TIBM - 35

TECHLTICAL INPOmiA-TIOlT OU BUILDING MATERIALS

FOR USE IN THE DESIGN OP LOW-COST HOUSING

THE NATIONAL BUREAU OP STANDARDS

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OP COMMERCE

WASHINGTON, D. C.

September 23. 1936

PREPARATION OP PAINTS PROM PASTE AND DRY PIGMENTS

This is nrimarily a die:est of section of Bureau of Standards Circular No, 69 (November 17, 1917), "Paint and Varnish";^ and Technologic

Paper No, 2jk (December I 5 , 192^), "Use of United States Government

Specification Paints and Paint Materials",^ by P, H, Walker and E, P,

Hickson; dealing with uroportions of pigment and oil in some paste paint

pigments, preparation of paints from paste and dry pigments, and color

blending.

The following papers contain additional information relative to

paint pigments, oil paints, and water naints:

TIBM - 30

TIBM - 31

TIBM - 32

TIBM - 33

TIBM - 34

TIBM - 36

TIBM - 43

"Paint Pigments—White"

"Paint Pigments—Black, Red, and Lakes"

"Paint Pigments—Yellow, Brown, Blue, Green, and

Bronze"

"Federal Specification Paint Pigments and Mixing

Formulas"

"Federal Specification Ready-Mixed Paints , Semipaste Paints and Mixing Formulas"

"Preparation of Paints from Semipaste Paints,

Thinning Ready-Mixed Paints, and Preparation

of Water Paints"

"Aluminum Paints"

^Out of print. May be consulted in Government deuository libraries.

2Available from Suuerintendent of Documents, Government Printing

Office, Washington, D. C. (Price 10 cents).

101236-Z - 1 -
Paint is "a mixture of pigment with vehicle, intended to bedspread

in thin coats on surfaces for- decoration or protection, or both,"

The principal distinction between paint and- varnish is that paint

contains an appreciable amount of pigment in suspension, substantially

insoluble in the vehicle; while varnish is a liquid in which any resins

or waxes contained therein are mostly in solution.

Pigments are "the fine 'solid uarticles used in the preparation of

paint, and substantially insqluble in the vehicle. Pigments are prepared for commercial use in two forms, dry and paste, the latter being

ground in oil, Japan, or other vehicles to a stiff consistency. Paste

pigments are generally preferred, as the incorporation of dry pigments

into the vehicle to form a paint of desirable properties is a tedious

and unsatisfactory process 'unless suitable machinery is available,

While there is some tendency for pigments in paste form to separate from

the vehicle, this tendency is greater in thinner mixtures of painting

consistency than in the paste form, Basic carbonate white lead in linseed

oil is the most widely used paint paste pigment. In general, it may be

assumed that pigments composed of very fine particles, having high re- fractive indices, provide the greatest covering power and opacity.

Vehicle is "the . liquid portion of a paint. The vehicle usually

contains a number of substances which for convenience may be. divided

into two classes, volatile thinner and nonvolatile vehicle.

Volatile thinner is "all that portion of a paint, water excepted,

which is volatile in a current of steam at atmospheric pressure."^ Turpentine, the most im'oortant of the volatile thinners used in paints and

varnishes, is added to provide proper flowing consistency, penetrating

power and, in some cases, to dissolve resinous matter in the wood being

painted. As a thinner, one volume of turpentine is as effective as approximately two volumes of oil. Substitution of turpentine for a portion of the oil in the vehicle causes paint to dry "flat".

Nonvolatile vehicle is "the liquid portion of a paint, excepting

its volatile thinner and water. Linseed oil, the principal nonvolatile

vehicle, is added to furnish a binder for pigments. A small proportion

of oil to pigment gives the paint a "flat", rather than glossy, surface.

Proportions of Pigm.ent and Oil in Some Paste Paint Pigments

White Lead Paste Pigment ; The most used paste paint pigment is basic

carbonate white lead in linseed oil. That known to the trade as keg

lead contains one hundred pounds dry white lead to eight pounds linseed

^Quoted from "Standard Definitions, of Terms Relating to Paint

Specifications", American Society for Testing Materials (1933 )• PP* 735-739

- 2 -
oil. A standard grinding formula is 92 l/^ pounds dry ^hite lead to 1 gallon of linseed oil weighing 7 3/^ poxmds. One hundred pounds of this

paste occupies about 2 3/^ gallons, weighing about 3^ pounds uer gallon.

Soft paste or semiuaste white lead is usually ground in the proportion

of 100 pounds dry basic carbonate white lead to 10 pounds linseed oil

and 2 pounds turoentine. One hundred pounds of the soft paste occunies

about 3 gallons, weiring about 33 l/3 pounds per gallon. For Federal'

Suecifications, see TT-W-251a "White Lead; Basic Carbonate, Dry, PasteIn-Oil, and Semipaste containing Volatile Tliinner,"

Zinc Oxide Paste Pigment is usuallj?- ground in the proportion of 37 3

pounds zinc oxide to 1 gallon linseed oil, producing about 1.S3 gallons

of paste, containing about S3 uercent zinc oxide, weighing about 24

pounds per gallon. Commercial products are sometimes marketed which

contain as low as 73 uercent zinc oxide. For Federal Specifications,

see T'T-Z-301 "Zinc Oxide; Dry and Paste-In-Oil,

Other Opaque White Pigments, Extenders, and some Colored Body Pigments

are not commonlj’- sold in paste form,

Indian Red and Venetian Red Paste Pigments contain about SO percent

pigment

Yellow Ocher and Chrome Yellow Paste Pigments contain about 75 percent

pigment.

Raw Sienna and Paw Umber Paste Pigments contain about 60 perce''>t pif-pnent,

Prussian Blue Paste Pi;gments contain about 50 uercent pigment.

Lamublack Paste Pigments seldom contain more than 35 percent pigment.

Preparation of Paints from Paste Pigments

In preparing paint, the order in which the ingredients are added

is important. Each ingredient should be thoroughly incorporated in the

paint before adding the next.

Preparation of Paste ; The first step is to break up the paste, which

is quite stiff. Transfer it to a vessel of sufficient size to hold

considerably more than the volume of paint to be mixed, add a small

amount of linseed oil (not more than 1 pint per 100 pounds paste),

and mix thoroughly with a stout wooden uaddle or spatula until a homogeneous softer paste is formed. The gradual addition of oil.

Copie© of all Federal Specifications mentioned in this digest

may be obtained from Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D, C, (Price 5 cents each),

- 3 ~
a smaller amotmt each time, followed by thorou^ mixing should be

repeated until the uaste is thin enough to be easily stirred and can

be uoured, but is still too thick to be used as paint. To prevent

the paste from sticking to the sides of the mixing vessel and to

facilitate stirring, the inside of the vessel should be swabbed with

oil. The addition of a very little turoentine to the paste will cause it to break up more readily.

Better oil paint will be uroduced if the broken up paste is

allowed to stand for a day before finishing the mixing so that the

oil may form a smooth uniform liquid by softening the many small

lumps that escape the uaddle.

Addition of Color Pigments or Tinting Colors ; If any color uigments

or tinting colors are to be added, they should first be broken up

and thinned seuarately to the same consistency as the main body of

thinned paste, and added in very small quantities and mixed thoroughly.

When adding colors, esuecially tinting colors which are usually very

strong, it is better to add too little than too much, as very small

amounts of color are required. Where too much color is added the

fault can only be remedied by breaking uu more of the main body

paste and adding it to that already mixed. This may uroduce more

finished paint than is desired.

Addition of the Brier ; When the uaste has been broken up and urouerly colored or tinted, the drier should be added and stirred in thoroughly.

Final Steps : With constant stirring, work in the rest of the oil,

then the turpentine or mineral spirits until the paint is of proper consistency for painting. To insure freedom from lumps, the

paint should be strained shortly before using by pouring it through

a paint strainer, a piece of fly screen, or coarse muslin.

Addition of Suar Varnish to Oil Paints ; In any formula calling for

the addition of spar varnish to oil paint, such as floor, porch, or deck paint, add varnish to completed paint just before application.

Generally one pint of varnish to one gallon of paint is ample for

top coat work. In general, varnish should not be added to oil paint

and then allowed to stand several days before using, as some varnishes, even overnight, mav thicken paints containing zinc oxide.

Preparation of Paints from Two or More Paste Pigments

In mixing paint containing two or more pigments, as, for example,

white lead-zinc oxide paint or zinc oxide-titanium pigment paint,

each paste should be broken up seuaratelj’’, as recommended above, to

the point where the drier is added. Hie drier should then be added

- 4 -
in portions to each partially "broken down waste. The broken down

pastes should then be thoroughly mixed together and the rest of the

oil and volatile thinner added.

Preparation of Paints from Dry Pigments

When necessary to use dry pigments, they should first be ground

to a waste. This may be accomwlished by wetting the wigment with a little turwentine and working it on a smooth marble slab, a piece of

glass, or smooth board, with a stone muller, a swatula, or flexible

knife until a stiff waste is formed. Oil may then be added in small

amounts mixing constantly until a smooth waste results. This waste

may then be mixed with any similar waste for the making of paint.

Caution ; Under no circumstances should dry color be added to a waint until it has been worked uw into a smooth waste, as it will

form small masses of dry wowder causing streaks under the brush re- gardless of the amount of stirring. In general, with the one exception of dry red lead, it is difficult to get a good, smooth waint by

using dry wigments.

Color Elending

In blending colors it should be remembered that different

samwles of the same color vary considerably in strength and tone.

The same quantity will not always produce the same result. The

names used by different m.anufac turers for their wigments vary so much that directions given to wroduce a certain tint may give

entirely different results with different brands.

Subduing Bright and Claring Colors : Colors in waste form that are

too bri^t and glaring nay be corrected by adding small amounts of

their comwlimentary colors. Yellow is made less intense by adding a little blue and red; blue, by adding a little red and yellow; and

red, by adding a little yellow and blue.

Caution ; Excewt in rare instances, the addition of black to

dull a bri^t color causes a muddy awwearance.

Production of Tints ; Tiie following illustrations are given as a guide to the production of tints by mixing wastes of different colors

C-ray ; White lead mixed with lampblack will wroduce gray from

the lightest shade to the darkest, dewending upon the wrowortions

of each pignent used. One wercent of lamwblack will wroduce a strong "cold", "steel-gray" tint. A strong warm gray tint may be

obtained by adding a little yellow ocher or sienna to the cold gray

tint. If burnt umber is used instead of the ocher or sienna, a series of gray drabs will be obtained.

- 5 >
Buff is obtained hy tintin" Waite lead with yellow ocher. Cream

color results from adding a touch of Venetian red to li^it huff.

Ivory , a tint closely related to cream, is nroduced h;-' using a very

little medium chrome yellow to white lead. Drah "stone" color is obtained by mixing together about five uarts white lead uaste,’ two

uarts yellow ocher or chrome yellow in oil, and one mart burnt umber

in oil. Yellow drab will result if the uronortions for producing

the drab "stone" color are varied.

Brown Shades may be nroduced by mixing in varjring nronortions

about three marts Indian red in oil or Venetian red, two marts lampblack in oil, and one mart yellow ocher in oil. Umber may remlace

the lammblack and ocher. Brown drab s may be obtained by adding

white lead in oil to t^ce brown shades.

Pink is nroduced by tintiny zinc oxide with madder lake, carmine,

or crimson shades of Bnglish vermhllion, Purmle or lilac is made by

tinting white lead with dark Indian red, A small amount of light

Indian red may improve the murmle effect.

Brick Reds are secured by mixing about two marts yellow ocher,

one mart Venetian red, and one mart white lead, the exact color depending umon the mromortions used,

"Samphire Blue" is obtained bv tinting zinc white with ultramarine blue, "Sky Blue" of various demths is mroduced by adding

Prussian blue to white lead.

Chrome Green , a mixture of Prussian blue and chrome yellow, is

obtainable in many varieties, whic’'. may all be further modified, by

the addition of white, black, or some other color. Pea green is

white lead tinted with medium chrome green (l mart to 100), Ample

green is mea green tinted with a little chrome yellow. Bronze

green is obtained by ad.ding la;nai')black to a dark chrome green, A

richer effect may be obtained by using a medium chrom.e ''Teen as a base and adding iyory black and a small amount of raw umber,

"Q,uaker Green" , a dull green, is mroduced by darkening white lead

and yellow ocher with lampblack and burnt sienna.

Matching Colors : Uith mractice a very good match of a given maint

can be made, although exact matching reauires much skill. Therefore,

sufficient paint to cover all surfaces for final coat mainting should

be made um at one time.

- 6 -