Organic Pigments for Powder Coatings Applications
Romesh Kumar, Technical Manager
Clariant Corporation

Powder Coatings offer durable finishes for many industrial and selective automotive and architectural applications. These coatings are VOC free, environmentally friendly, and are generally colored with lead free inorganic and organic pigments. Since the powder coatings are processed at up to 450F, the organic pigments must have very good heat stability. In addition the pigments must have necessary durability, and be cost effective to meet the very competitive market needs.

Over a hundred commercially available organic pigments can be used in powder coating systems to meet specific cost and durability requirements. The formulator must be aware of the heat stability, durability and flow properties of these pigments in the specific resin system to arrive at an optimum formulation. In addition, properties such as bright hue, high chroma, and high opacity are very important. Fastness to migration is also an important criteria in pigment selection. These data is available in the literature offered by the pigment companies. For architectural and automotive finishes, the durability requirements are relatively high, and only a handful of the organic pigments are suitable.