Ultramarine Blue Pigment — Clean Blue Colouration

Primary uses

• Blue colouration
• Shade correction in whites
• Decorative pigmentation

Applications

• Blue decorative concrete and coatings where the system suits
• Shade correction of white products
• Resin-bound decorative and art casting
• Pigment blends

Advantages

• Provides blue shades and, at low addition, corrects yellow cast in white systems
• Effective in decorative resin and coating systems as well as some cementitious work
• Small additions achieve a visible shade change, keeping cost per unit modest

Limitations to consider

• Sensitive to acidic conditions, which can cause colour loss in certain exposures
• Not the choice where an aggressive or acid-exposed exterior service is expected
• Colour strength, shade and stability behaviour are declared by the supplier for the exact pigment supplied
• Decorative and architectural work is judged by eye. Colour, gloss, texture and translucency shift with batch, substrate, dosage and finishing method, so approve a physical sample panel made by your own process before a production run and keep it as the reference for later deliveries.
• Mix ratio, pot life, working time, demould time, full-cure schedule, hardness, tear strength, elongation, shrinkage, viscosity and temperature resistance are properties of one specific supplier system. They are never quoted here from memory or by analogy with a similar product; they are read from the supplier data sheet for the exact material offered and confirmed at quotation.

How to choose the right grade

• Start from the matrix — cementitious, resin or coating — because alkali stability and dispersion behaviour are decided by it
• Agree the colour standard and how it will be verified between deliveries, since colour is the whole point of the purchase
• State the exposure the finished surface will see, including UV, weather and de-icing salt in Canadian service
• State whether the pigment is being used for colour or for shade correction, since the addition differs completely
• Verify stability in your own system and exposure before adopting it into production
• Mould-making and casting behaviour depends on the pattern, the shop temperature and humidity, the mixing method and the operator. A production-representative trial on your own pattern and in your own shop conditions is the only honest way to qualify a material before a run is committed.
• Exact specification is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.

Typical grades

• Powder products as the supplier offers them
• Products the supplier distinguishes by shade and intended application
• Buyers search this category by grade name, and those names describe what the workshop needs rather than what is asserted here. Which grade a specific offer corresponds to, and what the supplier declares for it, is read from the technical documentation issued for the exact material quoted.
• Materials in this category interact: rubbers, releases, sealers, resins, pigments and fillers can inhibit cure, stain a surface or shorten mould life when they are combined outside the combinations the supplier has tested. State every material already in the process at enquiry so compatibility is checked against supplier documentation rather than discovered on the shop floor.
• Reactive materials age in the container, and moisture-sensitive systems age faster once opened. Order against real consumption rather than against a discount, and confirm the shelf life the supplier states for the exact product and pack.