Plastic coating additives should be selected by the first failed stage, not by a generic “plastic” label. CHLUMIWE® 3071 is the direct difficult-plastic wetting route. CHLUMILE® 3345 adds a broader wetting-and-leveling route. CHLUMIFE® 1206 is removed from the first coating shortlist because its public emphasis is mineral-oil lubrication and plastic/rubber/PU demolding, not adhesion or durability of a coated plastic film.
No additive replaces cleaning, pretreatment or a binder matched to PE, PP, PET, ABS, PC or another specific polymer.
Plastic coating decision map
| Observed evidence | First controlled check | Route if confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Film beads or retracts immediately on clean treated plastic | Polymer grade, mold release, treatment level/age and wetting | 3071 |
| Substrate wets but laydown, craters or edge flow remain uneven | Resin compatibility, viscosity, spray and flash | 3345 |
| Project actually needs internal demolding or mineral-oil lubrication | Separate molding/lubrication specification | 1206 may fit a different project |
| Adhesion fails after cure or water exposure | Binder, pretreatment, cure and interface | No wetting-additive escalation |
| Produto | Published facts | Use in this guide | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3071 | Polyether siloxane; 0.1–1%; water/UV/solvent; PE/PP/PET and plastic coatings listed | Difficult-substrate wetting | May stabilize foam in waterborne systems; avoid mixing |
| 3345 | 100% active; 0.1–1%; water/UV/solvent; plastics and waterborne PU listed | Wetting plus leveling/flow | Avoid mixing; “some defoaming” is not a process-air guarantee |
| 1206 | Long-chain alkyl silicone; 100% active; 0.1–1%; UV/solvent, not water | Oil lubrication or plastic/rubber/PU demolding project | Not a first proof of coated-film abrasion, adhesion or recoat |
Control the plastic surface first
Record polymer family and grade, recycled content, filler, mold-release package, handling, cleaning, pretreatment and time from treatment to coating. Compare a known-good part and the failing production lot. Surface-energy pens are screening tools, not proof of cleanliness or adhesion.
Use real geometry. Edges, ribs, bosses and recesses expose pullback, pooling and spray-shadow failures that a flat panel can hide.
Use 3071 for confirmed wetting failure
3071 explicitly lists PE, PP, PET and plastic coatings and supports water, UV and solvent systems at 0.1–1%. Start low after contamination and treatment are controlled. Hold viscosity, film build, flash and cure.
In waterborne systems, the page warns of foam stabilization. Measure batch density, wet bubbles and cured pinholes rather than treating all holes as wetting defects.
Use 3345 when flow remains after wetting
3345 is a 100%-active wetting/leveling route positioned for plastics and waterborne PU. It supports substrate wetting, spreading, oil-stain resistance, pinhole prevention, leveling, recoatability and gloss retention.
Test it alone because the page says to avoid mixing. Verify whether optional co-solvent changes flash, VOC, resin compatibility or adhesion; keep solvent contribution equal in the blank.
Why 1206 is not a general plastic-coating route
1206 is highly oil-soluble and its main product story concerns mineral-oil lubricity and demolding plastic, rubber and PU products. It is not waterborne. Those facts do not establish that adding it to a coating improves adhesion or post-cure abrasion without harming recoat.
If the project genuinely involves mold release or oil lubrication, create a separate trial with migration and contamination controls. Do not combine that purpose with a painted-part wetting study.
Build a substrate-specific coating trial
- Lock polymer grade, mold, cleaning, pretreatment and geometry.
- Prepare a blank plus one mechanism-specific dose ladder.
- Hold pH/solids/viscosity, application, film build, flash and cure.
- Test initial and aged adhesion, appearance and recoat.
- Repeat after water, chemical, heat and flexibility exposure required by the customer.
Measure adhesion on the correct plastic
ASTM D823 describes practices for making uniform coating films on test panels. ASTM F1842 adapts tape adhesion to thin inks/coatings on polyester and polycarbonate for membrane-switch applications; confirm that its limited scope fits the part.
Pair adhesion with gloss/haze, color, wetting, pinholes, hardness, scratch/abrasion, water/chemical resistance, flexibility and recoat. A smooth panel with interface failure is not passing.
Separate initial adhesion from durable adhesion
Test only after the specified cure and conditioning period, then repeat after the exposures that represent service: water, detergent, alcohol, humidity, heat, thermal cycling or flexing. Document whether failure occurs inside the coating, at the coating/plastic interface or in a primer layer. The same tape result can represent very different corrective actions.
Include an additive-free control and a production reference in every exposure set. If 3071 or 3345 improves appearance but reduces aged adhesion, chemical resistance or recoat, the dose is not approved. Recheck aged parts because treatment decay, mold-release variation and polymer-lot changes can be larger than the additive effect.
Common plastic-coating errors
Increasing wetting additive on contaminated parts
Remove mold release and verify treatment before formulation changes.
Calling every hole a wetting failure
Map defect timing to distinguish dewetting, foam and outgassing.
Approving one plastic grade
Additives cannot erase grade, filler and recycled-content variation.
Request a plastic-specific shortlist
Send polymer grade, geometry, mold release, cleaning/pretreatment, resin, pigments, water/solvent, current additives, application, flash/cure, defect timing/photos and adhesion/recoat requirements. Ask Longchang Chemical to choose between 3071 and 3345 from the first failed stage.