The use of special silicone additives also makes it possible to reduce the dirt pick-up of coatings and improve cleanability.
Such a special additive for solvent-borne coating systems is BYK‑SILCLEAN 3700. It is a hydroxy-functional silicone-modified polyacrylate and, due to its surface activity, it migrates to the coating surface. Due to its primary OH groups, it can be incorporated into the polymer matrix in many coating formulations (e.g. 2-component polyurethane, alkyd melamine, polyester melamine, acrylate epoxy, epoxy phenol) during the cross-linking reaction. In this way the additive is permanently fixed at the coating’s surface and the specific surface properties contributed by the silicone are also more permanent, including during outdoor exposure.
BYK‑SILCLEAN 3700 makes coating surfaces simultaneously hydrophobic and oleophobic, which results in reduced dirt pick-up and improved cleanability. Water resistance is enhanced and whitening (blushing) avoided.
It can also be used to improve anti-graffiti and tape release properties. Moreover, BYK‑SILCLEAN 3700 also improves substrate wetting, leveling and surface slip. For aqueous systems, the same properties can be achieved by using BYK‑SILCLEAN 3720.
