A)
Abatement:
Involves either removal of the painted surface, covering the painted surface with an impermeable surface, or covering surface with heavy-duty coating (encapsulant).
Abrasive:
Substance used for wearing away a surface by rubbing.
Acrylic:
a synthetic resin used in latex coating.
Adhesion:
The strength of a paint or sealant to remain attached to a surface.
Aerosol:
A product that uses compressed gas to spray the coating from its container. Historical Note: Aerosol paint products have not contained chlorofluorocarbons-CFCs-since 197.
Air Cure:
One method by which liquid coatings cure to a dry film. Oxygen from the air enters the film and cross-links the resin molecules. Also called "Air Dry" and "Oxidizing."
Alkyd:
Synthetic resin modified with oil. Coating that contains alkyd resins in the binder.
Alkalai:
A basic, or caustic, chemical substance. Found in fresh cement, concrete, plaster and certain household cleaning products.
Amide:
A functional group which can act as an epoxy resin curing agent.
Anti-fouling Paint:
Paints formulated especially for boat decks and hulls, docks and other below-water-line surfaces and structures to prevent the growth of barnacles and other organisms on ships\' bottoms.
Anti-Corrosive Paint:
A paint that resists rust and corrosion when applied to metal.
B)
Binder:
Solid ingredients in a coating that hold the pigment particles in suspension and attach them to the substrate. Consists of resins (e.g., oils, alkyd, latex). The nature and amount of binder determine many of the paint\'s performance properties--washability, toughness, adhesion, color retention, etc.
Bleaching:
The loss of color in a paint, often caused by exposure to sunlight.
Bleeding:
when one substance runs into another, often caused when a material bleeds from the substrate into the applied material.
Blistering:
The formation of bubbles on the paint surface.
Body:
The thickness or viscosity of a fluid.
Boiled Oil:
Linseed (sometimes soya) oil that was formerly heated for faster drying. Today, chemical agents are added to speed up the drying process.
Butadiene:
A gas which is chemically combined with styrene to create a resin used in latex binders, styrene-butadiene.
Boxing:
The mixing together of different types of paint to ensure a uniform consistency.
Bristle:
the "hairs" on a brush, either natural (hair) or artificial (nylon or polyester).
Burnishing:
Shiny areas on a painted surface achieved by rubbing or washing the surface.
C)
Catalyst:
Substance whose presence increases the rate of a chemical reaction, e.g., acid catalyst added to an epoxy resin system to accelerate drying time.
Caulking:
a semi or slow drying plastic material used to seal joints or fill crevices around windows, chimneys, trim, joints, etc
Chalking:
The formation of a powdery substance on a painted surface.
Checking:
A checkerboard pattern that forms on top layer of a paint.
Chroma:
A measurement of color. The degree of saturation of a hue. A color at its full intensity has maximum chroma.
Clear Coating:
A transparent protective and/or decorative film; generally the final coat of sealer applied to automotive finishes.
Coalescent Aid:
The small amount of solvent contained in latex coatings. Not a true solvent since it does not actually dissolve the latex resins, the coalescent aid helps the latex resins flow together, aiding in film formation.
Coating:
A paint, varnish, lacquer or other finish used to create a protective and/or decorative layer. Generally used to refer to paints and coatings applied in an industrial setting as part of the original equipment manufacturer\'s (OEM) process.
Cohesion:
A bonding together of a single substance to itself. Internal adhesion.
Colorant:
Concentrated color (dyes or pigments) that can be added to paints to make specific colors.
Colorfast:
Non-fading in prolonged exposure to light.
Color Retention:
The ability of paint to keep its original color. Major threats to color retention are exposure to ultraviolet radiation and abrasion by weather or repeated cleaning.
Corrosion Inhibitive:
A type of metal paint or primer that prevents rust by preventing moisture from reaching the metal. Zinc phosphate, barium metaborate and strontium chromate (all pigments) are common ingredients in corrosion-inhibitive coatings. These pigments absorb any moisture that enters the paint film.
Coverage:
The area in square feet that a paint will cover.
Cracking:
The splitting of a dry paint or varnish, most often the result of aging or movement of the substrate.
Creosote:
A liquid coating made from coal tar once used as a wood preservative. It has been banned for consumer use because of potential health risks.
Crocodiling:
A pattern that appears on paint due to the inability of the paint to bond to the surface below.
Cure, Curing:
The process whereby a liquid coating becomes a hard film
Cutting In:
Painting a surface next to another surface that must not be painted. For example, painting the frame of a window but not the glass.
D)
Dead Flat:
No gloss or sheen.
Degreaser:
Any material used for removing oils or grease from a substrate.
Diluent:
A liquid used in coatings to reduce the consistency and make a coating flow more easily. The water in latex coatings is a diluent. A diluent may also be called a "Reducer," "Thinner," "Reducing Agent" or "Reducing Solvent."
Driers:
Various compounds added to coatings to speed the drying.
Dry Colors:
Powder-type colors to be mixed with water, alcohol or mineral spirits and resin to form a paint or stain.
Drying Oil:
An oil that when exposed to air will dry to a solid through chemical reaction with air: linseed oil, tung oil, perilla, fish oil, soybean oil.
Durability:
The degree to which a coating or sealant can withstand environmental factors.
E)
Earth Pigments:
Those pigments that are obtained from the earth, including barytes, ocher, chalk and graphite.
Eggshell:
Gloss lying between semigloss and flat. Interior paint that has a silk-like appearance.
Elasticity:
The ability of paint or sealant to expand and contract with the substrate without suffering damage or changes in its appearance.
Emulsion:
A mixture of solids suspended in a liquid.
Emulsion Paint:
Coating in which resins are suspended in water, then flow together with the aid of an emulsifier. Example: latex paint
Enamel:
Broad classification of paints that dry to a hard, usually glossy finish. Most equipment-coating enamels require baking. Enamels for walls do not. A colored varnish or high gloss paint that is dirt resistant. Often used in kitchens and bathrooms.
Epoxy:
A water resistant, clear finish. Extremely tough and durable synthetic resin used in some coatings. Epoxy coatings are extremely tough, durable and highly resistant to chemicals, abrasion, moisture and alcohol.
Extender:
Ingredients added to paint to increase coverage, reduce cost, achieve durability, alter appearance, control rheology and influence other desirable properties. Less expensive than prime hiding pigments such as titanium dioxide. Examples: barium sulphate, calcium carbonate, clay, gypsum, silica, talc. May also improve coating performance.
F)
Fading:
A lightening of paint or stain due to exposure to light, heat or weather.
Feathering:
Blending a small area into the surrounding paint or stain.
Filler:
Any compound used to fill large cracks in walls that can be sanded when dried.
Film:
A layer or coat of paint.
Film Build:
Amount of thickness produced in an application. Millimeters (mils) of dry film per mils of applied wet film.
Film Thickness:
Depth or thickness of the dry coating in millimeters.
Fire Resistance:
The ability of a coating to withstand fire or to protect the substrate to which it is applied from fire damage
Fire Retardant:
A coating which will (1) reduce flame spread, (2) resist ignition when exposed to high temperature or (3) insulate the substrate and delay damage to the substrate.
Flaking:
Any place where small pieces of the film fall off of the previous coat of paint.
Flat:
A surface that scatters or absorbs the light falling on it so as to be substantially free from gloss or sheen (0-15 gloss on a 60-degree gloss meter). Painted surface free from a gloss or sheen.
Forced Dry:
Baking the paint between room temperature and 150ø F to speed the drying process.
G)
Galvanized:
Any metal coated with zinc to protect it from rusting.
Gloss:
The luster or shininess of paints and coatings. Different types of gloss are frequently arbitrarily differentiated, such as sheen, distinctness-of-image gloss, etc. Trade practice recognizes the following gloss levels, in increasing order of gloss: flat (or matte)-- practically free from sheen, even when viewed from oblique angles (usually less than 15 on 60-degree meter); eggshell-- usually 20-35 on 60-degree meter; semi-gloss--usually 35-70 on 60-degree meter; full-gloss--smooth and almost mirror-like surface when viewed from all angles, usually above 70 on 60-degree meter.
Gloss Meter:
A device for measuring the light reflectance of coatings. Different brands with the same description (such as semi-gloss or flat) may have quite different ratings on the gloss meter.
Grain:
The appearance of fibers in wood or veneer.
H)
Hardener:
Curing agent for epoxies or fiberglass
Hardboard:
Any smooth or textured panel made of compressed wood.
Hardness:
The level of pressure a material will withstand without becoming deformed or scratched.
Hardwood:
Term for trees that have broad leaves (like oak, maple, ash, beech and walnut). Does not correlate to the actual hardness of the wood.
HEPA Vacuum:
High-efficiency particulate air-filtered vacuum designed to remove lead- contaminated dust.
I)
Inert:
A material that will not react chemically with other ingredients.
In-place Management:
A series of steps used as an alternative to lead-based paint removal. Improves condition of intact lead-based paint to reduce and/or eliminate hazards without total removal.
Intumescence:
A mechanism whereby fire-retardant paints protect the substrates to which they are applied. An intumescent paint puffs up when exposed to high temperatures, forming an insulating, protective layer over the substrate
J)
Joint:
Any place where two building materials come together and leave a gap or space.
K)
Knotting Compound:
A clear finish or sealant for floors, for sealing knots.
L)
Lacquer:
A fast-drying usually clear coating that is highly flammable and dries by solvent evaporation only. Can be reconstituted after drying by adding solvent.
Latex-based Paint:
General term used for water-based emulsion paints made with synthetic binders such as 100% acrylic, vinyl acrylic, terpolymer or styrene acrylic. A stable emulsion of polymers and pigment in water.
Lead:
A soft, malleable heavy metal used in the past in paint. Lead based paints are toxic in nature. Especially dangerous where children have contact to lead based painted surfaces.
Levelling:
The ability of a paint to form a smooth surface without brush marks.
Linseed Oil:
A darker and slower drying oil that can be added to paint. Once prevalent in paint and stains, it now has limited use.
Liquid Driers:
Solution of soluble driers in organic solvents.
Lithopone:
A white pigment of barium sulfate and zinc sulfide. Historical Note: Lithopone was once a primary substitute for lead carbonate or "white lead" pigments; it has been largely replaced by titanium dioxide.
M)
Marbling:
A decorative painting technique that imitates the color and figure of marble.
Marine Paint:
Coating specially designed for immersion in water and exposure to marine atmosphere. (See also Anti-fouling Paint)
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS):
Information sheet that lists any hazardous substance that comprises one percent or more of the product\'s total volume. Also lists procedures to follow in the event of fire, explosion, leak or exposure to hazardous substance by inhalation, ingestion or contact with skin or eyes. Coatings manufacturers are required to provide retailers with an MSDS for every product they sell to the retailer. Sales clerks should make MSDSs available to retail customers
Mineral Spirits:
An effective paint thinner, especially when using oil based paints. Paint thinner. Solvent distilled from petroleum.
Moisture Resistance:
The ability of a paint or stain to resis swelling, blistering or other damage caused by moisture.
Monomer:
Substance composed of low molecular weight molecules capable of reacting with like or unlike molecules to form a polymer.
N)
Nap:
The fibers on a paint roller cover.
Naphtha:
A petroleum distillate used mostly by professionals (as opposed to do-it- yourself painters) for cleanup and to thin solvent-based coatings. A volatile organic compound (see VOC).
Natural Resins:
Resins from trees, plants, fish and insects. Examples: damars, copals.
Nonvolatile:
The portion of a coating left after the solvent evaporates; sometimes called the solids content.
O)
Oil-Based Paint:
Any paint made with a drying oil, such as linseed, soya or tung oil. With oil based paints you must use mineral spirits or paint thinner as the thinning agent.
Oil Paint:
A paint that contains drying oil, oil varnish or oil-modified resin as the film-forming ingredient. The term is commonly and incorrectly used to refer to any paint soluble by organic solvents.
Oleoresin:
A natural plant product that contains oil and resins. Turpentine is an example
Opacity:
The ability to block out light.
Opaque Stain:
An exterior stain that obscures the natural color and grain of wood, but still allows the texture to show through.
Oxidation:
Chemical reaction upon exposure to oxygen. Some coatings cure by oxidation, when oxygen enters the liquid coating and cross-links the resin molecules. This film-forming method is also called "Air Cure" and "Air Dry." (Oxidation also causes rust on bare metals.)
P)
Paint:
A coating including resin, a solvent, additives, pigments and, in some products, a diluent. Paints are generally opaque, and commonly represent the portion of the industry known as "architectural coatings."
Paint Remover:
A chemical that softens old paint or varnish and permits it to be easily scraped off. Also called "stripper."
Paint Thinner:
See mineral Spirits.
Peeling:
The detachment of paint from the surface in ribbons or sheets.
Penetrating Finish:
A finish that sinks into the substrate, as opposed to settling on the surface.
Permeable:
Allows another material to pass through without effecting the existing material.
Pigment:
Insoluble, finely ground materials that give paint its properties of color and hide. Titanium dioxide is the most important pigment used to provide hiding in paint. Other pigments include anatase titanium, barium metaborate, barium sulphate, burnt sienna, burnt umber, carbon black, China clay, chromium oxide, iron oxide, lead carbonate, strontium chromate, Tuscan red, zinc oxide, zinc phosphate and zinc sulfide.
Polymer:
Substance, the molecules of which consist of one or more structural units repeated any number of times; vinyl resins are examples of true polymers.
Polymerization:
The interlocking of molecules by chemical reaction to produce very large molecules. The process of making plastics and plastic-based resins.
Polyurethane Varnish:
A clear, alkyd coating.
Polyvinyl Chloride:
A synthetic resin used in the binders of coatings. Tends to discolor under exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Commonly called "vinyl."
Primer:
A first coat of paint applied in order to inhibit corrosion and provide adhesion between the substrate and subsequent coats of paint.
Propellant:
The gas used to expel materials from aerosol containers.
S)
Sag:
A downward movement of a paint or varnish caused by the application of too much coating, or the gathering off too much material in holes, cracks or joints.
Sealer/Sealant:
A liquid coat that seals the surface and prevents it from absorbing paint or varnish. Sealers are often transparent and are used as both primers and as topcoats.
Self-Cleaning:
An exterior paint designed to chalk quickly to maintain a clean appearance.
Semi-gloss Finish:
Finish that has a low luster sheen. Semi-gloss paints are formulated to give this result (usually 35-70 degrees on a 60-degree meter).
Semi-Transparent Stain:
A stain that alters the natural color of the wood while allowing the grain and texture to show through.
Settling:
The accumulation of material (usually pigment) at the bottom of a container containing paint or stain.
Sheen:
A paint that appears to be matt when viewed near to perpendicular, but appears to be glossy when viewed from other angles.
Shellac:
A coating made from purified lac dissolved in alcohol, often bleached white. A sealer applied to finish floors that both protects and gives shine to the surface. Historical Note: The word lacquer is derived from the word lac, which describes the secretions of the lac beetle. This insect, found mainly in Asia, deposits its secretions on branches of trees and this crop is later harvested. The resin developed by the insects, in its original state, contains a red dye. This dye is separated from the resin by boiling in water. Next the residue resin, known as seed lac, is melted, strained, cooled and flaked and then becomes shellac.
Silicone:
A resin used in the binders of coatings. Also used as an additive to provide specific properties, e.g., defoamer. Paints containing silicone are very slick and resist dirt, graffiti and bacterial growth, and are stable in high heat.
Skin:
Any film that forms on the surface of a stored paint or sealant.
Softwood:
Evergreen trees (spruce, fir and pine). The term does not refer to the hardness of the wood.
Solids:
The part of the coating that remains on a surface after the vehicle has evaporated. The dried paint film. Also called Nonvolatile.
Solvent:
Any liquid which can dissolve a resin. Generally refers to the liquid portion of paints and coatings that evaporates as the coating dries.
Source Reduction:
Steps taken to reduce waste generation and toxicity at the source through more effective utilization of raw materials and reformulation.
Spackling:
A filler, often used for filling cracks and holes, that prepares surfaces before painting.
Specular Gloss:
Mirror-like finish (usually 60 degrees on a 60-degree meter).
Sponge Painting (Sponging):
An interior painting technique in which sponges are used to apply or partially remove a coat of paint.
Spot Prime:
The process of applying a primer to areas where paint has been removed or stripped to the original surface.
Stain:
Any coating that colors wood without obscuring the grain and/or texture.
Stenciling:
The method of applying a design by brushing or sponging paint through a cutout overlay placed on the surface.
Stripping:
The process of removing old paint varnishes or stains by using paint remover, sandpaper, or other tools.
Substrate:
Any surface to which a paint, stain or sealant is applied.
T)
Tacky:
The stage in the drying process when the cover material is sticky and leaves prints when touched.
Thinner:
Any liquid used to thin the primary coating. Water and oil are the most common thinners in paint and stains.
Titanium Dioxide:
White pigment in virtually all white paints. Prime hiding pigment in most paints.
Topcoat:
the final coat applied.
Touch Up:
The process of applying small amounts of paint or stain to cover pre-existing blemishes.
Tung Oil:
the Oil of the nut of the tung tree. Generally used in fine wood finishing.
Turpentine:
Distilled pine oil, used as a cleaner, solvent or thinner for oil-based and alkyd coatings. Derived from pine, most often used as a thinner and cleaning solvent.
U)
Undercoat:
A coating that provides improved adhesion and/or more gloss and uniformity to a topcoat.
Urethane:
An important resin in the coatings industry. A true urethane coating is a two-component product that cures when an isocyanate (the catalyst) prompts a chemical reaction that unites the components.
V)
Varnish:
A liquid composition that dries transparent after being applied in a thin layer.
Varnish Stain:
Any varnish with a transparent color added.
Vehicle:
Portion of a coating that includes all liquids and the binder. The vehicle and the pigment are the two basic components of paint. The liquid portion of paint, composed of the thinner and binder.
Vinyl:
See Polyvinyl Chloride.
Viscosity:
The property of a fluid whereby it tends to resist relative motion within itself.
VOC:
See Volatile Organic Compound.
Volatility:
The defining quality of a liquid that evaporates quickly when exposed to air.
Volatile Organic Compound:
Organic chemicals and petrochemicals that emit vapors while evaporating. In paints, VOC generally refers to the solvent portion of the paint which, when it evaporates, results in the formation of paint film on the substrate to which it was applied.
Volume Solids:
Solid ingredients as a percentage of total ingredients. The volume of pigment plus binder divided by the total volume, expressed as a percent. High-volume solids mean a thicker dry film with improved durability.
W)
Water Based Paint:
Any paint made with acrylic, vinyl or latex resins, and thinned with water. It dries more quickly than oil-based paint, has a relatively low odor and cleans up easily. Coatings in which the majority of the liquid content is water.
Water Repellant:
Any finish that prevents penetration of water into the substrate.
Weather Resistance:
The ability of a coating to retain its appearance and integrity in the face of various weather conditions.
White Lead:
Lead carbonate.
Wire Brushing:
Cleaning a surface with a wire brush, or wire power brush.
Wood Filler:
A product used to fill the grain of wood before undercoats or finishes are applied. Most often used on furniture.