DEFINITION OF IMPORTANT TERMS USED IN
THE PAINT INDUSTRY
Abatement: Involves either
removal of the painted surface, covering the painted surface with an impermeable surface, or covering surface with heavy-duty
coating (encapsulant).
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Acrylic: A synthetic resin
used in high-performance water-based coatings. A coating in which the binder contains acrylic resins.
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Adhesion: The ability
of dry paint to attach to and remain fixed on the surface without blistering, flaking, cracking or being removed by tape.
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Aerosol: A product that
uses compressed gas to spray the coating from its container.
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Historical Note:
Aerosol paint products have not contained chlorofluorocarbons--CFCs--since 1978.
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Air Cure: One method by
which liquid coatings cure to a dry film. Oxygen from the air enters the film and cross-links the resin molecules. Also called
"Air Dry" and "Oxidizing."
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Alkyd: Synthetic resin
modified with oil. Coating that contains alkyd resins in the binder.
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Amide: A functional group
which can act as an epoxy resin curing agent.
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Anti-fouling Paint: Paints formulated especially for boat decks and hulls, docks and
other below-water-line surfaces and structures to prevent the growth of barnacles and other organisms on ships' bottoms.
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Binder: Solid ingredients
in a coating that hold the pigment particles in suspension and attach them to the substrate. Consists of resins (e.g., oils,
alkyd, latex). The nature and amount of binder determine many of the paint's performance properties--washability, toughness,
adhesion, color retention, etc.
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Blistering: Formation
of dome-shaped projections in paints or varnish films resulting from local loss of adhesion and lifting of the film from the
underlying surface.
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Body: The thickness or
viscosity of a fluid.
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Boiled Oil: Linseed (sometimes
soya) oil that was formerly heated for faster drying. Today, chemical agents are added to speed up the drying process.
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Butadiene: A gas which
is chemically combined with styrene to create a resin used in latex binders, styrene-butadiene.
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Catalyst: Substance whose
presence increases the rate of a chemical
reaction, e.g., acid catalyst added to an epoxy resin system to accelerate drying time.
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Chalking: Formation of
a powder on the surface of a paint film caused by disintegration of the binder during weathering. Can be affected by the choice
of pigment or binder.
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Chroma: A measurement
of color. The degree of saturation of a hue. A color at its full intensity has maximum chroma.
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Clear Coating: A transparent
protective and/or decorative film; generally the final coat of sealer applied to automotive finishes.
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Coalescent Aid: The small
amount of solvent contained in latex coatings. Not a true solvent since it does not actually dissolve the latex resins, the
coalescent aid helps the latex resins flow together, aiding in film formation.
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Coating: A paint, varnish,
lacquer or other finish used to create a protective and/or decorative layer. Generally used to refer to paints and coatings
applied in an industrial setting as part of the original equipment manufacturer's (OEM) process.
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Cohesion: A bonding together
of a single substance to itself. Internal adhesion.
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Colorant: Concentrated
color (dyes or pigments) that can be added to paints to make specific colors.
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Colorfast: Non-fading
in prolonged exposure to light.
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Color Retention: The ability
of paint to keep its original color. Major threats to color retention are exposure to ultraviolet radiation and abrasion by
weather or repeated cleaning.
Corrosion Inhibitive:
A type of metal paint or primer that prevents rust by preventing moisture from reaching the metal. Zinc phosphate, barium
metaborate and strontium chromate (all pigments) are common ingredients in corrosion-inhibitive coatings. These pigments absorb
any moisture that enters the paint film.
Creosote: A liquid coating
made from coal tar once used as a wood preservative. It has been banned for consumer use because of potential health risks.
Cure, Curing: The process
whereby a liquid coating becomes a hard film.
Dead Flat: No gloss or
sheen.
Diluent: A liquid used
in coatings to reduce the consistency and make a coating flow more easily. The water in latex coatings is a diluent. A diluent
may also be called a "Reducer," "Thinner," "Reducing Agent" or "Reducing Solvent."
Driers: Various compounds
added to coatings to speed the drying.
Dry Colors: Powder-type
colors to be mixed with water, alcohol or mineral spirits and resin to form a paint or stain.
Drying Oil: An oil that
when exposed to air will dry to a solid through chemical reaction with air: linseed oil, tung oil, perilla, fish oil, soybean
oil.
Earth Pigments: Those
pigments that are obtained from the earth, including barytes, ocher, chalk and graphite.
Eggshell: Gloss lying
between semigloss and flat.
Emulsion: A mixture of
solids suspended in a liquid.
Emulsion Paint: Coating
in which resins are suspended in water, then flow together with the aid of an emulsifier. Example: latex paint.
Enamel: Broad classification
of paints that dry to a hard, usually glossy finish. Most equipment-coating enamels require baking. Enamels for walls do not.
Epoxy: Extremely tough
and durable synthetic resin used in some coatings. Epoxy coatings are extremely tough, durable and highly resistant to chemicals,
abrasion, moisture and alcohol.
Extender: Ingredients
added to paint to increase coverage, reduce cost, achieve durability, alter appearance, control rheology and influence other
desirable properties. Less expensive than prime hiding pigments such as titanium dioxide. Examples: barium sulphate, calcium
carbonate, clay, gypsum, silica, talc. May also improve coating performance.
Film Build: Amount of
thickness produced in an application. Millimeters (mils) of dry film per mils of applied wet film.
Film Thickness: Depth
or thickness of the dry coating in millimeters.
Fire Resistance: The ability
of a coating to withstand fire or to protect the substrate to which it is applied from fire damage.
Fire Retardant: A coating
which will (1) reduce flame spread, (2) resist ignition when exposed to high temperature or (3) insulate the substrate and
delay damage to the substrate.
Flat: A surface that scatters
or absorbs the light falling on it so as to be substantially free from gloss or sheen (0-15 gloss on a 60-degree gloss meter).
Forced Dry: Baking the
paint between room temperature and 150� F to speed the drying process.
Galvanizing: Process in
which a thin coating of zinc is applied to iron or steel to prevent rust.
Gloss: The luster or shininess
of paints and coatings. Different types of gloss are frequently arbitrarily differentiated, such as sheen, distinctness-of-image
gloss, etc. Trade practice recognizes the following gloss levels, in increasing order of gloss: flat (or matte)-- practically
free from sheen, even when viewed from oblique angles (usually less than 15 on 60-degree meter); eggshell-- usually 20-35
on 60-degree meter; semi-gloss--usually 35-70 on 60-degree meter; full-gloss--smooth and almost mirror-like surface when viewed
from all angles, usually above 70 on 60-degree meter.
Gloss Meter: A device
for measuring the light reflectance of coatings. Different brands with the same description (such as semi-gloss or flat) may
have quite different ratings on the gloss meter.
Hardener: Curing agent
for epoxies or fiberglass.
HEPA Vacuum: High-efficiency
particulate air-filtered vacuum designed to remove lead- contaminated dust.
Inert: A material that
will not react chemically with other ingredients.
In-place Management: A
series of steps used as an alternative to lead-based paint removal. Improves condition of intact lead-based paint to reduce
and/or eliminate hazards without total removal.
Intumescence: A mechanism
whereby fire-retardant paints protect the substrates to which they are applied. An intumescent paint puffs up when exposed
to high temperatures, forming an insulating, protective layer over the substrate.
Lacquer: A fast-drying
usually clear coating that is highly flammable and dries by solvent evaporation only. Can be reconstituted after drying by
adding solvent.
Historical Note:
The word lacquer is derived from the word lac, which describes the secretions of the lac beetle. This insect, found mainly
in Asia, deposits its secretions on branches of trees and this crop is later harvested. The resin developed by the insects,
in its original state, contains a red dye. This dye is separated from the resin by boiling in water. Next the residue resin,
known as seed lac, is melted, strained, cooled and flaked and then becomes shellac.
Latex-based Paint: General
term used for water-based emulsion paints made with synthetic binders such as 100% acrylic, vinyl acrylic, terpolymer or styrene
acrylic. A stable emulsion of polymers and pigment in water.
Lead: A metal, previously
used as a pigment in paints. Discontinued in the early 1950s by industry consensus standard, and banned by the Consumer Products
Safety Commission in 1978 because of its toxicity.
Linseed Oil: Drying oil
made from the flax seed. Used as a solvent in many oil- based paints. "Boiled" linseed oil can be used to protect wood from
water damage. Sometimes used as a furniture polish.
Liquid Driers: Solution
of soluble driers in organic solvents.
Lithopone: A white pigment
of barium sulfate and zinc sulfide.
Historical Note:
Lithopone was once a primary substitute for lead carbonate or "white lead" pigments; it has been largely replaced by titanium
dioxide.
Marine Paint: Coating
specially designed for immersion in water and exposure to marine atmosphere.
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS):
Information sheet that lists any hazardous substance that comprises one percent or more of the product's total volume. Also
lists procedures to follow in the event of fire, explosion, leak or exposure to hazardous substance by inhalation, ingestion
or contact with skin or eyes. Coatings manufacturers are required to provide retailers with an MSDS for every product they
sell to the retailer. Sales clerks should make MSDSs available to retail customers.
Mineral Spirits: Paint thinner. Solvent distilled from petroleum.
Monomer: Substance composed
of low molecular weight molecules capable of reacting with like or unlike molecules to form a polymer.
Naphtha: A petroleum distillate
used mostly by professionals (as opposed to do-it- yourself painters) for cleanup and to thin solvent-based coatings. A volatile
organic compound (see VOC).
Natural Resins: Resins
from trees, plants, fish and insects. Examples: damars, copals.
Nonvolatile: The portion
of a coating left after the solvent evaporates; sometimes called the solids content.
Oil Paint: A paint that
contains drying oil, oil varnish or oil-modified resin as the film-forming ingredient. The term is commonly and incorrectly
used to refer to any paint soluble by organic solvents.
Oleoresin: A natural plant
product that contains oil and resins. Turpentine is an example.
Oxidation: Chemical reaction
upon exposure to oxygen. Some coatings cure by oxidation, when oxygen enters the liquid coating and cross-links the resin
molecules. This film-forming method is also called "Air Cure" and "Air Dry." (Oxidation also causes rust on bare metals.)
Paint: A coating including
resin, a solvent, additives, pigments and, in some products, a diluent. Paints are generally opaque, and commonly represent
the portion of the industry known as "architectural coatings."
Paint Remover: A chemical
that softens old paint or varnish and permits it to be easily scraped off. Also called "stripper."
Penetrating Finish: A
finish that sinks into the substrate, as opposed to settling on the surface.
Pigment: Insoluble, finely
ground materials that give paint its properties of color and hide. Titanium dioxide is the most important pigment used to
provide hiding in paint. Other pigments include anatase titanium, barium metaborate, barium sulphate, burnt sienna, burnt
umber, carbon black, China clay, chromium oxide, iron oxide, lead carbonate, strontium chromate, Tuscan red, zinc oxide, zinc
phosphate and zinc sulfide.
Polymer: Substance, the
molecules of which consist of one or more structural units repeated any number of times; vinyl resins are examples of true
polymers.
Polymerization: The interlocking
of molecules by chemical reaction to produce very large molecules. The process of making plastics and plastic-based resins.
Polyvinyl Chloride: A synthetic resin used in the binders of coatings.
Tends to discolor under exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Commonly called "vinyl."
Primer: First complete
coat of paint of a painting system applied to a surface. Such paints are designed to provide adequate adhesion to new surfaces
or are formulated to meet the special requirements of the surfaces.
Propellant: The gas used
to expel materials from aerosol containers.
Resin: Synthetic or natural
material used as the binder in coatings. Can be translucent or transparent, solid or semi-solid. Examples: acrylic, alkyd,
copal ester, epoxy, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, silicone.
Rosin: Natural resin obtained
from living pine trees or from dead tree stumps and knots.
Semi-gloss Finish: Finish
that has a low luster sheen. Semi-gloss paints are formulated to give this result (usually 35-70 degrees on a 60-degree meter).
Shellac: A coating made
from purified lac dissolved in alcohol, often bleached white.
Silicone: A resin used
in the binders of coatings. Also used as an additive to provide specific properties, e.g., defoamer. Paints containing silicone
are very slick and resist dirt, graffiti and bacterial growth, and are stable in high heat.
Solids: The part of the
coating that remains on a surface after the vehicle has evaporated. The dried paint film. Also called Nonvolatile.
Solvent: Any liquid which
can dissolve a resin. Generally refers to the liquid portion of paints and coatings that evaporates as the coating dries.
Source Reduction: Steps
taken to reduce waste generation and toxicity at the source through more effective utilization of raw materials and reformulation.
Specular Gloss: Mirror-like
finish (usually 60 degrees on a 60-degree meter).
Substrate: Any surface
to which a coating is applied.
Titanium Dioxide: White
pigment in virtually all white paints. Prime hiding pigment in most paints.
Turpentine: Distilled
pine oil, used as a cleaner, solvent or thinner for oil-based and alkyd coatings.
Urethane: An important
resin in the coatings industry. A true urethane coating is a two-component product that cures when an isocyanate (the catalyst)
prompts a chemical reaction that unites the components.
Vehicle: Portion of a
coating that includes all liquids and the binder. The vehicle and the pigment are the two basic components of paint.
Viscosity: The property
of a fluid whereby it tends to resist relative motion within itself.
Volatility: The defining
quality of a liquid that evaporates quickly when exposed to air.
Volatile Organic Compound: Organic chemicals and petrochemicals that
emit vapors while evaporating. In paints, VOC generally refers to the solvent portion of the paint which, when it evaporates,
results in the formation of paint film on the substrate to which it was applied.
Volume Solids: Solid ingredients
as a percentage of total ingredients. The volume of pigment plus binder divided by the total volume, expressed as a percent.
High-volume solids mean a thicker dry film with improved durability.
