Paint and wall coatings: What are they? A definition. GENERAL QUESTIONS
Q. What is "paint"?
Paint is defined as the group of emulsions, consisting of pigments suspended in a liquid medium, for use as decorative or protective coatings. Today, contemporary paints and coatings consist of countless compounds uniquely formulated to fulfill the varied requirements of hundreds of thousands of applications. "Paint" ranges from the broad group of environmentally-sound latex paints that many consumers use to decorate and protect their homes and the translucent coatings that line the interior of food containers, to the chemically-complex, multi-component finishes that automobile manufacturers apply on the assembly line.
Q. When did paint first appear?
Paint made its earliest appearance about 30,000 years ago. Cave dwellers used crude paints to leave behind the graphic representations of their lives that even today decorate the walls of their ancient rock dwellings.
Q. When did the paint industry become a recognized part of the U.S. economy?
The paint industry became a thriving part of the U.S. economy during the Industrial Revolution. The first recorded paint mill in America was reportedly established in Boston in 1700 by Thomas Child. A century and a half later, in 1867, D.R. Averill of Ohio patented the first prepared or "ready mixed" paints in the United States. In the mid-1880s, paint factories began springing up in population and industrial centers across the nation. Mechanization was making the manufacturing process accessible to a larger and less specialized group of entrepreneurs. The weight of prepared paint makes it expensive to transport, so a decentralized structure of small manufacturers in discrete markets dominated the industry until the mid-1900s. That structure still continues to some extent today with the significant industry segment of small- to medium-sized paint manufacturers who serve limited regional markets.
Q. Do today's paints contain lead?
In the past, paint contained lead, but the industry, always ready to respond to environmental and health concerns, started replacing lead pigments in some paints before World War II. Industry consensus standards limiting the use of lead pigments were initiated as far back as the 1950s. Household paints have not included any lead since its use was banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1978. Today's house paints, contrary to some consumers' beliefs, contain no lead.
Q. What types of manufacturers and suppliers are included in the U.S. paint and coatings industry?
The U.S. paint and coatings industry primarily includes more than 700 manufacturers, raw materials suppliers and distributors. These include manufacturers of architectural coatings (i.e., house paint) and a diverse collection of coatings. These coatings include product coatings — applied as part of the original manufacturing process — and special purpose coatings for ships, offshore oil and gas rigs, and highway and traffic markings. Suppliers and distributors of the raw materials that go into paint and coatings production are also part of the industry.
Q. Why are paints and coatings used?
Generally, paints and coatings are applied to products to protect them from environmental corrosion, and improve their consumer appeal. In some cases, paints and coatings are actually an element part of a product's use, such as the coatings that protect food and beverages in metal cans from contamination and spoilage. The aesthetic value of paints and coatings is also an essential part of our daily life. Imagine what the world would be like without the color and excitement added by paints and coatings. What would Boston Red Sox fans call Fenway Park's left-field wall if not "the Big Green Monster"? What would we do without little red wagons, bright yellow school buses, or brilliantly painted whirling carousel horses? Imagine San Francisco's legendary "Painted Ladies" without their paint, or the Golden Gate Bridge without its signature coat of red primer. While their value is hard to put a price on, the colored paints and coatings of our world add incalculable value and beauty to everything in it.
SALES STATISTICS
Q. What were the "Aggregate Sales" of the paint industry in 1998?
The paint industry is comprised of manufacturers, raw materials suppliers and distributors whose annual sales were approximately $16.6 billion in 1998, an increase of 1.2 percent from the 1997 level of $16.4 billion.
Q. How much of the total sales in 1998 were architectural coatings?
Architectural coatings accounted for approximately $6.3 billion, or 38 percent of sales, in 1998.
Q. How much of the total sales in 1998 were Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) product coatings, also known as "industrial coatings?"
OEM product coatings/industrial coatings accounted for $6.8 billion, or 41 percent, in 1998.
Q. How much of the total sales in 1998 were special purpose coatings?
Special purpose coatings accounted for $3.5 billion, or 21 percent, in 1998.
Q. What industries depend on OEM coatings for their production?
The 1999 Paint & Coatings 2000: Review and Forecast (Third Edition) study identified 14 important manufacturing industries that depend on OEM coatings for their production. Some of these industries include: automotive; metal containers, coil sheet and strip; wood furniture and fixtures; machinery and equipment; metal furniture and fixtures; and electrical and electronic, among others. Without coatings, these manufacturers would not be able to produce vehicles, appliances, equipment and furniture as appealing, enduring or marketable as they can today.
Q. How many workers are employed by the paint and coatings industry?
The paint and allied products industry (U.S. Department of Commerce SIC 285) employed 53,091 workers in 1997, of which 28,407 were production employees.
Q. What is the average weekly earnings of a production worker in the paint industry?
The average weekly earnings of production workers in the paint industry was $594.52 in 1997.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTS
Q. What are Architectural Coatings?
Architectural coatings are paints and coatings applied on-site to new and existing residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings. Some architectural coatings include:
Exterior waterborne (latex) paint Interior waterborne (latex) paint
Exterior solvent-borne (oil) paint Interior solvent-borne (oil) paint
Architectural lacquers "Do-it-yourself" wood and furniture finishes
Architectural coatings reach consumers, painters, contractors, builders and the government via retail or wholesale distribution channels and outlets. Most architectural coatings today are water-based. Water-based paints first became popular in the 1950s. They were nonflammable and easy to clean off of brushes, rollers and the painters themselves -- especially compared to organic solvent-based (oil) paints. But cleaner air emerged as a more compelling reason to use water-based paint in the environment-conscious 1970s.
As paint dries, the liquid portion evaporates. If the liquid is an organic solvent, the result is the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which react with sunlight to form smog. Increasingly stringent clean-air regulations have resulted in improvements in water-borne technology and ever-increasing use of water as the liquid medium in paints and coatings. This development, plus ease of cleanup, accounts for the popularity of water-based coatings in the consumer market.
Q. What are Industrial Coatings?
Industrial coatings are coatings that are factory-applied to manufactured goods as part of the production process. They are also known as OEM coatings (for Original Equipment Manufacture). Industrial coatings decorate and protect virtually all of our manufactured goods. Some OEM coatings include:
Automotive finishes
Truck and bus finishes
Other transportation finishes (aircraft, railroad, etc.) Wood and composition board flat-stock finishes
Wood furniture and fixture finishes Appliance finishes
Sheet, strip and coil coatings on metals Metal decorating finishes (can, container coatings)
Machinery and equipment finishes Paper and paperboard coatings (not ink)
Electrical insulating varnishes Metal furniture and fixtures finishes
Magnet wire coatings
A good example of OEM coatings is the U.S. auto, truck and bus industry. This automotive industry is a $300 billion business each year. The cost of paint on an average automobile is about one percent of the showroom price. Without that low-cost protection of paints and coatings, a car body would rust out after less than one winter's driving in most parts of the country. Another good example of OEM coatings are evident every time you reach for a cold can soda. Nearly 87 billion beverage cans are shipped each year in the United States -- and every one of them requires a coating inside, to form a barrier to prevent the contents from reacting with the metal of the can. Industrial coatings also provide sealants against leakage on food and beverage cans.
Q. What are Special Purpose Coatings?
Special purpose coatings include marine paints, high performance maintenance coatings, automotive refinish paints, traffic and highway markings, and aerosol paints. Some special purpose coatings include:
Industrial maintenance paints (interior, exterior) Marine coatings (off-shore structures, marine refinishing coatings)
Traffic paints Metallic paints (aluminum, zinc bronze, etc.)
Automobile refinishing coatings Aerosol paints
Roof coatings Multi-color paints
Coatings in this category are used, primarily, where durability is a key objective.
Marine Coatings: The marine coatings market consists mainly of coatings used to protect new and existing commercial ships; offshore oil and gas rigs and equipment; and pleasure craft. The use of paints and coatings for marine applications has increased over the years, from 10 million gallons in 1990 to 12.7 million gallons in 1998.
High Performance Maintenance Coatings:
High performance maintenance coatings are formulated to meet performance requirements in specific environments. These coatings are used in a range of industries to combat, largely, the corrosion of exposed steel found in structures, tanks, pipes, industrial equipment and tank linings. Some of the largest consumers of high performance maintenance coatings include: on-shore oil and gas exploration; production and transmission operations; petrochemical plants and refineries; public utilities; and food and beverage processing plants.
Highway and Traffic Markings.
Roughly 90 percent of the paints and coatings used for highway and traffic markings are purchased by state highway departments and city and county road authorities. Most of the remaining 10 percent of traffic and highway paints are used to mark parking lots and garages. Traffic paints are specially formulated to dry quickly, in order to reduce roadway delays and exposure of highway workers to traffic. They are designed for high visibility, durability and adhesion. Total consumption of highway and traffic paints increased from 22 million gallons in 1990 to 37.1 million gallons in 1997.
Aerosol Paints: Coatings packaged in aerosol cans are used mostly for auto refinishing and touch-up, appliance touch-up, corrosion inhibition, and hobbies and crafts. The typical aerosol can holds about 10 ounces of paint, usually at a very low solids level to facilitate spraying. Common propellants for aerosol paints are based on hydrocarbon gases like n-butane, isobutane and propane. Chlorofluorocarbon propellants were used at one time, but were phased-out in 1978 due to their harmful effect on the ozone layer. Production of aerosol paints has increased from 21.9 million gallons per year in 1991 to 25.4 million gallons in 1998.
Contact:
Paint and Coatings Industry Information Center
National Paint & Coatings Association
1500 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202/332-3194
email: npca@paint.org
Copyright © 2006 National Paint & Coatings Association.
NPA respects the copyirght of the above and does not infer that this information is authored by anyone other than the organisation listed above. This paint and coatings article was suggested to us by a customer and is posted for information and research purposes.
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