Elementis launches additives to minimize viscosity drop post tinting

As homeowners and designers increasingly opt for deeper and more expressive colors, the architectural coatings industry faces a recurring technical challenge: significant viscosity drop upon the addition of universal colorants. Surfactants present in these colorants interfere with the associative networks in water‑borne systems, particularly those thickened with NiSAT technologies, leading to immediate Krebs Units (KU) loss, compromised application properties, and the need for increased rheology modifier loading.

The CVS Additives were developed to address these challenges directly by offering both colorant‑side and base‑paint‑side solutions that preserve viscosity stability without compromising application performance. By minimizing the viscosity drop post tinting, improving sag resistance, applied hiding power and overall formulation efficiency, the additives help manufacturers produce consistent, cost‑effective, high‑quality coatings across all tint strengths.

At the colorant stage, DAPRO® CVS 20 uses a novel functionalized encapsulation technology that isolates surfactants during the tinting process, preventing the disruption of associative bonds responsible for viscosity build. This results in a dramatic reduction in viscosity drop–from 28 KU to just 3 KU–and ensures uniform rheology across all shades. DAPRO® CVS 20 also improves sag resistance and applied hiding power, while maintaining levelling and color vibrancy, making it especially valuable for universal colorant producers and decorative paint manufacturers that produce their own colorants.

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For formulators seeking improved viscosity stability within the base paint, RHEOLATE® CVS 16 offers a modern associative thickener providing up to 45% improvement in viscosity retention after tinting. With a balanced pseudoplastic profile and an optimized hydrophobic backbone, it delivers robust KU build, reliable tinting stability, improved color acceptance, and excellent efficiency across a wide range of resin systems and base types. Alongside RHEOLATE® CVS 15 EU, the first‑generation product in the CVS family, Elementis provides a comprehensive suite of additives tailored to minimize post‑tinting viscosity loss in water‑borne architectural coatings.

By reducing viscosity loss, improving hiding power and maximizing NiSAT performance, the CVS Additives allow manufacturers to lower formulation costs while ensuring consistent application quality across the entire color spectrum, from light pastel tones to deep, high‑strength bases.

“With our CVS Additives, Elementis is addressing one of the most persistent formulation challenges in the architectural coatings sector: maintaining stable viscosity in tinted systems rich in universal colorants,” said Gerjan van Laar, head of Segment Management at Elementis. “These additives provide formulators with highly reliable solutions that deliver predictable rheology, improved performance in use, and enhanced formulation efficiency, all without compromising color acceptance or aesthetic quality. This launch underscores Elementis’ commitment to developing advanced rheology technologies that support the next generation of high‑performance decorative paints.”

The introduction of the Colour Viscosity Stability Additives reinforces Elementis’ position as a global leader in rheology innovation, supporting the development of color‑stable architectural coatings that meet modern market expectations for performance, consistency and design freedom.

You can review all CVS grades from Elementis and download original datasheets in the Master Catalog of Coatings.