Interior

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 applications
• Exterior applications

Another possible split is between Professional application (ie. applied by professional painters) and DIY application (ie. applied by consumers).

For interior decorative applications, mineral fillers can play a range of roles:

• Block resistance: this is when two painted surfaces come together under applied pressure without sticking. Good block resistance, for example, will keep a door from sticking to the jamb, or a window from sticking to its frame. Standard waterborne paints have poor block resistance.
• Burnish resistance: mineral fillers can prevent shiny patches appearing on painted surfaces after gently wiping away dirt or stains.
• Ease of tinting: ideally, the fillers have limited or no impact on the tinting system used, making it easy to achieve consistent quality.
• Ferro-magnetic properties: using a filler with ferro-magnetic properties allows magnets to stick to the finished coating.
• Gloss control: regulating the volume of mineral fillers determines the high, neutral or low gloss level of the coating.
• Mud cracking resistance: minerals which have, for example, an acicular or lamellar shape can reinforce the binder matrix – preventing cracks from forming as paint applied in high film thickness dries.
• Wet scrub resistance: mineral fillers play an important role in maintaining the painted surface after it has been scrubbed clean (as opposed to gently wiped).
• Stain resistance: mineral fillers can support good stain blocking and stain resistant properties of paint.
• Cost reduction: mineral fillers are not typically the most costly component in interior decorative coatings. Further cost reductions can be achieved by optimising the use of TiO2 in the formulation.