The fluid paints consist of 4 major ingredients: Binders, Solvents, Pigments and Additives.

 

Pigments: The pigment exits to provide color, to control gloss and hiding of paint finish. Both inorganic and organic substances are used as pigments and divided into 2 groups: prime pigments and extender pigments. Titanium dioxide,
chrome green oxide, yellow and red iron oxides, etc. are among the prime pigments. Calcite (calcium carbonate), Talc (magnesium silicate), Mica, Barytes (barium sulphate), etc. can be used as extender pigments.

 

Binders: The binder is a polymeric substance and exits to hold the pigments to the surface. Binders determine performance and resistance characteristics of paints, for examples: water, chemical, abrasion resistance. Glue, Casein, Oils, Alkyds, Vinyl acetate, Emulsion, Acrylic emulsion, Styrene butadiene, Latices, Alkyd/Amino, Phenolics, Epoxies, Chlorinated rubber, Nitro cellulose, Vinyls… can be used as a binder for paints & coatings formulations.

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Solvents: The solvent exits to act as a carrier for the pigment and resin. For emulsion paints the solvent is simply water, and for resin-based paints a variety of organic compounds are used. The solvent determines the ease of paint
applications and evaporates completely once coatings has been applied. Water, turpentine, xylene, toluene, acetone, collosolve, butanol, butyl acetate… can be used as solvent for paints & coatings formulations.

 

Additives: The additive exits to improve functionalities of paints and contribute to all of paint production process. In spite a small percentage of the coating (the total level of all additives in a formulation seldom exceeds 5% of the total product), the additive impact, however, is significant as they contribute to the ease of manufacture, the stability of the coating in the package, ease of application, quality and appearance of the final film. Additive functions are always specific in nature, for examples: wetting, dispersing, anti-settling, anti-sagging, thixotropic, defoamer, deaerator, rust-inhibitor, pH-stabilizer,
bactericides, fungicides, algaecides, freeze thaw, etc.