DB88 Flexibility and Adhesion in Industrial Coatings
Oct 26, 2026
How DB88 improves film flexibility and adhesion in industrial coatings, floor paints and inks, with dosage guidance against solids content and film thickness and a practical defect checklist.
DB88 Flexibility and Adhesion in Industrial Coatings
Why does a floor coating crack at the joints while the same formulation works on a smooth panel? Because the coating has to follow movement in the substrate. DB88 is used in industrial coatings, floor paints and inks as a flexibility-adjusting component: it helps improve coating flexibility and adhesion while maintaining compatibility with common resins. Dosage should be confirmed through a trial against your solids content and film thickness.
What a plasticizer does in a coating film
A coating is judged first on how it looks when it is applied and second on how it behaves after it has cured. In industrial and floor coatings the second part is dominated by film flexibility and adhesion. A rigid film that adheres well on a smooth panel can still fail on a concrete floor, because concrete moves with temperature and moisture and opens and closes joints, and a rigid film cannot follow that movement.
A flexibility-adjusting component lowers the glass transition temperature of the binder and lets the film deform instead of cracking. The same effect improves adhesion, because a film that can relax stress at the interface is less likely to peel away from the substrate.
| Property affected | Direction when flexibility is adjusted | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Film flexibility | Improved | Mandrel bend or elongation of a free film |
| Adhesion to substrate | Improved | Pull-off or cross-cut test on the intended substrate |
| Impact and crack bridging | Improved | Impact test and inspection over joints |
| Surface dry and hardness development | May slow if over-dosed | Dry time and hardness at 24 h and 7 days |
| Gloss and levelling | Sensitive to dosage and solvent balance | Visual comparison against a reference panel |
Setting the dosage against solids content and film thickness
The dosage cannot be copied from one product to another because it depends on the binder system, the solids content and the dry film thickness. A thin film has less material to absorb movement, and a high-solids system has less solvent to help level the film. The practical way to set the level is a short trial series at two or three dosages, applied at the intended film thickness on the intended substrate.
| Formulation variable | Why it changes the optimum | Practical adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| Solids content | Higher solids leave less solvent for levelling | Re-check dosage with the actual solids |
| Dry film thickness | Thicker films tolerate more flexibility | Verify on the target thickness |
| Filler loading | Filler raises stiffness | Compensate with dosage or binder choice |
| Substrate type | Concrete, metal and panels move differently | Test adhesion on each substrate |
| Service temperature | Cold service needs more flexibility | Check low-temperature behaviour |
Defect checklist for coatings and floor paints
| Defect | Likely cause | First check |
|---|---|---|
| Cracks at joints or edges | Film too stiff for substrate movement | Film elongation and joint detail |
| Peeling or loss of adhesion | Interface stress or surface contamination | Surface preparation and dosage |
| Tacky or slow-curing film | Over-dosing of the flexibility component | Dosage against dry time |
| Orange peel or poor levelling | Solvent balance or viscosity | Solvent and rheology package |
| Colour or gloss drift | Pigment or stabiliser system | Pigment dispersion and heat history |
Frequently asked questions
Can DB88 be used in inks as well as floor paints? It is described as used in industrial coatings, floor paints and inks, so the flexibility direction applies to all three; the dosage differs with the system and is set by trial.
Will adding flexibility make the floor soft? No. The effect is on film deformation behaviour; hardness and abrasion resistance are dominated by the binder, filler and cure system, which is why both properties should be measured on the cured film.
How many trials are needed? A short series over two or three dosages at the intended thickness is normally enough to identify the working window.
Request a sample and a recommendation
Send us your coating system, solids content and film thickness target and our team will suggest a starting dosage for DB88, supplied as a 1kg complimentary testing sample dispatched worldwide via DHL or FedEx. Trial order MOQ is 1 MT, and bulk shipments are loaded as 23 MT flexitank containers from Ningbo or Shanghai.
Related grade
DB88 · DB88 Plasticizer for Industrial Coatings and Floor Paints
Request 1kg Free Sample for Testing
Test DB88 in your own formulation. The request below is pre-filled with the grade discussed in this whitepaper, together with the specification, documentation and sample shipping confirmation.
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