Evonik Launches New TEGO Flow 380 Leveling Agent for Automotive Clear Coatings

Evonik’s Coating Additives business line is expanding its TEGO Flow series with an efficient polyacrylate-based leveling agent. TEGO Flow 380 is suitable for solventborne coatings, especially clear coats. It is characterized by excellent anti-popping properties and good compatibility. The main applications are automotive and general industrial coatings. TEGO Flow 380 consists of 100 percent active matter content and is based on a unique polymer technology.

“The key here is controlled incompatibility,” explained Maximilian Morin, head of the Industrial & Transportation Coatings market segment.

Some degree of incompatibility with the paint is important for leveling performance, but too much can cause surface defects such as decrease in gloss or haze.

“With TEGO Flow 380, we have balanced the incompatibility well, resulting in an excellent performance,” said Morin. In addition, the new leveling agent supports recoatability, which is important for automotive refinish applications.

Because of its low viscosity, TEGO Flow 380 is particularly easy to incorporate into the formulation. “It can be used directly; dilution is not necessary,” said Michael Wang, applied research & technology – Industrial & Transportation Coatings.

In addition, the new product is particularly sustainable: for one thing, it shows excellent performance even at low dosages. For another, the leveling agent emits little VOC (volatile organic compounds), which makes it attractive for high-solids formulations due to its very low viscosity impact.