This presentation attempts to enlighten the reader about various kinds of paints and varnishes, their ingredients, uses etc.

1. Paints
&
Varnishes
BY PRANJAL SINGH

2. Let us start with Paints. What are Paints?
Paints are coatings of fluid materials
which are applied over surfaces which
may be:
 POP Plastered
 Putty finished
 Of cement concrete
 Of Timber
 Of Metals
Following are the objects of painting a surface:
1. It protects the surface from weathering effects of the
atmosphere and actions by other liquids, fumes and gases.
2. It prevents decay of wood and corrosion of metal.
3. It is used to give good appearance to the surface. The
decorative effects may be created by painting and the
surface becomes clean, colourful and attractive.
4. It proves a smooth surface for easy cleaning.

3. Characteristics of an ideal paint
Following are the characteristics of an ideal paint:
1) It should possess a good spreading power i.e., maximum area of
the surface should be covered by minimum quantity of the paint.
2) The paint should be fairly cheap and economical.
3) The paint should be such that it can be easily and freely applied
on the surface.
4) The paint should be such that it dries in reasonable time and not
too rapidly.
5) The paint should be such that its colour is maintained for a long
time.
6) The paint should form a hard and durable surface.
7) The paint should not affect health of workers during its
application.
8) The paint should not be affected by weathering actions of the
atmosphere.
9) The paint should possess attractive and pleasing appearance.
10) The surface coated with paint should not show cracks when the
paint dries.
11) When applied on the surface, the paint should form a thin film of
uniform nature.
Spray painting metal^
Painting
wood

4. Ingredients of Paint
Base
Vehicle or
Carrier or
Binder
Solvent
or thinner
Colouring
pigment
Additive
and/or
Drier
Filler
 A paint can have some or all of
the following ingredients:
Paint

5. Ingredients of Paint
1. Base: A base is a solid substance in a fine state of
division and it forms the bulk of paint. It
determines the character of paint and imparts
durability to the surface which is painted. It
reduces shrinkage cracks formed on drying and it
also forms and opaque layer to obscure the
surface of material to be painted.
• Examples- White lead, Red lead, zinc oxide etc.
2. Vehicles or Carriers: The vehicles are the liquid
substances which hold the ingredients of a paint
in liquid suspension. They are required for mainly
two reasons:
• To make it possible to spread the paint evenly
and uniformly on the surface in the form of a thin
layer; and
• To provide a binder for the ingredients of a paint
so that they may stick or adhere to the surface.
• Examples- Linseed oil, Tung oil, Poppy oil
(prepared from poppy seeds), Nut oil etc.
< Linseed oil. It
is extracted
from flax seeds.

6. Ingredients of Paint
3. Solvents or Thinners: The function of solvent is
to make the paint thin so that it can be easily
applied on the surface. It basically increases the
fluidity of the paint. Thinner helps to penetrate
into the porous surfaces, thereby making the
paint smooth and easy to work with.
• Examples- Turpentine, naphtha, petroleum
spirits, water etc.
4. Colouring pigments: When it is desired to have a
different colour than the base of the paint, a
colouring pigment is to be added. The pigments
are available in the form of fine powders in
various colours and qualities.
• Some of the colouring pigments used to create
particular tints of paints are Graphite (for black)
prussian blue (for blue), Burnt umber, raw umber
(for brown), chrome green (for green), Red lead
(for red), raw sienna (for yellow) etc.
Naphtha
Chrome green
pigment
Prussian blue pigment
Raw Umber
Raw sienna powder

7. Ingredients of Paint
5. Additive and/or Drier: Additives are usually added in
small quantities in different types of paints. They affect
the properties of paint. These are also added to
improve the paint properties, such as colour opacity,
pigment dispersion, and stability.
• Driers are substances that accelerate the process of
drying of paint. The various patented driers are
available in the market. The litharge, red lead and
sulphate of manganese can be used as driers. The
litharge is the most commonly used drier.
6. Filler: Fillers are used to impart various physical
properties other than colour i.e. opacity or texture or
simply to make handling of paint better. They not only
make the paint more durable but also reduce the costly
base in paint, thereby making the paint economical.
Litharge

8. Types of Paint
1. Whitewash or Limewash- Whitewash is a low-
cost paint made by adding water to a mixture of
slaked lime. Generally we use it for the
whitening of walls and ceilings.
• Colourwashing- Colourwashing is an application
of a coloured limewash. To paint the wall in a
specific colour and impart stability in paint, a
colouring pigment and vehicle or binder like
fevicol are added in the required proportion.

9. Colourwash (Coloured lime wash paint)

10. Types of Paint
2. Distemper: A distemper is composed of base, carrier, colouring pigments and size (a
thinned version of the adhesive). For base, the whiting or chalk is used and for carrier,
the water is used. Hence distemper may also be termed as water paint.
• Thus it is more or less a paint in which whiting or chalk is used as base instead of
white lead and the water is used as carrier instead of linseed oil.
• The surface to receive distemper is thoroughly rubbed and cleaned. After that a
priming coat is applied and it is allowed to become dry. For ready made distempers,
the priming coat should be composed of materials as recommended by the makers of
distempers. For local made distempers, milk is used for priming coat. After priming
coat, the first coat of distemper is applied. The second coat of distemper is applied
after the first coat has dried and become hard.
`
Some commercially available water
based distemper paints are shown below.

11. Distemper-painted Interiors examples

12. Types of Paint
3. Cement Paint: This paint consists of white cement,
pigment and additives. It is available in dry powder
form.
• The cement paint is available in a variety of shades
and exhibits excellent decorative appearance.
• It is water proof and durable.
• It proves to be useful for surfaces which are damp at
the time of painting or are likely to become damp
after painting.
• It is desirable to provide cement paint on rough
surface rather than on smooth surface because its
adhesion power is poor on smoothly finished surface.
`

13. Types of Paint
4. Oil paint: Oil paint consists of a base like zinc oxide,
red lead, iron oxide etc., colouring pigment, binder like
linseed oil, poppy oil etc., thinner, drier and filler.
• This paint is generally applied in three coats of varying
composition. They are respectively termed as primes,
undercoats and finishing coats.
• Oil paints are glossy, smooth, durable and stain-
resistant.
• Oil paint should not be applied while there’s a
presence of moisture on walls’ surface or during
humid weather.
• It is advisable to redecorate the surfaces finished with
oil paint with a coating of fresh oil paint only. The layer
of old oil paint serves as a foundation for the fresh
paint.
• Nowadays, due to the availability of advanced types of
house paints in the market, oil paints are rarely used.

14. Types of Paint
^Metal furniture painted with oil paint.
Wood furniture painted with oil paint >

15. Types of Paint
5. Emulsion Paint: This paint contains
binding materials such as polyvinyl
acetate, synthetic resins, etc. This paint
is easy to apply and dries quickly in
about 1.5 to 2 hours. It can be used on
both exterior and interior surfaces.
• The colour of this paint is retained for a
long period and the surface of paint is
tough and it can be cleaned by washing
with water.
• Emulsions are defined as a mixture of
two liquids that don’t blend well. Two
non-blending liquids can form different
types of emulsions.
• Usually, in emulsion paints, water is
available at around 50-60% by volume,
rest are the oily portions and the solids
in the form of pigments.

16. Types of Paint
6. Enamel Paint: This paint contains white lead
or zinc white, oil, petroleum spirit and
resinous matter. It dries slowly and forms a
hard and durable surface.
• It is usually used to coat metallic and
wooden finishes/surfaces.
• It has a hard, glossy and opaque finish.
• It can be painted on walls to protect them
from tough conditions. This paint is resistant
to water, stain and heat.
• It can be used for both internal and external
walls.
• In order to improve the appearance, it is
desirable to apply a coat of titanium white in
pale linseed oil before the coat of enamel
paint.

17. Types of Paint
7. Aluminium Paint: In this paint, the very
finely ground aluminium is suspended in
either quick-drying spirit varnish or slow-
drying oil varnish as per requirement. The
spirit or oil evaporates and a thin metallic
film of aluminium is formed on the surface.
Following are the advantages of this paint:
• Visible in darkness.
• Resists heat to a certain degree.
• The surfaces of iron and steel are better
protected from corrosion by this paint than
any other paint.
• It possesses a high covering capacity. A litre
of paint can cover an area of about 200 m².
• It gives good appearance to the surface.
• It is impervious to the moisture.
• It possesses high electrical resistance.
• It is widely used for painting gas tanks, hot
water pipes, marine piers, oil storage tanks,
radiators, etc.
Aluminium painted vintage gas tank
(bike)
^ Aluminium painted machinery

18. Types of Paint
8. Anticorrosive paint: This paint essentially consists of oil and a strong drier. A pigment
such as chromium oxide or red lead or zinc chrome is taken and after mixing it with
some quantity of very fine sand, it is added to the paint. The advantages of an
anticorrosive paint are as follows:
1) It is cheap.
2) It lasts for a long duration.
3) The appearance of the paint is black.
9. Bituminous Paint: This paint is prepared by dissolving asphalt or mineral pitches or
vegetable bitumen in any type of oil or petroleum. A variety of bituminous paints is
available. The paint presents a black appearance and it is used for painting ironwork
under water.

19. Types of Paint
10. Luminous Paint: Luminous paint or luminescent paint is paint that
exhibits luminescence. In other words, it gives off visible light through fluorescence,
phosphorescence, or radio luminescence. The surface on which luminous paint is
applied shines like radium dials of watches after the source of light has been cut off.
The paint should be applied on surfaces which are free from corrosion or any other
lead paint. This paint is of three types:
1. Fluorescent Paint
2. Phosphorescent Paint 3. Radio luminescent
Paint

20. Types of Paint
10. Luminous Paint
Phosphorescent (glow in the dark) paints

21. Failure of Paint
The failure of paint job on wall or wooden members or structural steelwork is not
uncommon. The paint job, though an easy job, has peculiarities of its own. At the same
time, a failed paint job involves substantial expenditure by way of scraping the old paint,
repairing the surface and cost of new paint. Following are the causes of failure of a paint
job:
1. Bad workmanship: The paint job demands a
certain degree of skill. A careless painter may be in
the habit of thinning paint too much so that he can
save material and labour both. The layer of paint
can even be absent for portions of surface which
are difficult to reach.
2. Conditions for painting: The job of painting should be carried out under favourable
conditions. It should be seen that dirt, dust and moisture do not get entrapped during
the process of painting. Also, very high or low temperatures and humidity during the
application of paint can also seriously affect the performance of most of the paints.

22. Failure of Paint
3. Moisture: The leakage through sanitary installations, floors, roofs, water pipes, etc.,
make the painted surface moist and in case of newly constructed building, the water
used during construction activity may require time to evaporate. Whatever may be
the reason, the presence of moisture accelerates the process of separating the paint
layer from surface.
4. Salts and alkalies: The movement of moisture can
transport salts from either internal volume of
masonry or new deposits. Such salts and alkalies
saponify [turn (fat or oil) into soap by reaction
with an alkali] the oil paints.
5. Unsuitable surfaces: If the surfaces are not
properly prepared or treated to receive the paint,
it may lead to the failure of paint job.
6. Wrong choice of paint: Depending upon the climatic conditions, nature of surface to
be painted and various other factors affecting the performance of paint, the choice
of paint should be made. It is found that low quality paints are cheap in initial cost.
But the durability of such painted surfaces is very poor.

23. Defects in Painting
Following are the usual defects which are found in the painting work:
1. Blistering: This defect is
caused by water vapour
which is trapped behind
the painted surface. The
formations of bubbles
under the film of paint
causes this defect. Blistering Blistering
2. Bloom: In this defect,
the formation of dull
patches occurs on the
finished surface. It is due
to the defect in paint or
bad ventilation.
Bloom
Bloom

24. Defects in Painting
3. Fading: The gradual loss of colour is known as
the fading and it is mainly due to the effect of
sunlight on pigments of paint.
4. Flaking: A portion of the painted surface is
sometimes seen loose. It is known as flaking
and is due to poor adhesion.
Fading
Flaking of paint

25. Defects in Painting
5. Flashing: Sometimes the glossy
patches are seen on the painted
surface. This is known as the flashing
and it is mainly due to poor
workmanship, cheap paint or weather
actions.
6. Grinning: When the final coat of paint
has not sufficient opacity, the
background is clearly visible. This is
known as grinning.
7. Sagging: When a vertical or inclined
surface is too thickly painted, the
defect of sagging occurs.
Grinning
Sagging
Flashing

26. Defects in Painting
8. Saponification: The formation of soap patches on
the painted surface is termed as the
saponification and it is due to chemical action of
alkalies.
9. Wrinkling: The surface of the paint which wrinkles
and gathers together is called wrinkling paint. It
forms a layer like undulating waves on the painted
surface. The main reason behind an appearance
of waves can be application of too much paint or
the oil in the paint is more than required.
Wrinkling paint is more noticeable with enamels
and varnishes.
Saponification
Wrinkling
Wrinkling

27. Storage of paints
Paint can be kept fresher for longer by following the
points mentioned below:
1. Paint should always be kept in securely closed
containers where the air can’t spoil it. If one is
halfway through painting and needs to store tins
that are half full or more, lid should be removed
and top covered with cling wrap. After that lid
should be replaced and the paint product should
be labelled with name and manufacturer, colour
name or code, and date last used.
2. In case of leftover paint, tins less than half full
can be decanted into smaller containers with
tight lids. Again, care should be taken to label the
lid with the details as above.
3. Paint is best stored at a constant temperature,
away from direct sunlight and in a frost-free
environment.

28. Now let us learn about Varnishing
The term varnish is used to indicate the solution of resins or resinous substances
prepared either in alcohol, oil or turpentine.
Following are the main objects of applying
varnish on a wooden surface:
•It brightens the appearance of the grain in
wood.
•It renders brilliancy to the painted surface.
•It protects the painted surface from
atmospheric actions.
•It protects the unpainted wooden surfaces of
doors, windows, roof trusses, floors, etc., from
the actions of atmospheric agencies.

29. Characteristics of an ideal varnish
Following are the characteristics of an
ideal varnish:
1. It should render the surface glossy.
2. It should dry rapidly and present a
finished surface which is uniform in
nature and pleasing in appearance.
3. The colour of varnish should not fade away when the surface is exposed to
atmospheric actions.
4. The protecting film developed by varnish should be tough, hard and durable.
5. It should not shrink or show cracks after drying.

30. Ingredients of a varnish
Following are the ingredients of a varnish:
1. Resins or resinous substances: The commonly
used resins are copal, lac or shellac and rosin.
The copal is a hard substance and is available
from the earth at places where pine trees
existed in past. It is available in variety of
forms. The lac or shellac is obtained by
exudation of some types of insects in India.
The rosin is obtained from pine trees. Other
resins are amber, mastic, gum dammar, etc.
2. Driers: The function of a drier in varnish is to
accelerate the process of drying. The common
driers used in varnishes are litharge, lead
acetate etc.
v Copal resin
Shellac
Rosin v
Lead acetate

31. Ingredients of a varnish
3. Solvents: Depending upon the nature of resin, the type of solvent is decided.
Following table shows the solvent for different resins.
No. Solvent Resins
1. Boiled linseed oil Amber, Copal
2. Methylated spirits of wine Lac or shellac
3. Turpentine Mastic, Gum dammar, Rosin
4. Wood naphtha (Methanol) Cheap varieties of resins

32. Types of varnishes
Depending upon the solvent, the varnishes are classified into the following four
categories:
1. Oil varnishes: In this type of varnish, the hard resins
such as amber and copal are dissolved in linseed oil
and if the varnish is not workable, a small quantity
of turpentine is added. The oil varnishes dry slowly
but they form hard and durable surface. In fact
these are the hardest and most suitable varnishes.
They are specially adopted for exposed works which
required frequent cleaning. They are used on
coaches and fittings in houses.
2. Spirit varnishes: Resins of soft variety such as lac or
shellac are used with methylated spirit of wine as
solvent in this type of varnish. These varnish dry
quickly but are not durable and are easily affected
by weathering actions. These are greatly used for
furniture. The French polish is a variety of this class
of varnish and the desired colouring tinge can be
obtained by addition of suitable colouring pigment.
< A commercially
available variety
of French polish.

33. Types of varnishes
• French polishing is a method of applying shellac
based spirit varnish to wood furniture, musical
instruments, or decorative accents in many thin
layers—typically well over 100—that results in a
highly glossy, glass-smooth surface with a rich
depth that beautifully highlights the grain of the
wood.
• The French polish is one of the finest finish for
ornamental furniture prepared from superior
quality of wood.
^ Furniture before and after using
French polish

34. Types of varnishes
3. Turpentine varnishes: The turpentine is
used as solvent in this type of varnish.
The resins adopted are of soft variety
such as gum dammar, mastic and rosin.
These varnishes dry quickly and possess
light colours. They are not durable and
tough as oil varnishes.
4. Water varnishes: The shellac is dissolved
in hot water and enough quantity of
either ammonia or borax or potash or
soda is added such that shellac is
dissolved. These varnishes are used for
varnishing maps, pictures, etc. They are
also used for delicate internal work and
as a covering for wall paper.

35. Process of varnishing
1. Preparation of surface: The woodwork is thoroughly rubbed down by means of sand
paper or pumice stone. The surface is then made smooth and clean.
2. Knotting: The process of knotting is then carried out. [The term knotting is used to
indicate the covering or killing of all knots in woodwork with a substance through
which the resin cannot exude or come out.]
3. Stopping: The surface of woodwork is then stopped. This is done by means of hot
weak glue size. It will fill up the pores on the surface. Alternatively, the boiled linseed
oil can be applied in two coats. When the surface becomes dry it should once again
be dubbed down with sandpaper.
4. Coats of varnish: The varnish is then applied on the surface in thin coats. The next
coat is applied after the previous one has thoroughly dried up. The varnishing should
not be done with ordinary paint brushes. But fine haired varnishing brushes should be
used.
The application of varnish on the woodwork is carried out in the
following way:

36. THANK YOU!