A paint is usually very thick & viscous glob. To make it spread evenly, one requires a carrier or medium. In layman's terms, a paint thinner. "Solvent" is the industry term for such an agent. In earlier days, Wax, water, and lime were commonly used solvents used in paint. Modern day paints have water as the carrier for water-base paint, while petroleum works as solvent for oil-base paints. The other ingredients like the pigment & binder lay suspended in this liquid base & helps thin the color mixture. This allows the paint mixture to spread evenly. Usually, the thinner evaporates. In this article we will discuss various types of thinners as it is vital to understand what is good & what is not.

As mentioned there are two types of Solvents: Water & Synthetic (mineral oil / alkyd):

In the early years, oil-based paints were commonly used. One can easily identify oil-base paints from the strong odor noticeable in buildings that have been freshly painted. Not many know, but these odors emanating are of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) or in layman's terms the mineral oils. These VOCs are meant to evaporate & leave behind the layer of paint & binder sticking on the wall. In many countries these VOC are being termed as hazardous to both human health and for the environment & concerted efforts are being made to remove or at least reduce their concentration in paints.

Thanks to the ever evolving technology, new water-base paints have been developed are rapidly gaining acceptance & popularity among the health & environment conscious population. Not surprisingly, water-based paints account for about 80% of paints meant & consumed for the residential market. These paints are often called as Acrylic emulsions too. In modern commercial buildings VOC's under 250mg/l of VOCs are permitted, however, paint manufacturers are becoming more aware & are offering paints with even Zero VOC.

One need not worry about performace when using modern water-base paints since these are developed to far outpace the traditional oil-based paints. These paints offer excellent durability, quick drying time, and little or no emission of odor.

For a layman to determine what sort of paint he is holding, simply read the small-print concerning cleaning & maintenance. An oil-base paint will require white spirit or turpentine to clean the smudges & stains, while water-base paint requires mere warm water & soap to clean even the brush. An interesting point to note is that even these industrial-grade chemicals can cause nausea if a person is exposed to the fumes for some time! Also most the cleaners are highly volatile & flammable. All the more reason to opt for Water-base paint when painting your house.