Frequently Asked Questions About ROPAQUE™ Opaque Polymer

One of the key drivers of the use level of ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer is the price of TiO₂. Given the recent increase in TiO₂ price, formulators have a strong incentive to rethink ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer usage across a broad range of formulations. In high-quality paints, formulators who are already using ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer can replace even more TiO₂ and save even more cost. But that’s not all that’s changing. Now formulators can use ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer to lower the cost of hiding in paints with as little as 100 lbs. dry TiO₂. This is opening up new formulation spaces for ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer and new cost-saving opportunities for formulators working with primers, mid-tones, and economy flats.

Every paint formulation is different, with varying limitations on the amount of ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer that can be added or the amount of TiO₂ that can be removed for optimal cost and performance balance. Based on 30 years of experience with ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer, our studies demonstrate that the TiO₂ savings in satin to semi-gloss acrylics can be up to 20%. In high-quality acrylic flats, it can be up to 35%. There are some cases where the savings may be even more. Your savings will depend on your starting formulation and desired performance properties. Because wet hide performance is a function of TiO₂, higher replacement levels will result in a corresponding decline in wet hide across sheens. Dow Coating Materials has developed a reformulation tool that can help you determine the optimum balance of ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer and TiO₂. The reformulation tool is in an Excel format that is easy to download and easy to use within the security and convenience of your own desktop. Contact us to learn more.

At today’s TiO2 pricing, even small amounts of TiO2 replacement may yield significant cost savings and there is strong economic incentive to replace as much TiO2 as possible to yield even greater savings. Your specific cost savings will depend upon the current market price of TiO2 and the amount of TiO2 replacement that you can achieve with ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer.

The upper limit of TiO₂ replacement with ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer will vary from one formulation to another and depend on your formulation goals. Possible formulation constraints may include gloss and sheen, burnish resistance and scrub resistance. In satin through semi-gloss formulations, we have achieved TiO₂ replacement rates of up to 20% with little to no attrition in these performance properties. In flat sheens, we have achieved replacement rates of up to 35%, again with little to no attrition in these performance properties. Because wet hide performance is a function of TiO₂, higher replacement levels will result in a corresponding decline in wet hide across sheens. Our formulation experts and our reformulation tool can help you find the right balance of TiO₂ and ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer for optimum cost efficiency and paint performance.

You can, but air void hiding developed with extenders rapidly degrades paint performance. These air voids lead to porosity in a paint film, which weakens the film and allows for migration of water through the film. This can adversely affect the substrate. The air voids developed in ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer are different. They are encapsulated with a hard polymer shell and thus do not contribute to porosity and subsequent weakening of the paint film.

Yes. ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer is an excellent light scattering pigment for exterior paint formulations, including acrylics, vinyl acetates, styrene/acrylics, and alkyd emulsions. In addition to providing more cost efficient hiding, replacing a portion of TiO₂ with ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer contributes to important performance properties in exterior paint formulations. These may include tint retention and dirt pick-up resistance. Dow has put out more than 500 exposure series with paints containing ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer. One current series has been on our test fence since 1994 and over that 17-year period continues to demonstrate durability, crack resistance, opacity and tint retention with up to 40% less TiO₂.

Yes. ROPAQUE Dual Opaque Polymer is a new offering in North America that is currently being sampled to paint formulators. This offering brings the benefits of ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer Technology to solvent-borne alkyds in architectural paint applications. It’s an industry first and we’re very excited to be able to bring a new offering that works in both waterborne and solvent-borne alkyds. Like its counterparts for waterborne paints, ROPAQUE Dual Opaque Polymer reduces hiding costs while offering key performance benefits, including improved tint retention and dirt pick-up resistance in exterior formulations and improved block resistance and washability in interior formulations

Yes, samples of ROPAQUE DUAL Opaque Polymer are available to interested paint formulators. Contact us to order a sample.

Dow has been committed to the production and advancement of ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer Technology for more than 30 years and we continue to place a high priority on this technology through multiple production points, rigorous quality control, readily available technical service support, and behind-the-scenes research and development.

• ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer products are manufactured at numerous plants in 17 countries on six continents.
• Our raw materials are sourced from a broad and diverse global supply chain.
• We employ world-class quality management systems, including Quality Control Systems (QCS), Statistical Quality Control (SQC), and Product and Process Quality Measurement (PPQM).

• Formulators benefit from a rich database of interior and exterior formulation testing conducted by Dow over a period of more than 30 years. This includes more than 30 years of worth of exposure history data on ROPAQUE Opaque Polymers; our first exposure series was put out in 1979 and new series continue to go out every year.
• Our proprietary reformulation tool makes it faster and easier to develop formulations that provide the desired balance of hiding cost efficiency and paint performance.
• Our technical and sales service teams are readily available to answer your formulating questions.
• Our technology pipeline offers multiple hiding advancements, including EVOQUE™ Pre-Composite Polymer Technology, a completely new class of material that may be used in tandem with ROPAQUE Opaque Polymer to save even more TiO₂ and cost.