Paints, Stains, and Finishes
This category of paint, stains, and finishes is actually part of fabrication, but the subject is so extensive that I am presenting it as its own category. There are two general categories of paints: Oil-based and water-based.
In the olden days, sign painters would have to make their own paint. Generally, oil-paint based consists of colorant (pigments), a vehicle, and dryers. Although I am a senior tradesman, even I do not remember exactly how lettering colors were made. I would imagine that each sign painter and probably all of the people he trained, had their own formula and materials.
Some of the pigments contained heavy metals or radioactive components. Consider bright white which contained white lead (lead carbonate or lead sulphate). This was common until the 1960s and1970s. Some green colors contained cupric hydrogen arsenic. It like lead is toxic and will accumulate in the body.
Another hazardous pigment was bright red, and orange were made brilliant by uranium oxide and, yes, it was radioactive. It can also be found in older ceramic glazes.
Today's Paint Formulations
Thankfully, today manufacturers of paints and coatings have eliminated most of the more toxic elements although paints, stains, thinners, and additives are still dangerous to the painter and to the environment. Many paint products give off high levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and should be handled respectfully and knowledgably.
If you contact the product manufacturer, they will provide you with a Safety Data Sheet that will tell you the chemical composition of the material, specific safe handling instructions, and health warnings. These sheets are OSHA required and available for all chemical products in your shop.
Water-based paints are divided into at least three general categories of either acrylic, latex, or tempera. Fairly recently oil-based paints have expanded into many different types but for our purposes we will write about bulletin enamels, lettering enamels, primers, and sealers. There are many more especially formulated for residential and commercial use that we may write about later.
Stains and Finishes
Women applying a finish coat to wooden project.The categories of stains and finishes will be described in more detail on the following pages. Basically, a wood stain is a pigment (colorant) suspended in a vehicle. The vehicle may be water, alcohol, oil based, or some type of finishing product like shellac, lacquer, varnish, or polyurethane. They get their color from pigments or dyes. Because of their molecular structure, pigments tend to be suspended in the vehicle and are considered solid and less transparent while dyes are dissolved in the vehicle and tend to be more transparent. But the type of wood will also determine how well the stain penetrates. Some stains will also have a binder to help it adhere to the surface of the wood. All of this will be discussed in the following pages as well as the use of finishes.
The Tools of the Trade
Photo of sign painter using Mahl Stick to steady his hand.Tools used for painting is another set of topics for our site’s pages. Brushes, rollers, containers, mahl sticks, yard sticks, and many more will be included. Staging and manlifts are another area to be discussed which overlaps with Installation and Safety topics. Spray painting and air brush equipment is another set of topics.
Choosing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is another set of topics. We will eventually write about shop setup and cleaning. It is EXTREMELY difficult to do clean work, particularly painting, in a dirty shop.
As you can see, there are many topics to cover in paint, painting, stains, and finishes to be discussed. I really hope you will read further and visit the site often and watch for updates. A great way to do that is to sign up for my newsletter and ask questions via the contact page. The newsletter will have updates, answers to questions, interviews, tips and hacks, and much more.