Very light and relative solid glass microbeads, reduce the weight, reflect heat, look good in the coating, prevent from its cracking and increase gloss degree. The size is from 20 to 65 microns (exact dimensions, depend on the brand, i.e. for K-1 – 65 microns, for S28HS – 30 microns, etc.) 

Application:

To provide paints with new functional properties. Reduction of paint weight, more heavy filling without viscosity increase due to a ball-bearing effect. The product is used in paste fillers, decorative plasters and heat-insulating paints due microbeads’ low heat conductivity. It is also used in fire-protective paints due to formation of a thick non-spreadable coating with a minimum number of layers. Can be replaced with titanium dioxide. The product mustn’t be mixed at rpm, being over than 600, it is recommended to mix at 150-200 rpm. When being mixed, beads shouldn’t be exposed to severe loads and should be mixed at the end of the formulation process. There are some rather solid types but on the whole one should follow the above-mentioned recommendation. See the data about solidity of glass microbeads to determine exactly permissible loads (the loads can vary from 250 to 300 PSI, depending on the type). To mix simply microbeads into the paint one should use fluoroplastic FC-4434 or FC-4430.