Manufacturers of automotive repair finishes are tending to reduce more and
more the level of volatile organic compounds in their paints in order to co
mply with increasingly strict environmental legislation After a review of t
he main parameters allowing a viscosity reduction in acrylic resins in gene
ral, this paper describes the use of a reactive intermediate called CARDURA
E10 (a trade mark of the Royal Dutch group of companies) which is able to
reduce the solution viscosity of different resins and, hence, allows to inc
rease the solids content of automotive paints while improving the final coa
ting properties. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.