Paints: Ingredients And Types

Paints

Paint is a liquid, liquefiable composition, which after application to a coating in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. To protect the color or texture to objects, it is often used. Paints are made up of four ingredient categories; they are pigments, Binders, liquids, and additives. For obtaining a good quality of paint, pigments and binders should be mixed with paints in higher quantity. We will discuss about the paints ingredients and types.

Pigments

A pigment provides color, toughness and coverage. It is classified into synthetic or natural types. Clays, calcium carbonate, mica, silicas and talcs are included in natural pigments. Engineered molecules, precipitated calcium carbonate and synthetic pyrogenic silicas are included in synthetic types.   Filler is the special type of pigment, which serves to thicken the film, support the structure and increase the volume of paint. Even floor paints subjected to abrasion contains fine quartz sand as filler. Pigment like lead pigment that is used in lead paint is toxic.

Binders

It is commonly said as vehicle. It is used to bind the pigment together and strongly influences potentials like gloss potential, exterior durability, flexibility, and toughness. It also includes synthetic or natural resins such as alkyds, acrylic, vinyl-acrylics, vinyl acetate/ethylene (VAE), polyurethanes, polyesters, melamine resins, epoxy, or oils.  According to drying or curing mechanism it can be categorized, the four most are solvent evaporation, oxidative croolinking, catalysed/cross linked polymerization, and coalescence.

Liquids

It provides desired consistency.

Additives

Paint can have the wide variety of miscellaneous additives, and are usually added in very small amounts, yet give a considerable effect on products. For example, additives used to modify surface tension, improve flow properties, improve the finished appearance, increase wet edge, improve pigment stability, control foaming, etc.  Additives are the parts of Paint ingredients and types, which are used to provide specific paint properties, for example preservatives keep the paint fresh.

Types of paint

The paint ingredients and types includes,

Varnish

It is ideal for natural- grained look of woodwork, interior and exterior.

Enamel

This is a varnish added with pigment, which has toughness and durability of a varnish.

Alkyd

Due to its durability and wash ability, it is used in high traffic areas like kitchen, wood work, etc. For cleaning up, it requires thinner or turpentine.

Epoxy

This is two part mix type coating, and it is extremely durable.

Urethane

It is great coating for all wood work, especially flooring and this is subjected to abrasion.

Questions:

• What is paint?
• What is pigment?