Frequently Asked Questions about EVOQUE™
Pre-Composite Polymer Technology

EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology addresses a critical industry need to stretch short supplies of TiO₂. The technology improves TiO₂ efficiency and offers equal wet hiding and similar dry hiding with 10% to 20% less TiO₂. This technology works best in high-quality architectural white and pastel paints, which usually have the highest TiO₂ loading in a product line.

Paint formulators may use EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology to leverage the benefits they need based on the type of paint they’re starting from and the market or application demands they are striving to meet. For example, formulators working with a top-of-the-line acrylic paint may choose to increase hiding performance using the same amount of TiO₂. Or they may elect to maintain the hiding performance of their original formulation while reducing TiO2 content by 10% to 20%.

EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer strongly interacts with the surface of TiO2 particles, forming a pigment-polymer composite that results in more even distribution of TiO₂ particles in the paint film.

The key to hiding efficiency is how well the hiding pigments in a paint formulation scatter light. TiO2 does this very well, but only if it is evenly distributed in the paint. The problem in paint formulations is that TiO₂ particle distribution is random. As the paint film dries, TiO₂ particles become crowded. EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology helps TiO₂ particles resist crowding. The result is more even particle distribution, which improves the hiding efficiency of each TiO₂ particle.

Yes. EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology also offers improved film barrier properties, including improved tannin stain blocking, rust staining resistance over cold rolled steel, and nail head rust resistance.

Yes. Several EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer products are currently available to architectural paint manufacturers for sampling. These products include EVOQUE 1180 Pre-Composite Polymer, which is being produced in commercial quantities. Contact us for more information.

EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer offers excellent wet and dry hiding performance and excellent color matching in interior paint formulations with 10% to 20% reductions in TiO₂. In addition, paints formulated with EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer demonstrate outstanding stain resistance across sheens.

Yes. Paints formulated with early precursors of EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer were put on test fences in the winter of 2008/09. The pre-composite polymers used in these series represent the earliest research into this new class of material and were meant to test some of the basic durability features of the polymer, as well as the effect of formulation changes when reducing TiO₂ levels. Subsequent exposure series put out in late 2009 and 2010 are now one to two years old. These series include paints formulated with early versions of commercialized EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymers.

Exposures of exterior acrylic paint formulations made with EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer prototypes are demonstrating performance equal to or better than conventional 100% acrylics in all weathering properties, including chalking, cracking, tint retention and efflorescence.

Yes. When properly formulated, we have seen consistent improvements in tannin stain blocking, nail head rust resistance and rust staining resistance over cold rolled steel when comparing paints made with EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer to conventional exterior paints

No. EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer introduces a completely new class of material to paint formulating. As a result, some formulation processes may change, such as order of addition. Formulation guidelines and technical support are available to facilitate a smooth transition.

Yes. EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology can be used with both dry and slurry TiO₂

Different grades and sources of TiO2 will have different surface characteristics, which can affect the level of reactivity between the pre-composite polymer and the TiO2. We have evaluated multiple grades of TiO2 from various sources and most of them were found to interact with EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer. Please refer to our formulation guidelines for more information.

EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology is compatible with PVA resins and other polymers as well as acrylics. When EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology is used along with PVA, formulators have the potential to not only save on TiO2, but also to see improvement in paint film properties such as rust staining resistance. This change may add some cost to PVA formulations, but not as much cost as if they merely substituted with conventional acrylic binders. In this case, formulators would have to decide whether their target market is willing to pay a little extra for improved performance.

Not necessarily. A minimum level of EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer is required to fully cover the surface of TiO2 in order to improve hiding efficiency and allow for developing stable formulations. Once this minimum requirement is met, the remaining binder can be the original binder, which we refer to as the letdown binder. In some formulations you may want to use more EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer to develop better barrier properties. In others, you may want to retain more of the performance properties of the letdown binder and therefore use the minimum level of EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer.

EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer can replace the letdown binder where formulators are looking for maximum levels of improvement in barrier properties. In interior formulations, these may include improved stain resistance and removal. In exterior formulations, these may include improved tannin stain blocking, nail head rust resistance and rust staining resistance over cold rolled steel.

ROPAQUE Opaque Polymers scatter light and directly contribute to the hiding of a paint formulation. EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymers contribute to the hiding of paint by increasing the hiding efficiency of TiO₂. Since these technologies contribute to hiding via two different mechanisms, they can be used in tandem to maximize hiding efficiency with less TiO₂ content.

Yes. ROPAQUE Opaque Polymers work in tandem with EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology. The benefit is cumulative because these technologies employ two different mechanisms for hiding enhancement.

Yes. In fact, many of the paint formulations used in our exposure testing include both EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer and ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer.

The use of EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology along with ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer Technology may enable TiO₂ reductions in the range of 20%-40% in architectural white and pastel paint formulations. Actual TiO₂ removal in any formulation depends on the starting point formulation, level of TiO₂ and property balance, including the desired level of wet hide performance.