Metal carboxylates or metal soaps are the reaction products between metals and organic fatty acids, natural or synthetic.
Metal carboxylates are used in coatings as catalysts of alkyd resin polymerization cross-linking. These products are mostly distributed as solutions in hydrocarbon solvents.
ORGANOMETAL manufacture a wide variety of metal carboxylates of several different metals using synthetic fatty acids in a wide range of solvents.
The most common metals are:
TOP – PRIMARY or SURFACE DRIERS
Oxidation catalysts that act at the top of the coated film.
THROUGH DRIERS
Oxidation catalysts that ensure the uniformity of the through drying to the entire body of the coated film.
AUXILIARY DRIERS
These metal carboxylates have pure oxidation action on their own but play a very important synergetic role to the action of other drying catalysts as well.