18 March 2025

Rheology additives for solvent-based and solvent-free systems

Nordmann offers a wide range of additives for rheology control in both solvent-based and solvent-free systems, which impress with their excellent price-performance ratio.

MONORAL® diamide-based rheology additives from Nordmann partner HS Chem are essential in systems that require high stability after application, such as heavy-duty corrosion protection, marine paints, HS, UHS and DTM systems as well as adhesives and sealants.

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After correct thermal activation, the products form a fiber structure in the coating system and ensure viscosity build-up. The additive-based coating systems exhibit strong shear-thinning flow behavior during application, excellent sag resistance and very good thixotropy. They are ideal for use in systems with low to high polarity. In addition, the gloss remains unaffected in topcoats.

Thanks to the high transparency of MONORAL® products, the color of a clear coat remains almost unchanged, as can be seen in the following illustration.

The products are available in powder, gel and paste form. The pre-activated gel and paste products significantly reduce processing times and temperatures. They are ideal for production environments where the technical equipment is not sufficient to fully activate powders. Another advantage is that they can be used as post-additives for subsequent correction. In addition to xylene, the gels and pastes are also available in B.T.X.-free solvents.

MONORAL® polyethylene (PE)-based products in gel and paste form generate a high structural viscosity with low thixotropy and are mainly used as anti-settling agents in coating systems. The thickening mechanism is based on electrostatic repulsion, which prevents pigments and fillers from settling.

Example of the positive influence of MONORAL® on the settling behavior of a coating. The MONORAL® hybrid products are combination products based on diamide and PE and combine the advantages of both types, in particular they prevent sedimentation of solid particles.

MONORAL® 8500 and partly also MONORAL® 8600 are based on the renewable raw material castor oil and are suitable for generating structural viscosity and thixotropy in various applications. They provide excellent flow control and prevent sedimentation of solid particles while ensuring good levelling. In powder coatings, they reduce melt viscosity and surface tension. This improves surface wetting and levelling. MONORAL® 8600 is less susceptible to seeding when overheated and the formation of apparent viscosity. While apparent viscosity is undesirable in paint systems, this effect is used specifically in the production of polyester putties.

“Our MONORAL® rheology additives offer outstanding solutions for a wide range of applications, from corrosion protection to powder coatings. The feedback has been consistently positive, as the price-performance ratio is also convincing. We look forward to introducing these innovative additives to our customers,” explains Alexander Hoffmann, Product Manager Coatings & Inks at Nordmann.