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Home / News / Industry News / Why Do Solvent-Based Coatings and Inks Develop Flooding and Floating? DH-5104 Explained
Industry News
Solventborne Coatings & Inks · Pigment Dispersion · DH-5104
In solventborne coatings and ink systems, different pigments — due to differences in particle size, density, and wettability — can migrate during application and drying, causing flooding, floating, colour differences, and other phenomena that affect the film's decorative effect and product quality.
Improving pigment dispersion stability and reducing pigment separation is an important measure for improving film colour consistency.
Root Cause
Dispersion instability
Primary Symptom
Flooding & floating
Solution Direction
Anti-flooding dispersant
Common Problems
| Film Flooding and Floating | Different pigments are unevenly distributed, causing inconsistent light and dark colour. |
| Titanium Dioxide Separation | Inorganic pigment stability is insufficient, affecting the final hiding effect. |
| Pigment Settling and Caking | Pigments settle during storage, affecting re-dispersion. |
| Poor Colour Consistency | Colour differences appear after application, reducing the product's appearance quality. |
Limitations of Traditional Improvement Approaches
Some formulations attempt to improve flooding by adjusting pigment ratios or raising system viscosity, but if pigment wetting and dispersion stability are insufficient, it remains difficult to fundamentally reduce flooding and floating.
Achieving stable colour performance requires enhancing compatibility between the pigment and the system, and improving pigment dispersion stability.
DH-5104: Anti-Flooding Dispersant for Solventborne Systems
DH-5104 is an anti-flooding dispersant suitable for solventborne coatings and ink systems. It improves the flooding and floating phenomenon produced by titanium dioxide and other pigments, enhances the dispersion stability of inorganic pigments and fillers, reduces pigment settling and caking, and makes colour distribution more uniform and stable.
DH-5104 is suitable for alkyd, polyester, polyurethane, epoxy, and acrylic resin systems. It can be added during the grinding stage or as a post-addition according to process requirements, with good application adaptability.
AlkydPolyesterPolyurethaneEpoxyAcrylic
Summary
Flooding and floating affect not only film appearance but also reduce product quality and application stability. Selecting an appropriate anti-flooding dispersant can improve pigment dispersion, enhance colour uniformity, and provide more stable application performance for solventborne coatings and ink systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does flooding appear between two pigments that individually look stable?
Individual pigment stability in a single-pigment system does not predict stability when that pigment is combined with another. Different pigments have different particle mobilities, densities, and surface chemistries — when combined, they migrate at different rates during the open film, creating concentration gradients at the surface that appear as flooding or streaking even when each pigment individually was well-dispersed.
Can DH-5104 be added during let-down rather than at the grinding stage?
Yes — it can be added either during grinding for maximum pigment-surface interaction, or as a post-addition during let-down for retrofitting existing formulations. The specific addition point may affect performance level, so evaluation at both stages is recommended to determine the approach that best meets the colour consistency requirement for the specific system.
