Natural rock chips and composite rock chips are two common types of rock flake products widely used in the architectural coating field, and they have distinct differences in raw material sources, performance characteristics and application scenarios.
Natural rock chips are processed through crushing, screening, dyeing and other procedures directly from natural ores, with natural mica, granite and other minerals as their core raw materials. They feature extremely strong color retention, water resistance, scratch resistance and cold resistance. They will not turn sticky under heat or become brittle in low temperature, with bright and three-dimensional colors and high simulation degree, making them high-quality raw materials for producing real stone paint and granite-like paint.
Composite rock chips are artificially synthesized products made from inorganic materials, high molecular polymers, auxiliaries and other raw materials through multiple processes including batching, spray drying, crushing and screening. They have a thickness of about 0.3mm, and their specifications cover multiple ranges from 1mm to 12mm. This type of rock chips has a complete color spectrum. In addition to more than 30 basic tones, their colors can be adjusted as required. Their colors are composed of natural inorganic elements that will not fade, with excellent water resistance and weather resistance. They can be tightly combined with various water-based stone paints. As water-based environmentally friendly materials, they have passed MSDS and SGS tests.
The two types of rock chips differ significantly in multiple key dimensions. In terms of raw material sources, natural rock chips are directly processed from natural ores, while composite rock chips are made from artificially synthesized polymers and inorganic materials. For color adjustability, natural rock chips have fixed tones after dyeing and are difficult to re-tune, while composite rock chips can be customized to any required tone with extremely rich color options. In terms of toughness, natural rock chips are relatively brittle and easy to break under force, while composite rock chips are soft and elastic, and will not break easily during stirring. As for simulation effect, natural rock chips present strong natural texture and high three-dimensional sense, while composite rock chips can completely imitate the particle morphology of granite with extremely high restoration degree. In terms of environmental protection performance, natural rock chips have good environmental friendliness due to their natural mineral properties, while composite rock chips are water-based and eco-friendly, and have passed a number of international safety tests.
Natural rock chips are more suitable for high-end decoration scenarios that pursue the ultimate natural texture, while composite rock chips, with the advantages of high cost performance and easy color matching, have become the mainstream general raw material for granite-like coatings.