Process for producing a flowable, highly pigmented, low viscosity, hot-melt coating compound

Claim 1

A process for preparing in two or more stages a flowable, nonaqueous, solvent-free, highly pigmented, low viscosity, thermoplastic, hot-melt coating compound, which comprises the steps of: (a) mixing in an initial stage from about 70% to about 95%, by weight, of pigment with from about 5% to about 30%, by weight, of a low viscosity thermoplastic binder material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene-organic acid copolymers, ethylene-vinyl acetate-organic acid terpolymers, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyamides, paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, polyterpene resins, and mixtures thereof, having a melt viscosity less than about 100,000 centipoises at a temperature in the range of from about 250° F. to about 300° F. and at a shear rate of from about 0.2 to about 2.0 reciprocal seconds for a period of time sufficient to obtain a homogeneous concentrate; and (b) mixing in one or more subsequent stages the homogeneous concentrate of step (a) with sufficient additional amounts of low viscosity thermoplastic binder material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene-organic acid copolymers, ethylene-vinyl acetate-organic acid terpolymers, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyamides, paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, polyterpene resins, and mixtures thereof, to yield a final homogeneous, flowable hot melt coating compound having a melt viscosity less than about 200,000 centipoises at a temperature in the range of about 250° F. to about 300° F. and at a shear rate of from about 0.2 to about 2.0 reciprocal seconds and comprising from about 30% to about 70%, by weight of pigment and from about 30% to about 70%, by weight, of low viscosity thermoplastic binder material.