Replacing costly TiO2 in paint remains a hot topic in these times of continuing price increases and shortages.
I was wondering how we could give our paint customers a Shortcut to get instant TiO2 savings, with minimal risk and no loss of paint quality? So we condensed many years of research and experience by our principal, FP PIGMENTS, into a simple three-step approach to get immediate TiO2 savings in paint, without loss of properties:
- Replace 5% across the board with a sub-micron filler like IOKAL ULTRAFINE
- Use our Bubble chart for different types of paint, to replace TiO2 with the engineered white pigment FP-440 in different amounts.
- For tint-bases, replace 13% TiO2 with 15% FP-440
- If you haven’t already done this, using a filler with sub-micron particle size is the cheapest way to make quick TiO2 savings because it spaces the TiO2 particles quite well. Doing a 5% weight-for weight substitution of TiO2 can give you an instant saving with little noticeable change to the paint quality. You can use any sub-micron white filler. The one we recommend is our 0.75-micron CaCO3 called IOKAL ULTRAFINE (give us a shout for a sample and quotation). If you go higher than 5%, you’re likely to start compromising paint quality.
- Use this Bubble chart for the next step. Take the smallest number in each bubble as your starting point. E.g for Cheap Matt paint (above cPVC), replace 20% of the TiO2 with FP-440. The green shaded part on the left indicates paint above cPVC. The pink section on the right contains paints which are below cPVC.
 
Later when you have more time, you can tweak the formulation to replace more TiO2 and get more savings. Using the smallest number will keep your risk low and give you a paint that has similar properties, but is much cheaper than before (FP-440 is around half the price of TiO2).
One word of caution: if your formulation contains talc, you may have to increase the dispersant content because talc loves dispersant!
3. Tint bases
Replacing TiO2 in tint bases without compromising tint strength, has always been a bit tricky. However several years of research at FP PIGMENTS has shown that the following works almost every time:
- Remove 13% TiO2 and replace it with 15% FP-440
These percentages are based on the original TiO2 content by weight. Later on for more savings, you might try removing 17% TiO2 and replacing it with 20% FP-440. For reassurance, read more about this approach here: https://www.fp-pigments.com/en/point-of-sale-tint-bases/
Good luck out there. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for samples and prices.