Speciality chemical company Croda has developed a range of stable anti-scratch additive for use in automotive applications.
Car interior
The company, which is based in East Yorkshire, UK, promises these additives reduce scratch width and visibility, while their superior stability reduces blooming on the surface, making them perfect for car interiors.
Martin Read, one of Croda’s technical experts, explained: "We have undertaken a significant project in the area of anti-scratch so that we are able to advise our customers which product and addition level will give optimum performance in their formulation.
"We are continuing with this work and would like to engage further with our customers to continue this process and meet future needs in the area of anti-scratch for a wide range of plastics."
The use of plastics in the automotive industry is increasing as car manufacturers aim to produce increasingly lightweight vehicles. According to Plastemart the global automotive plastics market is expected to grow at CAGR of eight per cent until 2018 reaching $41.5 billion (€37.2 billion, £26.8 billion). However, plastics naturally exhibit high friction and can scratch easily when transported or in end-use, resulting in a growing need for anti-scratch additives in the market. However, some of the currently available anti-scratch additives can cause visible blooming, haze, surface stickiness or odour issues. They can also affect the mechanical properties of the plastics.
Croda’s range of anti-scratch additives includes high stability products that work from within the formulation to enhance the surface properties of plastics. They can withstand challenging processing conditions and give long term in-use performance in the finished parts. The low usage levels do not cause any detrimental effect on mechanical properties. The range includes Incroslip SL and IncroMold K for polypropylene impact copolymer and Incroslip G for polypropylene homopolymer applications. Croda’s team of technical experts are available to work with customers to choose the best product for them.