The effect of additives on the degree of dispersion of a TiO2 pigment in an automotive coating layer and the consequential effects on its mechanical and surface topographical properties were investigated. The pigment was incorporated into a polyester-melamine polymer solution in a water/n-methylpyrrolidone vehicle with the aid of four different dispersants over a range of pigment loading levels up to a pigment volume concentration (pvc) of 50%. The quality of the dispersion was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy for the coatings formulated with the different dispersants. Two of the dispersants were found to produce high degrees of dispersion, while the remaining two yielded large aggregates. Surface smoothness and gloss of the cured coatings were found to correlate directly with the quality of the dispersion. The mechanical properties of the cured coatings were investigated using tensile tests which revealed that, for pigment loadings above 30% pvc, strength correlated directly with the quality of the dispersion. Crack propagation was found to occur through the matrix polymer in all cases. The structure of the crack path in well-dispersed systems was different from the path profile observed with the poorly dispersed systems.