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What is coating?

Coating is defined as being a decorative texture or appearance of a surface (or the substance that gives it that

appearance).

What is paint?

Paint is defined as being a liquid mixture, usually of a solid pigment in a liquid vehicle, used as a decorative or

protective coating.

Although paints are available for every possible surface, there is no such thing as an all-surface paint. The

wide variety of paints can be bewildering; but they exist for a reason!

Paint has been used by mankind since before recorded history, first as a decoration, and much later as a

protective coating. 

The oldest painted surfaces on earth were colored with a form of milk paint. Cave drawings and paintings

made 8000 years ago were made with a simple composition of milk, lime and earth pigments.

Simply stated, a paint/coating consists of:

• Film-forming material called Resin or binder (it binds the pigment particles together and to the substrate over which it has been applied) dissolved in a solvent (present in the coating to make it liquid for ease of application)

• Pigments, which are used to add color to the coating and can also enhance the coating’s resistance to heat, abrasion and chemicals

• A number of miscellaneous additives (such as  dispersing/levelling agents, defoamers, anti-skinning agents, fungicides, UV absorbers, …etc.), which are added by the paint formulator to paints for specialized purposes