VIRIDYN 561N: Elimination of Fish-Eye Defects with Sustainable Fluorosurfactants
Overview
A specialist manufacturer (“the customer”) supplies a multi-layer coating system, comprising a primer for adhesion promotion and a topcoat for appearance and durability. The primer historically relied on 3M fluorochemical additives to deliver low surface tension, good wetting, and a smooth, defect-free finish.
Challenge
Following the discontinuation of key 3M fluorochemical products, the customer needed a functionally equivalent replacement that would maintain wetting performance without requalifying the entire system. In parallel, the loss of the original additive led to a sharp increase in “fish-eye” defects — localized craters and poor wetting — on glossy resurfaced surfaces, driving costly rework and scrap.
Solution
ViriDyn and partners offered a next-generation, sustainable fluorinated surfactant capable of replacing the legacy 3M additives on a drop-in basis. VIRIDYN 561N was selected for evaluation due to its compatibility with the existing primer resin, proven wetting performance, and suitability as a long-term successor to the discontinued 3M materials.
Implementation
The new additive was introduced into the primer at optimized loading levels and tested on production-relevant substrates under the existing cure and application conditions. Evaluation samples were supplied rapidly for in-plant trials, allowing side-by-side comparison of coated panels to confirm fish-eye reduction and overall appearance without changes to equipment or process windows.
Outcomes
By replacing the discontinued 3M fluorochemicals with the VIRIDYN 561N additive, the customer was able to:
Restore robust wetting
Dramatically reduce fish-eye occurrence
Stabilize visual quality across production
Secure a reliable, sustainable fluorochemical supply chain