We apply paint for several different reasons: identification, sanitation, protection, and of course, decoration. But when most people think about paint and all of the shades and colors that exist, very few stop to ponder and appreciate the ingredients used and the expertise of the paint-manufacturing process. Keep reading to learn a little more about what goes into the paint that’s used to make your home beautiful, along with a brief breakdown of how it’s made.
What’s Used to Make Paint?
In the past, all sorts of different ingredients were combined to make paint—colored rocks, earth, bone, minerals, and basically anything and everything else at our disposal was used, whether or not it was necessarily effective or generally safe. But a lot has changed, and now paint-makers use a carefully curated selection of high-grade materials to ensure that the paint you’re purchasing will meet your standards. Here’s a closer look at the four main ingredients used these days to manufacture paint:
- Pigments – These are used to provide color, hiding, and control gloss. A few common ones include zinc oxide and titanium dioxide (white), iron oxide (red and yellow), and chromium oxide (green).
- Resins – These hold the pigment particles together after they’ve been separated and milled, and they also provide adhesion and some level of protection to the painted surface.
- Solvents – These act as carriers for pigments and resins and include things like turpentine or even water.
- Additives – These enhance specific properties within the paint including ease of brushing, drying and sag resistance, mold resistance, and scuff resistance.
What Does the Paint-Manufacturing Process Look Like?
Paint is generally manufactured in large batches: often 200 or so liters for special products and up to 10,000 liters for mainline white products. Though it varies slightly based on the type of product being made, the process can usually be summarized by these five steps:
- Measuring the ingredients – All of the ingredients are measured (by either weight or volume) using highly-accurate scales before they’re distributed into calibrated vats and measuring containers.
- Preparing the mill-base – Since pigments are usually powders of such a small size that they clump together, they need to be broken down to form the mill-base. This is done by mixing in resins and certain additives and milling the mixture.
- Adding the let-down – In a separate vat, the rest of the paint ingredients are combined and mixed. This mixture, called the let-down, is stirred into the mill-base after any final additions are made.
- Testing the product – The quality of the mixture is tested for properties including the degree of dispersion, consistency, density, tint strength and color, application, dry time, and gloss and dry film appearance.
- Canning and distribution – After the batch has passed inspection, a sample is taken and stored for future reference before the paint is finally canned and then sent off for distribution.
About Platinum Painting of Keller
Here at Platinum Painting of Keller, we’ve helped countless homeowners in the Keller area with all kinds of paint projects, and we’d be more than happy to help guide you through the process of painting your home. If you have any questions about the blog or you’d like to get in touch with our team, feel free to contact us online or over the phone for assistance! Telephone: (817) 697-0109.