Painting walls, ceilings, and home exteriors are some of the most popular DIY fix-ups by homeowners and other stakeholders in the real estate business. Although almost everyone paints from time to time, how many people know what they’re buying and applying? Just what is this stuff, and what do you need to know when you buy it. How much paint do you need? Is the N4,500-per-drum (20litres) paint as good as the N8,350- per- drum (20litres) paint? Or must is be very expensive to be quality? And what about latex paint and oil-based paint? Or primer?

It can all be pretty confusing and, as a result, many people simply base their decision on price. They get the cheapest paint they can buy only to find out that they need to paint and recoat and recoat and recoat, just to get the cheap paint to cover.
Or they get the most expensive and found out they have been ripped off.

In this article, you’ll learn about the basics of paint: what it is, what types there are, which type to use where, and how to choose the right sheen.

What Is Paint?
In a layman’s language, paint is a liquid coloured substance that is applied on surfaces for beautification and it dries out to become a thin layer of covering.
For better understanding, Paint is a mixture of four basic ingredients: pigments, resins, solvents, and additives.
Pigment is the color, the choice and quantity of the pigment is what usually determine if the paint would fade or not and how quickly it would cover the wall when being used.
resin is the binder, or glue. The higher the resin content the better. If you have ever been stained by resting on a dry paint, it is because the paint had low resin content. This usually leads to chalking and flaking of paints and it would eventually be washed off if used externally.
Solvent is the carrier that makes it all liquid and evaporates as the paint dries. They are broadly classified into water or oil.
Additives provide specific performance characteristics, such as to increase shelve life, anti-fungal or scenting properties and so on, this is where the use of the paint is factored in .
Cheap paints have a higher percentage of solvents per volume compared to high quality paints. They are known to have less than 40% pigment content per gallon. This means that most of what you are applying with cheap paint is solvent (water or mineral spirits), which just evaporates, leaving little pigment behind. This is why you have to recoat and recoat up to four times with low-quality paint before enough pigment is left behind to cover the color underneath.
Though the information of the percentage of pigments or binder are usually not indicated on paint gallons, TOUCHSTONE PAINTS PRODUCTS are known to always have high pigment and binder content for wide coverage and to prevent it from ever staining or chalking among other benefits.
So when next you think of painting, remember to choose wisely. You could check our online shop :www.touchstonegroup.com.ng to learn about some of our value added products.