The newly-developed pigment from Elementis will offer ideal balance between visual impact and formulation efficiency.
Elementis has launched THIXATROL® 5050W, a metallic effect pigment orientation agent. This innovative additive enables formulators to overcome key challenges in metallic coating development by ensuring superior pigment alignment, low impact on viscosity, and ease of incorporation.
Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are increasingly demanding high-performance coatings that deliver customised metallic effects, shorter development cycles, and improved colour consistency. Traditional metallic orientation additives frequently result in excessive viscosity build-up and post-thickening – significant drawbacks in today’s fast-paced production environments. THIXATROL® 5050W transforms this space by providing optimal pigment orientation with minimal impact on viscosity. Its unique resistance to post-thickening
helps preserve colour integrity during storage, ensuring long-term finish quality.
THIXATROL® 5050W employs advanced steric hindrance technology to achieve optimal alignment of metallic flakes, resulting in exceptionally uniform visual effects. The 100% water-based formulation is free from co-solvents and effectively prevents common issues such as pigment settling, post-thickening, and phase separation – even under elevated temperatures. With direct-add capability and excellent spray compatibility, it significantly reduces dilution requirements while ensuring consistent and reliable metallic finishes.
These breakthrough features position THIXATROL® 5050W as a transformative solution for automotive coatings, supporting manufacturers’ objectives for faster development and superior aesthetics. This launch further consolidates Elementis’ position as a global leader in rheology solutions for advanced coating technologies.
About Elementis
Elementis is a global speciality chemicals company with around 1,000 employees operating across 19 locations and 12 manufacturing sites worldwide. At Elementis, we bring a distinctive blend of expertise, innovation and collaboration to every formulation challenge. We develop high-value speciality additives that enhance our customers' product performance and contribute positively to the world around us.