Product line extensions from BASF

German leather chemical manufacturers, BASF, have added three new products to their global range of chemicals. They include an aqueous dispersion, a transparent top coat and a new black liquid drum dye. Lepton Matting MF is an aqueous dispersion, which is applied in the base coat of leather finishes. This new product is especially effective for finishing matt upholstery, automotive and shoe upper leather. The most important properties of Lepton Matting MF are as follows: * Gives very matt base coats a dry surface * The finish has an even matt appearance and no dull, grey haze is formed * Clear, intense colours can be obtained and there is no change in shade * The leather is less tacky when it is plated, embossed and piled * The leather has a much drier and more natural handle * The fill of the leather is enhanced * Improved hiding power for defects Lepton Matting MF is compatible with all the other finishing products in the BASF range and it is available worldwide with immediate effect. Lepton Top HT is based on BASF's innovative chemistry, and this new product offers tanners many advantages in finishes applied to leather. HT stands for high transparency, high technology and high stability at high temperatures, which are the most important features of this new product. The new Lepton Top HT dries to form a crystal-clear film on the surface of the leather. It is particularly effective in combination with other products, and it ideally complements the other acrylic and polyurethane top coats and binders. It can be used in combination with the other auxiliaries in BASF's range of products for the leather industry. A particularly useful advantage of Lepton Top HT is that it remains transparent at all times. The leather retains its natural appearance and has an elegant, natural handle. Lepton Top HT consists of an aqueous dispersion of an acrylic polymer with a special particle structure. The advantage for tanners is that this new acrylic top coat enables the same high standards of lightfastness and rub-resistance to be achieved that could previously only be obtained with top coats based on polyurethane or cellulose acetobutyrate. Lepton Top HT also has excellent resistance to hydrolysis and a high glass transition temperature, and it dries to form a tack-free film. This new finishing product reconciles the demands of economics and ecology. * Only a thin layer of finish needs to be applied to the leather * It may be possible to dispense with crosslinking agents, depending on the application * Lepton Top HT has a very low VOC content of less than 0.2% Lepton Top HT makes it possible to obtain leather with a natural appearance and a pleasant handle, and it also satisfies ecological and economic requirements. This new top coat from BASF fulfils the demands from consumers for high performance and the demands from manufacturers of leather goods for high fastness. Luganil Black AS Liquid is an innovative drum dye from BASF's research laboratories which improves the quality of the finished leather and protects the environment. It is a particularly appropriate choice for leather that has to fulfil high standards of fastness, such as automotive leather and leather for sports footwear. This anionic dye gives an intense shade of black and enables very high standards of fastness to be achieved that are unsurpassed in the leather industry: * Excellent resistance to migration * Excellent lightfastness compared to other metal-free dyes * Very high perspiration resistance and washfastness Luganil Black AS Liquid represents an ecological advance in the drum dyeing process. It is easy to handle because, unlike powder dyes, it can be metered into the drum automatically. It does not dust, and it does not have to be diluted with large quantities of water. Luganil Black AS Liquid has a very high yield, which provides tanners with a financial advantage, and the effluent is much cleaner. It has high hiding power for defects in the grain and penetrates well through retanned leather. Luganil Black AS Liquid is: * Free of metals, volatile organic compounds and AOX * Free of organic solvents * Virtually free of salts * Free of MAK amines