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3M™ Glass Bubbles for seam sealants and underbody coatings
CONTACT A 3M EXPERTCompounders and automotive OEMs can be confident that their seam sealants and underbody coatings will help you reduce weight while meeting your requirements including Class A paintable finishes. 3M™ Glass Bubbles are an industry-proven solution that can replace heavier automotive fillers such as calcium carbonate in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins during plastisol production.
In fact, 3M Glass Bubbles can reduce the overall weight of seam sealant and underbody coatings by up to 40% – even higher if applied using precision automated equipment. 3M Glass Bubbles can also reduce density and improve sag resistance, helping you maximize the efficient application of automotive sealants and coatings.
Download: 3M™ Glass Bubbles for seam sealants & underbody coatings brochure (PDF, 189 KB)
Lighter plastisols. Lighter vehicles.
Producing lightweight materials with 3M™ Glass Bubbles extends to much more than SMC panels or small thermoplastic parts. Lightweight automotive seam sealants and underbody coatings can go a long way toward improving fuel economy, increasing electric battery range and meeting stringent global requirements for environmental sustainability.
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3M™ Glass Bubbles for seam sealers and underbody coatings can:
- Reduce plastisol weight up to 40%
- Help achieve viscosity targets even at high volume loadings
- Enable faster wetting and dispersion through lower aspect ratio
- Help produce easily skived surfaces
- Enable Class A paintable surface
Preserving your application equipment – 3M™ Glass Bubbles vs. standard density coatings
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Some grades of 3M Glass Bubbles have been developed specifically for plastisols and plastisol application equipment. They are stronger, decreasing bubble breakage, so the wear on equipment can be very similar to that from standard seam sealants and coatings.
The chart at right shows how. Rigorous 3M testing revealed application equipment wear (in millimeters of diameter) from plastisols using our latest 3M™ Glass Bubbles technology vs. standard-density plastisols and those produced using previous 3M Glass Bubbles. The result is clear: 3M™ Glass Bubbles can help enable the production of lightweight seam sealants and undercoatings without significant additional wear on application equipment.
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Lightweight formulations made with 40% vol 3M Glass Bubbles and equipment used typical pump and nozzle pressures.
Ask an Expert
3M supports our Glass Bubbles with global sales, technical and customer service resources. Contact us for more information, including formulation assistance or questions about a specific application.
