Base in Paint: All You Need to Know About (2024)

Function

Base is one of the major components of paint. Base is a solid substance in a fine state that forms the body of paint. It forms the bulk of paint. It conveys the character of the paint. Base makes the film of the paint, opaque, harder, and elastic & prevents formation of shrinkage cracks.

Types of Base

Base usually consists of white lead, red lead, zinc oxide (zinc white), iron oxide, titanium white, aluminium powder, lithophone.

White Lead

It is largely used for all ordinary building painting works and available in the market perhaps very cheap. It is available in market in both in powder & stiff-paste form. Stiff-paste is made by mixing it with linseed oil. It can be easily applied, possesses good bulk, and has a greater covering power. It is dense, waterproof, permanent and has good body to obscure the surface.
It is not suitable for metal work, however, most suitable on wood surfaces. White lead possesses the poisonous substances. It gets discoloured on exposure to the air; therefore, it should always be kept covered. Consequently, white lead often gets used an as an undercoat.

Red Lead

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Read lead is an oxide of lead usually bright red in colour. It is available in market in either powder or paste form made by grinding with linseed oil. It is considered as most suitable for painting iron surfaces and also as a priming coat on wooden surfaces. It solidifies very quickly when mixed with linseed oil; therefore it can also be used as a drier.
Lead paint is paint that contains lead. Lead is used for quick drying, increasing durability, a maintaining a fresh appearance and resisting moisture that causes corrosion.Lead paint is poisonous and should not be used fresh. Precautions should be taken while scrapping old dry painted surfaces or while painting with spray machines.

Zinc Oxide or Zinc White

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It is an oxide of zinc and forms the base for almost all the zinc paints. It is a fine white zinc powder which is available in both in dry as well as paste form by mixing with linseed oil. It is smooth, transparent, unaffected by weathering, not affected by sulphur compounds, and not poisonous. However, it is costly, less workable and less durable than paints containing white led. When it gets hard, it forms the paint film very brittle and develops tendency of surface cracks.

Titanium White

This material possesses intense opacity. It is non-poisonous &provides a thin transparent film. This pigment is chemically inert and it is not affected by heat, light and acids and it also has very high covering power. Due to its high refractive index titanium white possesses excellent hiding power and hence it is generally used an undercoat in all sorts of exterior and interior organic coating.

Iron Oxide

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It is an oxide of iron and forms the base of all iron paints. It is a pigment produced from haematite ore. The pigment is obtained by grinding &levitating the red or brown haematite. It is effective in preventing rusting of iron surface when mixed with vehicle oil. It is cheap & durable paint, which is exclusively used for the priming coat on iron surface i.e. structural steel or iron.

Aluminium Powder

Aluminium powder forms the bulk of aluminium paints. It keeps moisture content of wood surface practically the same & also prevents cracking and warping of wood. It is generally used as priming coat to new wood work.

Lithophone

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This pigment is obtained from the precipitate formed by mixing equal quantities of the solutions of barium sulphate and zinc sulphate under carefully controlled conditions. It is a dense white pigment, having a good covering power, and it tends to turn yellow when exposed to sunlight. The paint made with lithopone as its base is generally used as under coat. It is also used in cheap enamels. It should not be allowed to come in contact with water.

Also Read:
ColouringPigment in the Paint
Different Types of Linseed Oils are Used in Paint
Base in Paint: All You Need to Know About (2024)

FAQs

Base in Paint: All You Need to Know About? ›

Base is a solid substance in a fine state that forms the body of paint. It forms the bulk of paint. It conveys the character of the paint.

What is base 1, base 2, base 3 paint? ›

A base is a paint medium specifically manufactured for mixing colors. Typically, base 1 is for pastels, 2 for slightly darker, on to base 4 which is used for intense darker colors. Aside from different formulations for each base, base 4 allows more room in the can for the addition of tinting colors than base 1.

Which paint base do I need? ›

Generally, latex-based paint is preferable for most of the walls in your home, while oil-based paint is recommended for your trim and baseboards to give them extra longevity.

What is base 1 base 2 base 3? ›

Things You Should Know. First base is kissing and making out, and second base is touching above the waist. Third base is stimulating anywhere below the waist, and fourth base, or home base, is having sexual intercourse. You may hear different definitions of each base depending on who you talk to.

Can I use base 1 paint without tint? ›

All Base Paints will need to be mixed with tints.

A quick way to determine if a paint product needs to be mixed is to read the label. If the paint has to be tinted, there will often be a warning or notice on the back or bottom.

Which is the excellent base for paint? ›

Commonly used bases for paints are white lead, red lead, zinc oxide, iron oxide, titanium white, aluminium powder and lithophone. Lead paint is suitable for painting iron and steel works, as it sticks to them well. White lead is most suitable for wood surfaces.

What are the two most common paint bases? ›

Oil- and water-based paints are two of the most popular types of color available on the home service market.

Can you put water-based paint over oil-based paint? ›

You cannot lay water-based paint on top of oil-based paint directly. If you opt to repaint your oil-based surfaces with a water-based color, you'll need to apply an oil-based primer first.

How do you tell what base your paint is? ›

The Alcohol Test – First, gently wash a section of your wall with a light detergent mixed in warm water, then dry the spot with a clean towel. Finally, rub a cotton ball soaked with rubbing alcohol over the area. If the paint comes off, you have latex-based paint. If it does not, you have oil-based.

What is an example of a base in paint? ›

Detailed Solution
  • Concept: ...
  • It is the mechanical dispersion of one or more fine pigments in a medium (thinner + vehicle). ...
  • Base: ...
  • E.g- White lead, Red lead, Zinc oxide, Iron oxide, etc. ...
  • It is a liquid that binds the pigment to the surface and protects pigment from decay e.g. linseed oil, dehydrated castor oil, etc.

What's the difference between deep bass and medium base paint? ›

Medium base creates a color between light and dark while Deep base produces a more darker color of paint. Take note the using paint base helps in determining how resistant a paint is to dirt and stains.

Should I paint wall or base first? ›

If you're more concerned about painting the bulk of the room, the walls will be more important. While there's no clear-cut answer, in most cases, it's easier to paint the trim first since it's a more seamless process to tape off the trim than tape the walls.

How to choose base colors? ›

There is no particular color to be considered as base color. It is a color that you must use or you love most. Once you picked a color, you need to choose some color-tone for light,highlight and shadow. Mix warm and cool tone to create a balance.

What are the different base color? ›

There are three commonly used primary colour models: RGB (red, green, and blue), CMY (cyan, magenta, and yellow), and RYB (red, yellow, and blue). The colour variations between the models are due to the differences between additive and subtractive colour mixing.

How do I choose a base color for a painting? ›

As a general guideline, try to pick a base colour that complements the dominate hue of the scene, so if it's a landscape with plenty of greens start with a red or purple base colour. Paint the scene as normal, but try to leave tiny pockets of the base colour showing through.

What is the common base used in a paint? ›

Commonly used bases for paints are white lead, red lead, zinc oxide, iron oxide, titanium white, aluminium powder and lithophone. Lead paint is suitable for painting iron and steel works, as it sticks to them well. White lead is most suitable for wood surfaces.

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