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Paint

arts Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Paint is a material or mixture applied to a solid surface. Once it dries, it forms a thin, film-like layer. When used for art, this process creates an image called a painting.

Brush and watercolours
Brush and watercolours

Most paints function using either an oil-based or a water-based system. These two categories have very different characteristics. They require different solvents for clean-up. They also cure, or harden, differently depending on the outside ambient temperature of the object being painted.

To understand how paint works, one must look at its components. The color comes from a pigment. This pigment is often suspended in a liquid. The liquid part is known as the vehicle. The vehicle contains the binder, which is the film-forming component. The binder is the only part always present in all paint formulations. It determines the gloss, durability, flexibility, and toughness of the final layer. The proportion of the wet coating weight that is binder is called the vehicle solids.

Unio pictorum 2
Unio pictorum 2

There are different ways that binders create a film. Some use thermoplastic mechanisms. This includes drying, where the solvent simply evaporates to leave a film. It also includes coalescence. In coalescence, the water and a small amount of solvent evaporate. This draws tiny polymer particles together to fuse into a permanent structure. This is how latex paint in the United States or emulsion paint in the UK works. Other paints use thermosetting mechanisms. These involve true chemical curing reactions among the polymers in the binder. This creates a cross-linked film through polymerization.

EWM paint 2007
EWM paint 2007

Humans have used paint for many thousands of years. Some cave paintings using red or yellow ochre and charcoal are 40,000 years old.

Lascaux, Megaloceros
Lascaux, Megaloceros

In South Africa, archaeologists found a 100,000-year-old ochre-based mixture in Blombos Cave. Ancient Egyptians used six colors: white, black, blue, red, yellow, and green. They mixed pigments with a gummy substance to make them stick. The oldest known oil paintings are Buddhist murals in Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley. These artists used walnut and poppy seed oils to create their work.

As technology improved, the way paint was made changed significantly. In the 13th century, oil was used to add detail to tempera paintings. By the 17th century, painters ground pigment and oil into a paste using a mortar and pestle. This manual process often exposed workers to lead poisoning from white-lead powder. In 1718, Marshall Smith invented an engine for grinding colors in England. This increased efficiency for pigment grinding. By the mid-18th century, steam-powered mills were used during the Industrial Revolution. In 1866, Sherwin-Williams began making paint that was ready to use straight from the tin.

Modern chemistry has introduced new types of binders and pigments. During World War II, a shortage of linseed oil led to the invention of alkyds. These are artificial resins that hold color well and last a long time.

Vlg shop
Vlg shop

We also now use zinc oxide as an alternative to lead-based pigments. In the 21st century, scientists created paints using structural color. Instead of using minerals, these paints use aluminium nanoparticles. These particles are deposited on thin, double-sided mirrors and then ground into small flakes. This method allows researchers to tune colors by adjusting the size of the nanoparticles.

These structural paints offer many advantages for modern technology. They weigh much less than conventional paints. This is helpful for air and road vehicles. They also reflect heat from sunlight. Preliminary experiments suggest they can reduce temperatures by 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. These modern paints are also less toxic than older versions. From ancient cave walls to high-tech vehicles, paint remains a vital way to change and protect surfaces.

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🖼️ Images & Media (7)
File:Lascaux, Megaloceros.jpg
Lascaux, Megaloceros.jpg
File:Window in a white wall. Suzdal, Russia.jpg
Window in a white wall. Suzdal, Russia.jpg
File:Brush and watercolours.jpg
Brush and watercolours.jpg
File:Unio pictorum 2.jpg
Unio pictorum 2.jpg
File:EWM paint 2007.jpg
EWM paint 2007.jpg
File:Vlg shop.jpg
Vlg shop.jpg
File:Kwadi.jpg
Kwadi.jpg
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