Exterior
Architectural coatings make up approximately 50% of the total volume of paint produced globally. The market can be split in a number of ways, such as:
- Interior application
- Exterior application
Another possible split is between Professional application (ie. applied by professional painters) and DIY application (ie. applied by consumers).
For exterior decorative applications, mineral fillers can play a range of roles:
- Dirt pick-up resistance: the mineral filler can help make an exterior decorative coating clean, even after a long period of time.
- Ease of tinting: ideally, the fillers have limited or no impact on the tinting system used, making it easy to achieve consistent quality.
- Texture effects: the texture will depend on the particle size of the mineral filler used. The coarser the particle, the more pronounced the texture of the coating.
- Tint retention: not only should the binder system withstand outdoor conditions for as long as possible to protect the substrate, the colour should also be maintained. Mineral fillers can support the retention of the tint.
- UV resistance: the majority of mineral fillers are not affected by UV radiation, therefore support improved performance in outdoor applications.