Question: what is paint made out of

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  1. Paint is any substance that can be applied to a surface to protect or colour it. Some of the original paints were made of coloured chalky stone that was chewed into a paste or crushed and mixed with water to make a paste and then spread onto walls of caves. Now they are made of a range of chemicals to produce a range of effects but most are toxic so don’t go around licking the walls okay.

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  2. Hi Shaunm,

    Paint is made of a number of components, and depending on the paint, depends on what is in it.

    Binders โ€“ these have to be present. This is the film forming part of the paint.
    Solvent โ€“ this is the bit that dissolves compounds and changes the viscosity, the thickness of the paint.
    Pigment โ€“ These are the bits that make the colour and are either natural, like the clays James mentioned, or synthetic which are engineered compounds.
    Then there are a heap of additives for different sorts of paint applications. UV Stabilisers for paints that are used outside so that uv radiation doesnโ€™t degrade the paint. Biocides that added to fight fungal and bacterial growth. And so on.

    There are also some paints that change colour due to temperature, like the thermochromic paints. I had little toy cars when I was a kid that would change colour depending on the temperature of the paint. Some paints will also change depending on light.

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  3. Nice question, Shaunm, and nice answers by James and Dustin.
    I just wanted to say that the pigment doesn’t necessarily have to be a colour – I’ve seen a ‘paint’ where the pigment was whole corn kernels! ๐Ÿ™‚

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