PU Foam Colors for Slabstock, Moulded and Rebonded Foam

How PU foam colors work

PU foam colors are concentrated pigment dispersions. Organic and inorganic pigments are ground into a polyol-compatible carrier by high-shear dispersion, then metered into the polyol (B-side) of the foam system. The colour is carried through the whole block or moulded part, not just the surface, so cut faces and cored sections show the same shade.

Chemie Products has made these colorants since 1996. Because the carrier is chosen to suit the polyol, the colour does not need a separate mixing step on the line: it is dosed straight into the polyol stream or the mix head, like any other additive.

Colours for each type of PU foam

Different foam processes ask different things of a colorant, so we do not supply one paste for everything. We tune the product to how you actually make foam.

• Slabstock foam: low-viscosity dosing colours made for continuous metering, with pigments chosen for resistance to the heat inside the block.
• Moulded and cast foam: liquid colorants and thicker colour pastes for low-pressure and high-pressure machines and for hand-mix work.
• Rebonded foam: colour for scrap-foam blocks, with MDI-based pre-polymer binder available from the same plant.
• Rigid foam and insulation panels: colorants for rigid systems, with fire-retardant colour pastes based on melamine and graphite for UL94 requirements.
• Liquid colors for foam machines, including Hennecke and Laader Berg lines, with viscosity set for your machine pumps.

Shade matching and repeat orders

Every shade is developed against your approved sample, standard, or a Pantone or RAL reference. Once you approve it, we keep the standard so a repeat order is made to the same reference rather than guessed again. Controlled grind, tinting-strength and viscosity checks on every batch help limit the shade drift that causes block-to-block complaints on a foam line.

Dosing level depends on the shade and the system, so we give a starting level with every sample and confirm it on your own machine. We do not quote one figure for all foams, because a pale pastel and a deep black need very different amounts.

Compliance, packing and delivery

Our colorants are REACH and RoHS compliant. For foam, colorants are packed in 25 kg, 35 kg and 50 kg cans and 200 kg drums, stored cool and dry in the original sealed container. Orders ship from our plants near Bhiwadi and are supported by our sales offices in Gurugram and Kerala.

If a colour behaves strangely on your line, our troubleshooting guides cover the usual causes, such as shade varying from block to block, colorant settling in the drum, and core discolouration in slabstock. You can read them before you call us, or send us your sample and process details and we will help you find the cause.