The present invention is a process for preparing an aqueous solution of a hydrophobically modified alkylene oxide poly(urethane-urea-allophanate) thickener by contacting isocyanate reactive groups with a stoichiometric excess of a diisocyanate, followed by reaction with water. The thickener surprisingly shows a maintenance or improvement in hiding in paint formulations while maintaining other critical rheological properties.
A water soluble or water dispersible associative thickener having a) a hydrophobic portion with a calculated log P (CLogP) in the range of from 2.9 to 8.2; and b) a weight average molecular weight (Mw) from 48,000 to 150,000; wherein the associative thickener comprises a polyether, a polyalkylene oxide, a polymethacrylamide, a polysaccharide, or a polyvinyl alcohol backbone.