What is Paint and How Does it Work – A Deep Dive Into The Makings Of Paint
We’ve all heard of paint and most of us have a good idea of what to do with it. However have you ever considered what paint is, why does it work so well and what is it composed of. This article advises all.
Below is technically how paint is defined from an industrial paint point of view.
“Paint is a product, liquid or in powder form, containing pigment(s), which, when applied to a substrate, forms an opaque film having protective, decorative or specific technical properties”.
“Varnish is a product which, when applied to a substrate, forms a solid, transparent film having protective decorative or specific technical properties. In fact, varnish (clear coating) is substantially the same as a paint, the difference being that varnishes contain no pigments”.
All well and good you say but how does a coating such as paint actually work?
Coatings (what we’ll describe here as industrial paint) prevent corrosion primarily by restricting the availability of water, oxygen and ionic materials to the metallic surface underneath. Coatings therefore are usually barrier materials. The basic idea of a barrier carries with it the idea of cohesiveness, resiliency and strength. It is toward these objectives of cohesiveness, resiliency and strength that the formulator of maintenance finishes continues the development of improved coatings.
In addition to the barrier effect, a coating may also possess other features calculated to prevent corrosion. Corrosion inhibiting pigments may be present. These act toward inhibiting the formation of electrolytic cells.
Pigments actually contributing strength to the barrier may also be made to regulate the acidity of the substrate surface and thus retard the corrosion for which acid conditions are required.
The surface of the topcoat may be resistant to bacterial growth and act to prevent colaoji.orgrrosion from the penetrating acid products of microbiological metabolism. These considerations indicate the barrier and strength functions of maintenance coatings.
Just as all architectural structures are built on a foundation, likewise all coating materials are built on a foundation. Just as large buildings require strong, carefully designed and constructed foundations, highly durable coating systems require carefully designed and constructed foundations. Just as a building consists of a number of interlocking parts, each part having a different function, likewise a coating system consists of a number of interlocking parts, each part having a different function.
In a building the parts are classified as foundation, superstructure and roof; likewise a paint system is classified as primer paint, intermediate coating and topcoat.
In construction small buildings where strength and long life is not required, minimum foundations and minimum superstructures are frequently tolerated.
Likewise, where a paint coating is not intended for industrial maintenance but is used for a short time and for decorative purposes only, considerations of strength, substrata, and therefore useful life are overlooked.
But in industrial new start projects and maintenance coatings where extremes of reliability, durability and resistance to corrosive action are required and must be achieved, the engineering factors of substrate preparation, strong foundation priming coats, reinforcing intermediate coats and weather resistant topcoats must be carefully provided for – you need an .
A reliable new start or maintenance coating system consists of a primer, one or more intermediate coats and a topcoat. What it attaches to and how this attachment occurs is of basic importance in relation to the ultimate utility of the system.
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