Leveling

An unsufficient leveling during the drying process, lead to numerous possible film defects, such as orange peel, brush marks...

This phenomenon, caused by gradients in temperature, concentration, viscosity and density, induce a non-uniform surface tension in the coating.

Leveling is the ability to form a smooth film when paint is drying. This property depends on surface tension which drives flow of an uneven liquid surface to a smoother one to lower the surface energy.

The use of surface modifying additives, especially surfactants or rheology modifiers, is a possible way to enhance the leveling property, and thereby improve both appearance and performance of your paint.