What stands out in recently released home appliances and automobiles is the calm, luxurious matte finish, a shift from the traditional glossy textures. While glossy surfaces highlight a product’s flamboyance, matte surfaces reveal a more refined elegance through their subtly glowing texture. Recently, low-gloss design has become a trend, especially among premium products. As this shift in exterior design takes hold, interest is also growing in materials capable of expressing such a finish. It’s not simply about ‘reducing gloss.’ The material must also offer quality, making technical excellence essential. In today’s FOCUS ON, we take a closer look at Low Gloss ABS, a material that conveys both a soft and solid impression.

What is Low Gloss ABS?

ABS is a lightweight plastic that is easy to process and offers excellent strength and gloss. It is used in a broad range of fields, including exterior parts of home appliances, automotive components, and toys. ABS stands for Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene— a synthetic resin composed of three components, Acrylonitrile (A), Butadiene (B), and Styrene (S). Each component contributes to a specific property: chemical resistance, impact strength, processability and surface gloss, respectively. Thanks to these characteristics, ABS offers outstanding mechanical properties and is well-suited for secondary processing such as injection molding, extrusion, forming, and coloring. Of these components, styrene is responsible for the smooth, glossy finish that gives conventional ABS its sleek and somewhat luxurious appearance. However, as demand has shifted toward calmer and more refined matte finishes, Low Gloss ABS, with different surface characteristics from traditional ABS, is drawing increasing attention.

Low Gloss ABS shares the same basic structure as conventional ABS but is engineered with technology that deliberately reduces surface gloss. While the surface of standard plastics reflects light evenly, Low Gloss ABS induces diffuse reflection* by forming fine surface irregularities or incorporating dispersed particles. This scattering of reflected light reduces noticeable shine and results in a soft, refined texture. LG Chem’s Low Gloss ABS goes beyond simply having a matte finish. It is developed not only with excellent processability and chemical resistance in mind but also with enhanced extrusion stability that ensures uniform sheet thickness. The material enables stable molding even under high temperatures, high pressure, or foaming processes, making it ideal for components that require precision and premium quality, such as interior parts of home appliances or high-end panels. By meeting both design and performance demands, Low Gloss ABS is firmly establishing itself as a premium material.

*Diffuse reflection: A phenomenon where light hits a rough surface and scatters in multiple directions.

Beyond Design, Into Performance, Completing the Premium Standard

Low Gloss ABS is more than just a material with a matte finish. It is a high-performance material that not only reflects refined design trends with its sophisticated appearance, but also delivers functionality and durability in real-world applications. LG Chem’s Low Gloss ABS offers excellent processability, optimized for high-speed extrusion. It ensures consistent quality and uniform sheet thickness during forming, making it especially suitable for products where visual consistency is critical, such as refrigerator doors and interior components of home appliances.

Moreover, Low Gloss ABS offers excellent chemical resistance, allowing it to withstand foaming agents and chemical treatments used in the manufacturing process of home appliances. While conventional materials were prone to cracking due to chemical reactions during foaming, LG Chem’s Low Gloss ABS has been enhanced to resist agents such as Cyclo-Pentane. This enables stable production even under complex molding conditions. As a result, it is possible to reduce sheet thickness from the conventional 3mm to as little as 1mm without compromising stability, making it ideal for forming large appliance components such as refrigerator panels.

Applications of Low Gloss ABS: Blending into Every Space

Low Gloss ABS is more than just a surface material. It is widely used in the exterior components of premium home appliances. In particular, it is applied to large surfaces such as refrigerator doors and interior panels, playing a key role in shaping the product’s first impression. The subtle texture unique to matte finishes reduces glare and minimizes fingerprints, making it a highly practical choice for finishing materials.

These characteristics are also drawing attention in the field of interior construction materials. ABS door products, which were traditionally made with glossy ABS, are now increasingly being produced with low gloss alternatives. As a result, Low Gloss ABS is emerging as a key material that completes premium designs, going beyond the role of a simple interior component. Its subtle texture brings a calm and refined atmosphere to spaces, making it a highly regarded new material for upscale interior applications.

LG Chem’s Low Gloss ABS: Where Elegance Meets Technology

While design trends may change, the true measure of a product’s quality lies in its performance and reliability. LG Chem’s Low Gloss ABS goes beyond surface aesthetics to deliver the technological sophistication needed for real-world applications. It not only achieves a refined matte texture, but is also engineered with efficiency in extrusion, stability under foaming conditions, and versatility across various industries in mind. This makes it a well-balanced solution that meets the dual demands of design and practicality required by premium products.

In today’s FOCUS ON, we explored Low Gloss ABS, a material optimized for premium design trends. LG Chem’s Low Gloss ABS brings both elegance and advanced technology to a wide range of everyday products. We appreciate your continued interest and support as this material expands its value across even more industries.