Quartz

Quartz (silica, SiO₂) is the core mineral within the Sibelco group and can be found in a broad number of applications, such as glass, ceramics and coatings. Quartz can be characterised by:

• Relatively high Mohs hardness of 7
• Low electrical conductivity
• Easy to wet
• High inertness in various media
• Shape (depending on the source, quartz particles can have an angular or more rounded shape).

Note when using quartz:

depending on the particle size distribution of the product, it can be labelled (STOT RE 2 or STOT RE 1). For more detailed information, visit  www.safesilica.eu.

Basic properties

Product overview

Production locations Silica Sand

Silverbond is the brand name for Sibelco’s silica products.

Benefits

• Dirt pick-up resistance: the presence of quartz improves the coating’s resistance to dirt (from the atmosphere, for example).
• Ease of tinting: due to the combination of refractive index, brightness and colour, paints containing fine quartz flour provide excellent reproducible colour results when working with tinting systems.
• Texture effect: the use of coarse quartz grades provide texture to coating surface.
• Tint retention: paints including fine quartz flour show improved tint retention over other minerals when subjected to natural weathering.
• UV resistance and weatherability: due to its inertness, quartz supports good UV and weatherability performance to exterior architectural coatings.
• Block resistance: with its non-stick properties, the use of quartz allows faster stacking of coated substrates without them sticking together.
• Burnish resistance: due to its hardness of 7 on Mohs scale, quartz provides good burnish resistance (low tendency to become glossy when rubbed).
• Gloss control: the gloss level of an interior coating can be regulated by selecting the appropriate grade of quartz.
• Scrub resistance: due to its hardness of 7 on Mohs scale, quartz improves the wet-scrub resistance of interior decorative paints.
• Stain resistance: quartz acts as a supporting mineral filler in stain resistant coatings.
• Abrasion and scratch resistance: due to its fairly high hardness of 7 on Mohs scale, quartz provides abrasion and scratch resistance to the coating.
• Chemical resistance: due to its inert nature, quartz provides good chemical resistance compared to conventional fillers.
• Clarity: due to its fairly low refractive index, fine quartz grades become transparent when combined with certain binder systems.
• UV-curing compatibility: being transparent for UV radiation, fine quartz grades do not block the curing mechanism.
• Skid resistance: coarse quartz grades will give a roughness to the substrate, making it less slippery in general as well as under wet conditions, and provides better visibility in wet conditions.
• IR reflection: quartz contributes to the IR reflection of roof coatings.
• Pore and grain filling properties (sealer): with low impact on the viscosity, quartz can be used as a mineral filler in sealers to give them more body.