Paint for Industry

There are various functions performed by an industrial paint or surface coating, some of which are examined below.

Protection
One important function of an industrial paint or surface coating is protection. This is usually the protection of a surface against an external environment which may be chemically or physically damaging. An example of this is corrosion. A steel object in a wet, oxygenated environment will rust quite rapidly but an organic surface coating, such as an industrial paint, can provide a useful degree of protection against this.

Decoration
Another important function is decoration. Decorating a surface to make it look attractive usually has three aspects to it. First of all, colour, which can be an infinite variety of shades. Decoration also involves hiding. Whereby the paint covers, or hides, what is underneath it so that the surface cannot be seen. The third aspect of decoration is gloss, which is the shininess of the surface.

Communication
Industrial paint can also be used to transfer information. For example, traffic paints painted on the road in lines or to form the words of an instruction such as STOP. British Standard 1710, 1984 states that water pipes should be green, oils brown and acid or alkali pipes violet. These colours all communicate information to a person who knows the code.

Environmental
Paint can also be used to modify the environment around the painted surface in some way. An important example of this function is the anti-fouling paints applied to the bottom of ships to stop the growth of weeds and barnacles. These growths cause excessive drag which in turn increases fuel consumption and hence operating costs whilst causing unnecessary pollution.

Modification
An industrial paint or surface coating can be applied to change the way a surface reacts. An example of this is water repellence. The bricks of a house with a wall exposed to driving rain will, over a period of time, soak up water and be damaged by frost. Also, evaporation of water from the bricks will cause a large heat loss. The bricks can be treated with a water repellent silicone solution so that any water falling on the surface runs away and does not penetrate.

Why choose Firwood?
Firwood Paints are manufacturers of specialist paint and coatings for industrial and commercial applications. Established in 1925, the company operates from two UK sites to service its home and overseas customers.
Firwood manufacture a comprehensive selection of paints and coatings that satisfy the needs of a diverse range of industries and specialist applications.
Attention to the needs of customers combined with an innovative approach to product development plus continuing investment in technology and manufacturing methods, guarantee that Firwood consistently produce high quality paints supplied with the best levels of service.