Learn more about water-based paint

Any paint that uses water as a solvent or a dispersion medium can be called a water-based paint. Water-based paints include water-soluble type, water-diluted type, and water-dispersed type (latex paint).

Water soluble

Water-soluble type uses water-soluble resin as the film-forming material, represented by polyvinyl alcohol and its various modified products. In addition, there are water-soluble alkyd resin, water-soluble epoxy resin, and inorganic polymer water-based resin.

Water dilution

Water-diluted type refers to the lacquer prepared by emulsifying the emulsion as a film-forming substance. The solvent-based resin is dissolved in an organic solvent, and then the resin is dispersed in water to form an emulsion with the help of an emulsifier. This is called post-emulsification. Emulsion, the finished paint can be diluted with water during construction.

Water dispersion

Water dispersion type mainly refers to lacquers formulated with synthetic resin emulsions as film-forming materials. Emulsion refers to a dispersion emulsion composed of small particle clusters polymerized by unsaturated vinyl monomers at a certain temperature in the presence of an emulsifier during mechanical stirring. A paint formulated by adding a little emulsion to a water-soluble resin cannot be called a latex paint. Strictly speaking, water-thinning paint cannot be called latex paint, but it is still categorized as latex paint.

Three stages of waterborne paint technology development:

The first generation of water-based paint used acrylic as the main raw material, and its advantages were good water resistance and weather resistance. The disadvantages are that the general performance is general, the chemical properties are relatively low (for example, the alcohol and alkali resistance is poor), and the physical indicators such as hardness and wear resistance are low, which is why most people think that water-based paints are not good.

The second-generation water-based paint uses the compound of acrylic acid and water-based polyurethane as the main raw material. It not only inherits the advantages of weather resistance and good construction tolerance of the first-generation acrylic products, but also improves the hardness of the water-based paint, but the chemical properties are still relatively low. At present, there are only a few domestic companies that can produce it, which is a mid-range product in water-based paint.

The third-generation water-based paint uses acrylic-modified water-based polyurethane as the main raw material. On the basis of the second-generation water-based paint, the comprehensive performance of the product is greatly improved. The hardness of the pencil rule test can reach more than 2H, which fully meets daily needs. The abrasion resistance is even better than that of oil-based paint, which has obvious advantages in terms of service life and color matching. What's more important is that the chemical properties are stable, and the alcohol and alkali resistance are greatly enhanced compared to the former two. It is a high-end product in water-based paints. This technology is monopolized by a few manufacturers at home and abroad.

Although water-based paint has the advantages of environmental protection and good film effect, there is still a certain gap between the one-component water-based paint and the two-component oil-based paint in terms of hardness and high temperature resistance. For example, it is very easy to show its lack of performance when used on dining tables and floors. This functional limitation has limited the development of water-based paints.

Fake two-component water-based paints on the market are often emerging. Some small paint factories on the market have started to introduce so-called two-component water-based paints, which are actually an improved product of paints. Although their hardness has been improved a lot, they actually contain a lot of toxic substances like ordinary paints. It violates the original intention of water-based paints to be environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and to protect the environment and human health.