity)

Standard (24°C/65% relative humidity)

Wet (20°C/80% relative humidity)

Eastman Solus™ 3050

Control no CE

Face

bri

ghtn

ess

(L*1

5°)

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Raw materials Description Control

With 6%Eastman Solus™ 3050performance additive

Macrynal® VSM 6285 w/43WABDG Cytec acrylic emulsion 227.37 210.72

Maprenal® melamine 900/95 Ineos melamine crosslinker 43.77 43.86

Viacryl® VSC 6279 w/45WA Cytec styrene acrylic emulsion 47.95 44.44

Viscalex® HV30 solutiona BASF acrylic swellable thickener 61.87 57.34

Laponite® RD Rockwood synthetic clay 3.09 2.87

Tego® Foamex 825 Tego defoamer 0.62 0.57

N-methylpyrrolidone Solvent 8.10 8.60

Additol® XL 250 Cytec pigment wetting agent 4.05 4.30

20% Eastman Solus™ 3050 solution Performance additive 0.00 46.16

Stapa Hydrolan® 8154 AI pigment Eckart AI pigment 47.95 47.88

10% Dimethylethanolamine pH adjust 7.8 — 8.1 Neutralizing solution 24.75 28.67

DI water Water 473.92 471.62

Eastman™ EB (butyl glycol) Solvent 56.56 32.97

Total 1000.00 1000.00

Pigment/binder ratio 0.16 0.16

Percent of solids 20.10 20.10

Melamine/total resin ratio 0.26 0.26

VOC [g/l] 416 416

Experimental formulations

Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive was not

substituted in the OEM formulation for the other rheology

modifiers (Viscalex® & Laponite®). Solus 3050 is in addition

to the other rheology modifiers. Solus 3050, as well as most

wax-based additives, does not provide sufficient thixotropy

or thickening effect on its own to allow replacement of the

clays or thickeners.

The refinish formulation utilizes a rheology-modified

acrylic emulsion as the major binder, which serves as a

thickening agent as well. Simply adding Eastman Solus™

3050 performance additive to this formulation without

any other additional thickeners is appropriate.

3.

Table 4 OEM basecoat formulation

a10% Viscalex HV30 solution was made by mixing 64.2% of DI water, 2.5% of 10% dimethylethanolamine solution, and 33.3% of Viscalex HV30.

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Raw materials Description Control

With 8%Eastman Solus™ 3050 performance additive

Setalux® 6803 AQ-24 Rheology-modified acrylic from Nuplex 489.5 453.5

Daotan® VTM 1262/35WA PUD from Cytec 143.5 133

Tego® Foamex 825 Tego defoamer 0.8 0.8

Stapa Hydrolan® 8154 AI pigment Eckart AI pigment 51.3 51.3

Additol® XL 250 Cytec pigment wetting agent 4.9 4.8

20% Eastman Solus™ 3050 solution Performance additive 0.000 62.1

10% dimethyl ethanolamine Neutralizing solution 18.1 16.8

Eastman™ EB (butyl glycol) Solvent 84 63.5

DI water Water 207.9 214.2

Total 1000.0 1000.0

Pigment/binder 0.165 0.165

Percent of solids 20.10 20.10

VOC [g/l] 420 420

Table 5 Refinish basecoat formulation

Call your Eastman representative today to learn more about the balancing and optimizing performance and productivity of Eastman Solus™ performance additive for your coatings application.

Eastman Chemical Company

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that should be observed when handling and storing

Eastman products, are available online or by request.

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information before handling any of these products.

If any materials mentioned are not Eastman products,

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Neither Eastman Chemical Company nor its marketing affiliates

shall be responsible for the use of this information, or of any

product, method or apparatus mentioned, and you must make

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your own use, for the protection of the environment and for the

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products. No warraNty is madE of thE mErChaNtability

or fitNEss of aNy produCt, aNd NothiNg hErEiN waivEs

aNy of thE sEllEr’s CoNditioNs of salE.

Eastman, Solus, and The results of insight are trademarks of Eastman Chemical Company.

The following are registered trademarks of each listed owner: Hydrolan—Eckart GmbH; Macrynal, Viacryl, Additol Daotan—Cytec Industries Inc.; Mapranel—INEOS Melamines GmbH; Visalex—BASF Corporation; Laponite—Rockwood Additives Limited; Setalux—Nuplex Resins B.V.; Tego—Evonik Industries AG.

All other brands are the property of their respective owners.

© Eastman Chemical Company, 2012.

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