SPECIAL EFFECTS | PIGMENTS
Pigment and masterbatch suppliers are offering increasingly impressive features to create a wide range of aesthetics in plastic parts, and improve the appearance of recycled material. By Jennifer Markarian
Achieving the right effect
Special effect pigments play an important role in enhancing the appearance of plastic parts, particu- larly for replacing metal or coated components with moulded-in-colour plastics. Pigment effect suppliers continue to enhance their technologies to provide robust and unique effects. “The trend of replacing painting with mass colouring of metallic [effect] plastic parts continues worldwide. This also applies to the automotive industry, which is looking for ways to reduce costs and find sustainable solutions,” said Helmut Wenzlik, Head of Technical Services & Marketing, Plastics, at effect pigment manufacturer Eckart. The metallic moulded-in-colour effect allows lower production costs and eliminates painting problems such as overspray, which improves sustainability. Eckart’s Stapa AC Reflexal effect pigments, for example, have been successfully used to produce mass-coloured parts for interior automotive applications with almost identical appearance to coated parts. “Smooth and structureless effects are currently in very high demand,” said Wenzlik. Eckart’s NIR Silver, which is a silver effect pigment that is detectable by near-infrared sorting in recycling operations, is also seeing interest from many customers, added Wenzlik.
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Other effects highlighted by Eckart at the US NPE show in 2024 and first released in 2022 include a pearlescent, an extreme interference flop, and a highly chromatic blue. Luxan C842 Spotlight Red is a pearlescent pigment with more than twice the sparkle intensity of alternatives. “A small amount of this colour-strong, new pigment is enough to bring even simple base colours to an optical high gloss. Incoming light has the effect of a spotlight on Luxan C842 Spotlight Red, and the pronounced sparkle is immediately visible because it reflects the light in an impressive way,” the company says. Eckart attributes the reflective effect to a highly efficient coating technology and says that the effect is shown at both very low and very high pigment concentrations. Eckart’s Mastersafe SYMIC Sahara Blue is based on synthetic mica, coated with a combination of metal oxides, that provides an extreme interference flop “oscillating from soft shimmering rose with a beige undertone colour to interference sky blue reflection”. The company notes that in flat viewing angles, the beige-rose hue dominates, and the blue shimmer becomes strongest at a 45° reflec- tion angle. The product is recommended for applications where a new special colour effect is
Main image: Eckart’s Mastersafe SYMIC Sahara Blue is based on synthetic mica, coated with a combi- nation of metal oxides
March 2025 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 25
IMAGE: ECKART
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