Enhancing Floor Finishes
Surface wetting, or how easily a liquid coating / finish is spread on a surface, plays a critical role in the performance of floor finish formulations. Floor finishes with poor wetting ability do not make sufficient contact with the flooring substrate and result in uneven films with surface defects.
In order to effectively wet the flooring, the surface energy of the finish formulation must be lower than the surface energy of the flooring. In cases where floor finishes do not sufficiently wet out the flooring substrate, a surfactant can be added to reduce the surface tension of the formulation and improve wetting ability.
Improve Surface Wetting & Leveling with Capstone™
Capstone™ Fluorosurfactants are highly effective wetting agents that can be added to floor finish formulations to dramatically lower surface tension and boost surface wetting. This improvement in wetting results in finishes and polishes that form more uniform films that level out better on the flooring substrate. This improved wetting and leveling leads to floor finishes with fewer surface defects and higher gloss. To demonstrate this improvement in performance, a floor finish without Capstone™ and the same floor finish dosed with Capstone™ FS-60 were applied to vinyl tiles and compared under magnification.
The floor finish without Capstone™ Fluorosurfactant showed significant surface defects while the floor finish that contains Capstone™ FS-60 showed dramatically improved leveling and far fewer surface defects. In addition to improved wetting, Capstone™ Fluorosurfactants have shown that they improve the rewet characteristics of a floor finish. This allows for multi-coat applications without the appearance of haze.
Formulation Recommendations
Capstone™ Fluorosurfactants are typically used at very low rates (0.005-0.05% actives) in floor finish formulations and will not interfere with hydrocarbon surfactants used as emulsifiers for waxes and resins in the formulation. The grades listed below are the most commonly used Capstone™ Fluorosurfactants used in floor care applications.| Grade | Ionic Nature | pH | Solids | Use Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capstone™ FS-60 | Anionic | 7 - 8.5 | 40% | 0.01 - 0.04% |
| Capstone™ FS-61 | Anionic | 7.5 - 9.0 | 14% | 0.005 - 0.02% |
| Capstone™ FS-64 | Anionic | 7.5 - 9.0 | 15% | 0.005 - 0.02% |
| Capstone™ FS-65 | Anionic | 7.0 - 9.0 | 25% | 0.005 - 0.02% |
| Capstone™ FS-34 | Nonionic | 5.5 - 7.5 | 25% | 0.01- 0.02% |
| Capstone™ FS-35 | Nonionic | 5.5 - 7.5 | 25% | 0.01 - 0.05% |
In many cases, the more general purpose grades, Capstone™ FS-60 and Capstone™ FS-34, are sufficient for floor finish applications. In some cases, however, a more specialized grade can offer even more value to a formulation. If you are not sure which grade is right for you, ChemPoint has product experts standing by ready to help you find the Capstone™ Fluorosurfactant for your application. Contact us today to discuss your floor finish formulation and to request more information about Capstone™ Flurorsurfactants.