Matting agents

A smooth, not light absorbing surface, will reflect any incident light in the same angle as it hits the surface, creating a glossy look to an observer.  A high gloss coating generally has a smooth surface and incident light beam is reflected from the surface in the same angle.  While glossy coatings are desirable in many applications, a matte finish coating is often a strong appeal choice to many end-user customers.   Low gloss or matte coatings, clear or pigmented, can be achieved by adding a small amount of matting agent into the formulation.   These agents lower the gloss of a coating mainly by creating a microscopically rough surface which would reflect an incident light in a diffuse manner, and thus to an observer’s eyes, the coating has low gloss. 

Many agents, from inorganic fillers, to silica, wax, and polymeric spheres, etc. can matte the gloss of a coating.  Among them, silica based materials in different forms are the most effective in water based coatings.  However, the right matting agent for the right coating depends on the unique performance requirements of the specific coating.  Some general criteria for the selection of matting agents are:  matting efficiency, transparency, impact on other properties of the coating, the stability in the coating, the compatibility with other ingredients, environmental and health impact, and cost performance.  We supply a series of silica based matting agents which meet these criteria for waterborne coatings.  Click to check out our products.