Abstract
Many attempts have been carried out to increase the scratch resistance of clearcoats using various appropriate additives. These additives may increase surface hardness or surface slippage, and/or enhance the bulk mechanical strength of the clearcoat. In the present study, the influence of various added loads of three differently structured polysiloxane additives on the scratch resistances of an acrylic melamine clearcoat was investigated. A series of analytical instruments, such as a laboratory carwash simulator, a scanning electron microscope, an optical microscope and an attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscope, and others were used to compare the effects of the various added contents of polysiloxane additives on changes in the viscoelastic properties and scratch morphologies of the resultant clearcoats. The results illustrated that all polysiloxane additives improve the scratch resistance of such clearcoats, yet the optimum load varied for each individual additive. There is also a good indication that polyether-modified polysiloxanes improve scratch resistance by increasing surface hardness, while the fluorocarbon-modified polysiloxane tends to change the viscoelastic properties of the clearcoats. It was also found that scratch resistance varied linearly with Micro-Vickers’ hardness for brittle clearcoats.
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