Paint

Paint is a liquid or paste coating that dries or cures into a film on a surface. Its pigments or dyes provide color, while its binder holds the film together and helps it adhere.

Pigment: A finely divided, insoluble substance that gives materials color or opacity. Pigments provide paint’s color and hiding power without dissolving into its binder.
Paint application: The process of spreading or depositing paint onto a surface. Application determines how evenly paint covers the substrate and how thick the wet layer is.
House paint: Paint formulated for interior or exterior surfaces in buildings. It balances appearance with practical needs such as washability and weather resistance.
Cave painting: An image made on a cave wall, often using mineral pigments and binders. Prehistoric cave images are among the earliest surviving uses of pigment coatings.
Varnish: A transparent protective finish that dries into a hard film. Unlike most paint, varnish preserves the visible surface rather than hiding it with pigment.
Binder (material): A material that holds particles together and adheres them to a surface. The binder forms the continuous film that anchors pigment to a painted surface.
Drying oil: An oil that hardens through oxidation and polymerization after exposure to air. In oil paints, its chemical hardening helps turn the applied layer into a film.
Automotive paint: A coating system applied to vehicle bodies for protection and appearance. Its layered finishes must withstand weather, abrasion, and chemical exposure.
Egyptian blue: A synthetic blue pigment first produced in ancient Egypt. Its manufacture shows that ancient paint materials could include deliberately engineered pigments.
Stain (wood finish): A finish that colors wood while allowing much of its grain to remain visible. Wood stain generally penetrates or tints the surface instead of forming an opaque paint layer.

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