The 5 components of paint are base, vehicle, pigment, drier and thinner. In this blog post, you will learn about these basic components of Paint in detail.
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Table of Contents
1. Base
Base is the main component of paint that serves as the foundation for subsequent layers or colors, and also possesses binding properties to form an opaque coating.
A variety of bases are commonly used in paints, such as white lead, red lead, zinc oxide, iron oxide, titanium white, aluminum powder, and lithopone.
While lead-based paints are suitable for painting iron and steel surfaces due to their excellent adhesion, they are vulnerable to atmospheric effects and should not be used as the final coat.
Zinc oxide is an effective base but can be expensive, whereas lithopone, a combination of zinc sulfide and barium sulfate, is a less costly alternative.
Although it provides a good appearance, lithopone is not suitable for exterior use as it is susceptible to daylight.
Lead-based paints have been phased out in numerous countries due to health concerns associated with lead exposure, and safer alternatives are now widely available
2. Vehicle
The vehicles are the liquid substances which hold the ingredients of a paint in
liquid suspension and permit them to be applied on the surface.
Linseed oil, Tung oil and Nut oil are used as vehicles in paints. Of the above four oils, linseed oil is very
commonly used vehicles. Boiling makes the oil thicker and darker. Linseed oil reacts with oxygen and hardens by making a thin film.
3. Pigment
Pigments are added to give required colour. Pigments are very fine particles and have a reinforcing effect on thin film of the paint.
The common pigments for different colours are given below:
- Red—venedion red, red lead and Indian red.
- Brown—burned timber, raw and burned sienna
- Green—chrome green, copper sulphate.
- Blue—prussian blue and ultra marine
- Yellow—ochre and chrome yellow.
- Black—Lamp black, suit and charcoal black.
4. Drier
Driers are the compounds of different types of metals like lead, manganese, cobalt. The purpose of a drier is to absorb oxygen from the air and supply it to the vehicle for hardening. The drier should not be added until the paint is about to be used. Too much drier is harmful because it destroys elasticity and causes flaking.
5. Thinner Or Solvent
Solvent makes paint thinner and hence increases the area covered by paint. It helps in spreading paint uniformly over the surface. Terpentine and neptha are commonly used thinners. After paint applied, thinner evaporates and paint dries.
Faqs
Base, vehicle, pigment, drier and thinner.