Glossary

A - Z list of keywords and terms from the coatings industry.

H

Hardness

Coatings should not scratch or mark easily. The most extreme example is paints for the bows of icebreakers, which use extremely hard pigments to enable them to stand up to months of cutting through pack ice. Another form of marking can occur when coatings rub together, particularly in printing and packaging applications. Rub resistance may be improved by using small amounts of waxes as additives.

Hazard Warning label

Labels which must, by law, be attached to packs of certain coatings (and other!) products. They warn of the particular main hazards by bold symbols (e.g. a flame for flammability) and give a selection of warning phrases based on the ingredients of the coating and the quantities in which they are present.

Haze

High quality gloss surfaces have a clear, deep, brilliant finish. Haze causes a drop in reflected contrast and causes halos to appear around light sources, these unwanted effects dramatically reduce visual quality.

Heat Set

A litho printing process using reels of paper ('webs'), in which the ink is cured quickly before the web is rewound by infra red heat.

High Solids

Coatings in which the solid or potentially solid parts (mainly resins and pigments) form a large part (usually over 75%) of the coating's volume.

High Speed Disperser

A powerful mixer for liquid coatings, which can be used for primary or complete dispersion, depending on the coating involved. A vertical shaft with a blade (which may be in a specially designed cage) can be lowered into the mixture of resins, solvents and pigments. Rotating at high speed, the blade, if positioned at the right height, can create a severe vortex, circulating the coating and dispersing the pigments.

High Viscosity Mixer

A general term for pug mixers, blade mixers and vertical mixers which can disperse pastes and heavy slurries.

Humidity

Water content within the air.

Hygrometer

An instrument used to measure the relative humidity.

Getting in touch.

To place an order or to find out more about HMG Paints get in touch via the details below.