Co-Authors: Robert Miller, Mine Hisim, Tim Kraemer, and Dale Lyman
Troy Corporation

Additives which alter surface tension can greatly enhance the performance of waterborne coatings. Additive manufacturers promote three major classes of surface tension modifiers, surfactants, silicones, and acetylenic diols. Some of these are based on “Green” technology and thus friendly to the environment in addition to providing the performance enhancements. We will discuss the performance provided by the three different chemistries. This will give the coating formulator a better understanding of the type of surface tension modifier to use for specific product enhancements.