Plastic products are finding increasing application in automotive as well as consumer electronic markets. Since these products appear on the outside or exterior, their application demands good aesthetics not only in the initial stage of usage, but also during their continued usage. Plastics are notorious as they get scratched quite easily or easily damaged from mar. The surface of plastic parts can be visibly damaged in several ways, including scratching by a sharp object; abrasion by rubbing with an abrasive material; marring, which changes the surface appearance or gloss; or a "writing effect" of soft scratching with a dull object. A scratch is created when the material yields under an indentation force and a sliding or lateral force, resulting in ductile and/or brittle failure. In a scratch, the uneven surface results in non-uniform light scattering and "scratch whitening". Solutions for improving scratch performance include minimizing roughness of the polymer ground and lowering the shoulder of the scratch, resulting in less light scattering and lower scratch visibility. While not all polymers are easy to scratch formation, some are more sensitive. Polypropylene (PP), one of the fastest growing polymers in both these segments, is one that gets scratched easily.

Scratch and mar resistance of polymer can be improved with coatings, mineral fillers, and other additive technology. New additive technologies have been commercialized, and improved solutions continue to be researched.
Mineral modifiers such as talc and wollastonite are used in polyolefins as both cost-reducing fillers and to improve properties such as stiffness, heat resistance, etc. Mineral type and properties also affect scratch appearance. Key mineral properties that affect scratch and mar resistance include particle size distribution, aspect ratio and the type and amount of surface treatment. Chemically modified with ultra fine high aspect ratio wollastonite can be used to improve scratch and mar resistance in interior, exterior, and under-the-hood automotive applications as well as in durable goods. New wollastonite grades and new surface treatments are being developed to meet needs for improved physical properties as well as enhanced scratch resistance.

While parts filled with standard talc may suffer from "scratch whitening", special grades of talc can improve scratch and mar resistance. Luzenac offers calcined talc that is much harder than standard, soft talc. When combined with a coupling agent that improves interfacial adhesion, the calcined talc has improved scratch and mar resistance. Luzenac's new R-7 talc grade has a surface treatment that improves scratch and mar resistance without use of a coupling agent.

Nanoclays are being used in automotive applications primarily to reduce density, enhance modulus and reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), but better scratch and mar resistance is an added benefit. GM is using nanocomposites commercially in automotive interiors and exteriors. Typically, 5% of a nanoclay will replace about 25% of talc in a TPO while maintaining equivalent modulus properties. This reduced amount of mineral, in addition to the smaller particle size, significantly reduces scratch visibility. BYK Chemie's nano-sized NANOBYK silica and alumina can be added to UV-curable or solvent-based coatings to improve scratch and mar resistance for various applications, including automotive clear coatings. While larger particle-sized materials can reduce gloss and increase haze of a clear coating, nano-sized materials have no or very little influence on gloss and no loss in mechanical properties including flexibility.

Slip agents, typically erucamide, blended into thermoplastics will migrate or bloom to the surface of the polymer part, creating a waxy layer that lowers the coefficient of friction and reduces scratch visibility. Research have found that untreated talc interferes with the blooming of erucamide in TPO, but surface-treated talc allowed a higher level of erucamide to come to the surface, improving resistance to scratch visibility. One problem with erucamide is that high concentrations accumulating at the surface can result in tackiness when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, although the tackiness dissipates after continued UV exposure.
Light stabilizers do not prevent or cause tackiness, although the rate of onset and disappearance of surface tack vary with type of light stabilizer in the formulation. The erucamide degrades under UV exposure, causing both discoloration and tackiness. Other problems with erucamide include poor weathering, poor paintability, and fogging in automotive interiors.

Multibase offers siloxane masterbatches containing ultra-high molecular weight siloxane polymer dispersed in various thermoplastic resins. Because of its high molecular weight, the siloxane does not migrate to the surface, but gives very good, long-term scratch and mar resistance. Siloxane masterbatches are being used commercially in automotive interior and exterior components, consumer applications and the extruded tubing and film market. SIE, siloxane enhanced TPEs is a new product for improved scratch and mar resistance in applications such as instrument panel skins, air bag covers, soft trim for door panels, consumer goods and industrial applications.

Ciba's IRGASURF SR 100 is being used in automotive applications. Like silicone or slip additives, it lubricates the polymer surface, leading to less scratch visibility. Unlike erucamide, it does not migrate, and so does not cause surface tackiness. The additive also reduces problems of poor adhesion and poor paintability found in additives like erucamide and silicone based additives. In addition to protecting against scratch and mar, IRGASURF protects against stress whitening from impacts, which is a particular advantage for exterior automotive applications and does not appear to interact with other additives, and can be used with any type of hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS).