Patent No. U.S. 7,172,812 B2
Eckart-Werke Standard Bronze­pulver-Werke Carl-Eckart GmbH & Co. has obtained a patent for a surface modified flake-form metal pigment for use in a paint or lacquer containing a binding agent, comprised of an initial flake-form pigment having on its surface a layer with at least one reactive organic solvent based surface-modifying agent, wherein the surface-modifying agent is a compound having at least two terminal functional groups which are different from each other and which are spaced by a spacer, wherein at least one terminal functional group is chemically bound to the surface of the initial pigment and at least one other terminal functional group is chemically reactive with the binding agent, and wherein the metal pigment is of a particle size between 1 and 200 µm, is easily wetted by a binding agent or solvent of a paint or lacquer, is capable of being oriented in a liquid film of the paint or lacquer and is capable of forming an intimate chemical bond with the binding agent of the paint or lacquer upon baking or hardening of the paint or lacquer.