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Contents:

1. The Milling Process
2. Leafing Pigments
3. Nonleafing Grades
4. Aesthetic Properties
5. Vehicle Selection
6. Uses
7. Metallics

Nonleafing Grades

Nonleafing grades, on the other hand, are distinguished by their orientation in a coating film. Because of the lubricant used during the milling process, which is generally an unsaturated fatty acid, such as oleic, these grades are distributed evenly throughout the entire film rather than orienting at or near the film surface.

The distribution of nonleafing flakes throughout the coating film provides aesthetics and characteristics different from the leafing grades. Since a continuous layer of flakes is not at or near the film surface, susceptibility to smudging and crocking is eliminated.

A wider range of coating systems can be used without fear of destroying the leafing characteristics. Aesthetics providing the metalescent or polychromatic effects are possible. Properties of nonleafing grades that contribute to these aesthetics include hiding, color, sparkle, flop and gloss. All are controlled closely and are dependent (to a large degree) on particle size and particle size distribution.