In order to provide optimal performance, pigment particles must act independently of each other in the coating film and thus must remain well dispersed throughout manufacture, storage, application, and film formation. Unfortunately, colloidal dispersions such as the pigment dispersions in liquid coatings are inherently unstable, and they must be stabilized against the flocculation that inevitably occurs in unstabilized systems. To this end, dispersing agents, together with wetting agents, are added to coating fluids during a pigment-dispersion process in coatings manufacture. Dispersing agents, also known as dispersants, are usually fairly low-molecular-weight materials that strongly adsorb onto pigment particles and form a repulsive barrier to the positive forces of interaction that exist between all particulate materials. In many solvent-based coatings a portion of the film-forming polymer may provide this function, but in aqueous systems (especially latex coatings) separate dispersants are usually added.

Defoamers

One problem with specialty additives is that they often have a surfactant nature and consequently stabilize foam in the liquid coating. Portions of the coating polymer also have a surfactant nature, and they, too, contribute to foam stability. Foam often causes problems during manufacture and packaging, and during application it often causes film defects such as bubbles and subsequent thin spots. In order to counteract this problem, defoamers—materials that destabilize or break foams—are often added to coatings. Defoamer activity is not yet completely understood, but the agents seem to act by destabilizing the surface films of bubbles or by spontaneously spreading on the surface of these films as they form and breaking the bubbles. Defoamers are often based on silicone oils with fine silica particles added as a carrier for the silicone.

Fungicides, bactericides, and other specialty additives

In order to stabilize aqueous latex coatings for long-term storage, bactericides are often added. Similarly, latex coatings for exterior architectural use often contain fungicides that help to prevent the formation of mildew on exterior surfaces. Also, most water-based coatings require pH-control agents. When hard water is used in the manufacture of coatings, sequestrants (additives that prevent precipitation reactions) such as tetrapotassium pyrophosphate are utilized to help stabilize the coating. For latex coatings that are stored in garages in cold climates, additives such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol, the major ingredients in automobile antifreeze, are used to provide freeze-thaw stability.

Optical properties

One of the primary sets of properties of coatings is the optical properties. The major optical properties of coatings are opacity, the ability to hide a substrate; colour, the ability to reflect and absorb visible light of specific wavelengths; and gloss, the ability to act like a mirror in the direct reflection of light. These three optical properties are key features of topcoats, and they are carefully controlled by coatings manufacturers because of the sensitivity of the human eye to optical performance. In automobile paints colour and gloss are the predominant properties required by consumers, while for house paints opacity and colour are the primary focus of users.

Optical properties are among the best-characterized and best-controlled features of coatings. Almost every large store that sells paints directly to consumers features a computer-controlled colour-measurement or colour-matching system.

Thermomechanical properties and adhesion

The manner in which a coating responds to mechanical and thermal stress is an important part of coating film behaviour. The characteristic properties often considered in this area are hardness, elastic modulus, glass transition temperature, toughness, and abrasion resistance. Adhesion to substrates is a property specific to organic coatings that often receives detailed attention. There are many empirical tests for adhesion, such as peel tests and scribe tests, but the mechanisms of adhesion are not well understood or characterized.

Chemical- and corrosion-resistance properties

Many substrates, such as metals and composites, have unique mechanical properties, but they have no inherent chemical or corrosion resistance and therefore must have protective coatings to maintain their performance in environments that contain chemicals or induce corrosion. Bridges, aircraft, pipelines, washing machines, cars, and many other items depend on coatings to provide protection against the environment. For example, coatings are expected to help protect automobiles from corrosion and aggressive chemicals for 10 years; for refrigerators and dishwashers the expected lifetime is even longer. This protection is a key to the sales and performance of many items.

Exterior durability

Exterior durability—that is, the durability of protection from exterior exposure provided to substrates—is usually considered to be a special performance property of coatings. Durability includes many of the aspects of chemical and corrosion protection mentioned above, but it is most commonly thought to consist mainly of resistance to and protection from solar radiation. Many natural polymeric substrates, such as wood, and many synthetic polymers are susceptible to damage and degradation by continued exposure to sunlight. Degradation occurs because radiation in the near-ultraviolet and blue end of the visible spectrum contains sufficient energy to break chemical bonds within polymers of many types. As radiation-induced degradation occurs, the ability of a coating to provide chemical and corrosion protection also degrades, and this degradation can include chalking of the coating as well as coating delamination. Coatings designed for use on the exterior surfaces of cars, road signs, houses, aircraft, and commercial buildings are especially at risk of degradation induced by sunlight. In all these cases the coatings must contain internal protection against solar radiation. Light absorption and scattering by pigments, plus the use of ultraviolet absorbers and free-radical quenchers (very similar to the protective effects designed into sunscreens in lotions), help to provide this protection.