What Is Paint & How Is It Made?

Paint is everywhere—as a society, we rely on it for all sorts of home projects, tasks, and undertakings. However, when most of us think about paint, we think about the actual color that’s being represented, rather than all of the ingredients and chemicals present (which are fully responsible for the paint’s unique properties). With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at what paint is actually made of and how it’s transformed into the commercial product so many of us enjoy.

What Is Paint Made Of?

Paint typically consists of four primary ingredients: pigment, resin, solvent, and additives. Pigments are used to provide color, hiding, and control gloss. A few common ones include zinc oxide (white), elemental carbon (black), and iron oxide (red). Resin is the binder that’s used to hold all of the pigment particles together once they’re being milled. It also provides adhesion as well as a protective coating to the surface being painted. Solvents act as carriers for the pigments and resins, and additives are used to enhance certain properties within the paint, including the ease of brushing, scuff resistance, mold resistance, and drying resistance.

What’s The Process for Manufacturing Paint Look Like?

The process of making paint emphasizes accuracy and quality; the ingredients can’t be combined without careful consideration and attention to detail! Here’s a brief breakdown of the five critical parts of the manufacturing of paint:

1. Precise measurement of the ingredients – Ingredients are typically measured on precise scales, either by weight or by volume, in calibrated vats and graduated measuring containers.
2. Preparing the mill-base and dispersing the pigment – Pigments are powders of such a small size that they tend to clump together. By wetting them with resin and additives, they can be broken down into separate particles and mixed to form the mill-base.
3. Combining the mill-base with the let-down – In a separate vat, the remaining resin, solvent, and additives are combined into what’s called the let-down; from there, it’s combined with the mill-base.
4. Testing the quality – After any final additions have been made to the new mixture, the quality is finally tested. Properties that are evaluated include the degree of dispersion, density, viscosity, tint strength and color, dry time, application, and gloss and dry film appearance.
5. Canning the paint – Once the quality-testing is complete, a sample is taken and stored for future reference. Finally, the paint is canned and sent out to various warehouses and providers, where it’s stocked for commercial and professional use.

About Platinum Painting of Arlington

At Platinum Painting of Arlington, we know that beginning a new paint project can be quite a daunting task—which is why we’re here to help! Our knowledgeable team has helped countless homeowners around Arlington with a wide variety of projects, and we’re looking forward to assisting you next! If you have any questions about the blog or you’d like to schedule a consultation with our experts, don’t hesitate to contact us today! Telephone: (817) 784-7841.