Glossary

Glossary Of Paint

Abrade: To scrape or rub off a surface layer.

Acrylic: Asynthetic resin used in high-performance water-based coatings.

 

Additives:  One of the four major ingredients in paint. They have

special properties as needed.

Alkyd: Synthetic resin modified with oil.

Binder: The 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 determines many of the paint’s performance properties—

washability, toughness, adhesion, color retention, and so on.

Bleeding: When color penetrates through another coat of paint.

Booked: Wallpaper that has folded the pasted sides together in

order to carry from the cutting table to the wall.

Calcium carbonate: An extender pigment.

Chroma: A measurement of color; the degree of saturation of a hue.

DFT (dry film thickness): The mil thickness when coating has dried.

Efflorescence:  A white alkaline powder deposited on the surface

of stone, brick, plaster, or mortar caused by leaching of water.

Embossed: Paper covered with raised designs.

Enamel: Broad classification of paints that dry to a hard, usually

glossy finish.

Extenders. Ingredients added to paint to increase coverage,

reduce cost, achieve durability, and alter appearance. Less expensive

than prime hiding pigments such as titanium dioxide.

Faux:  French for “false” or “artificial” (pronounced fo). Includes

marbling or other imitation finishes.

Fire retardant: A coating that (1) reduces flame spread, (2) resists

ignition when exposed to high temperature, or (3) insulates

the substrate and delays damage to the substrate.

Flagged bristles: Split ends.

Frieze: A type of wall covering popular in the early 1900s. Generally

a pictorial border which ran above the door height or, in dining

rooms, above the plate rail.

Glaze: Clear medium that, when added to paint, makes the paint

more transparent, giving depth to the desired faux finish.

Gloss: Luster. The ability of a surface to reflect light. Measured by

determining the percentage of light reflected from a surface at

certain angles. (See Table 2.1.)

Gum arabic: A solid resinous material that can be dissolved and

will form a film when the solution is spread on a surface and

the solvent is allowed to evaporate. Usually a yellow, orange,

or clear solid.

Gypsum board: Thin slabs of plaster covered with a heavy-weight

100 percent recycled paper covering.

Hiding power: The ability of paint film to obscure the substrate to which

it is applied. Measured by determining the minimum thickness at

which film will completely obscure a black and white pattern.

Humidity: The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.

Intumescen:. 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.

Kiln-dried: Lumber dried in an oven to a specific moisture content.

Luster: See Gloss.

Mill scale: An almost invisible surface scale of oxide formed when

iron is heated.

Mils: Measurement of thickness of film. One one-thousandth of an

inch. One mil equals 25.4 microns (micrometers).

Mural: A scene made up of several panels in sequence.

Non-grain raising (NGR): A type of stain.

Oxidation: Chemical reaction upon exposure to oxygen.

Pigment: Insoluble, finely ground material that gives paint its properties

of color and hide.

Pigment volume concentration (PVC): When used in connection

with paint, pigment volume concentration.

Pretrimmed: Materialsin which selvages or edges have been removed.

Reduction: Lowering the viscosity of paint by the addition of a

solvent or thinner.

Resin: A solid or semisolid material that deposits a film and is the

actual film-forming ingredient in paint. Can be natural or synthetic.

See Gum arabic.

Set: Countersunk below the surface of the gypsum board.

Solids: The part of the coating that remains on a surface after the

vehicle has evaporated. The dried paint film.

Solvent: Any liquid that can dissolve a resin. Generally refers to

the liquid portion of paints and coatings that evaporates as

the coating dries.

Spectrophotometer: An instrument used for comparing the color

intensities of different spectra.

Substrate: Any surface to which a coating is applied.

Tensile strength: Resistance of a material to tearing apart when

under tension.

Titanium dioxide: A white pigment providing the greatest hiding

power of all white pigments. It is nontoxic and nonreactive.

Toile-de-Jouy: French. Usually a monochromatic pastoral scene on

a light colored cotton material.

Tooth: The slight texture of a surface that provides good adhesion

for subsequent coats of paint.

Urethane: An important resin in the coatings industry.

Vehicle: Portion of a coating that includes all liquids and the binder.

Viscosity: The ease of flow in paint, e.g., water based paints flow

more quickly than oil based paints.