” Others ground the canvases with glove glue and finely sifted ash, instead of gypsum and […] they prime it solely with common red ochre ground up with linseed oil; this they use in Madrid
Types of Paint Used in Construction
Since painting enhances the look of buildings, it is a common element of renovation projects. However, paints have additional uses beyond improving appearance. Knowing the performance features of each type of paint is important to select the best product for each application.
Painting is normally carried out for the following reasons:
- Protecting surfaces from insects, rain, solar radiation and other external factors
- Simpler maintenance: Well painted surfaces are easier to keep clean and safe
- Increasing the visual appeal of a surface
- Waterproofing
- Increasing surface durability
Before selecting the type of paint for a specific application, its physical properties must be considered. A good paint will offer the following benefits:
- Ease of application
- Reasonable drying period
- Forming a thin film without cracking
- Forming a hard and durable coating
- Its performance should not be affected by the weather
- Not harmful for users
Are your MEP systems using the right types of paint?
Oil Paint
Oil paints use white lead as a base, and are applied in three coats: primer, undercoat and finish coat. Oil paints can achieve mat and glossy finishes, while being durable and affordable. They are characterized by their ease of application, and painted surfaces are easy to clean. Oil paint is commonly used in walls, doors, windows and metal structures.
Note that oil paint is not suitable for humid conditions, and it takes time to dry completely. Also, before applying oil paints, linseed oil and pigments must be added.
Enamel Paint
This type of paint is produced by adding lead or zinc to varnish. Pigments are added to achieve a wide variety of colors. Enamel paints form hard and glossy coatings, which are easily cleaned. They are characterized by being waterproof and chemically resistant, offering good coverage and color retention.
The following are some common uses of enamel paint:
- Interior and exterior walls
- Wood trims, doors, and flooring
- Windows
- Stairs
- Surfaces like wicker, masonry, concrete, plaster, glass, and metals.
The main limitations of enamel paint are slow drying, and requiring a titanium coating before application.
Emulsion Paint
Emulsion paints use polyvinyl acetate and polystyrene as binding materials, and they contain driers like cobalt and manganese. They can be water or oil based, and pigments are used to achieve the desired color. Emulsion paints are characterized by their fast drying and hardening, and surfaces can be cleaned easily with water. Once applied, enamel paints offer durability, good color retention, and alkali resistance.
Emulsion paints are commonly used for interior walls, ceilings and masonry work. Some specialized types of emulsion paints can be used for woodwork.
Cement Paint
Cement paint is available in powder form, which is mixed with water to achieve paint consistency. The base material is white or colored cement, and it may also contain pigments, accelerators and other additives. Cement paint is durable and waterproof, and it is commonly used in rough internal and external surfaces.
Consider that cement paint has a long drying time, typically 24 hours. It must also be applied in two coats to prevent dampness issues.
Bituminous Paint
This type of paint is made from dissolved asphalt or tar, which gives it a characteristic black color. It is waterproof and alkali-resistant, but not suitable for applications where it will be exposed to the sun, since it deteriorates.
Bituminous paint is commonly used in underwater ironworks, concrete foundations, wooden surfaces and iron pipes. It also helps provide rust resistance when applied in metals.
Aluminium Paint
This type of paint is produced by mixing aluminium particles with oil varnish. It is resistant to corrosion, electricity and weather exposure. Aluminum paint is commonly used for metals and wood, and some specific applications are gas tanks, oil tanks, water pipes and radiators.
Anti-Corrosive Paint
Anticorrosive paint is characterized by its chemical resistance, as implied by its name. It is made from linseed oil, zinc chrome and fine sand. Anticorrosive paint has a black color, and it is durable and affordable. It is normally used for metallic surfaces and pipes.
Synthetic Rubber Paint
This paint is made from dissolved synthetic resins, and can include pigments. It has a moderate cost and its main benefits are chemical resistance, fast drying and weather resistance. Synthetic rubber paint is used for concrete surfaces in general, and this includes fresh concrete.
Cellulose Paint
Cellulose paint is produced from celluloid sheets, amyl acetate and photographic films. Adhesion can be improved by adding castor oil, and surfaces can be easily cleaned and washed once the paint has dried. This type of paint is characterized by its quick drying, smooth finish and hardness, while offering resistance to water, smoke and acids. Thanks to its properties, cellulose paint is commonly used in cars and airplanes.
The main disadvantage of cellulose paint is its high price.
Plastic Paint
This paint uses water as a thinner, and it is available in a wide range of colors. It dries very quickly and offers high coverage. The following are some common applications:
- Walls and ceilings of auditoriums, showrooms, display rooms, etc
- Slabs
- Decks
Silicate Paint
Silicate paint is made from a mixture of silica and resinous substances. Its performance benefits include good adhesion, hardness, heat resistance, and being chemically unreactive with metals. Therefore, this type of paint is commonly used in metal structures.
Casein Paint
This paint is made from casein mixed with white pigments. It is available in powder and paste form, and pigments can be added. Casein paint is commonly used to paint walls, ceilings and wood.
Conclusion
As listed above, there are many types of paints and their applications vary greatly. The reasons to use paint in construction include visual appeal, surface durability, chemical protection and pest protection. Each type of paint is designed for specific applications – adequate paint selection can reduce project costs while improving performance.
Painting is often regarded as an aesthetic improvement for buildings, but it brings many technical advantages as well. These include chemical protection and easier maintenance.
Nearby Engineers New York Engineers has a MEP design track record of 1,000+ projects. Contact us via email ([email protected]) or phone (786) 788-0295 212-575-5300 , and make sure your building systems meet codes.
The evolution of preparations for painting on canvas in sixteenth century Spain Pantoja de la Cruz, Juan
In the mid-sixteenth century canvas replaced wood as the typical support in Spanish painting. This change brought with it a review of the usual systems of preparing the surfaces before painting. Based on the analysis of microsamples from several works in the Museo del Prado collection, this article traces the evolution of the preparation of canvases in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain. The information obtained is compared with the instructions found in the main treatises of the period.
Boletín del Museo del Prado, Tomo XXVIII n.º 46, pp. 39-59, 2010 (english translation):
The evolution of preparations for painting on canvas in sixteenth and seventeeth century Spain
María Dolores Gayo and Maite Jover de Celis. Analysis lab, Museo Nacional del Prado
Introduction
The introduction of canvas as a support for painting, brought about by Venetian painters who developed and popularized its use, was a giant step forward in the history of art. Canvas possessed numerous advantages compared to traditional painting supports: it was more resistant to damp than fresco painting, and at the same time it permitted larger formats than wooden panels, it was less costly and less prone to deterioration (cracking, insect damage, etc.) and, as it was lighter and could be rolled up, it was easier to transport1.
In the mid-sixteenth century, following the example of Italy, painting on canvas began to develop in Spain. In Northern Europe, however, the use of panels would continue as the main medium support for easel painting, especially for important works, and it was not until the seventeenth century that the use of canvas would finally prevail2.
This shift towards the use of canvas as a support brought with it a new preparation procedure to prime it before the painting process began, since the system used for panels (applying thick coats of gypsum or calcium carbonate aggregated with animal glue), proved to be too rigid for such a flexible, deformable material as canvas. Thus commenced the search for alternative formulas to attain a surface suited to the new requirements arising from a base layer possessing very different characteristics and behaviour.
That search not only extended to the suitability of the materials in terms of their physical properties –such as flexibility, absorption, and drying– but also to an artistic transition moving towards new lighting and colour effects which would be effected by the colour chosen for the surface to be painted on. The aim was to find a procedure that guarantee proper conservation of the painting while also contributing attractive possibilities as a starting point to create shadows, backgrounds and colours.
The terminology employed to refer to the inner layers of a painting has always been confusing and, in a certain sense, contradictory. In this study we have opted for the following definitions:
- Preparation: is the modern term used to refer to the whole set of layers which are applied to the support to facilitate painting on it. The preparation comprises both the ground layer and the priming layer.
- Ground layer: its role is to isolate the support. It is generally formed by a succession of layers; the innermost one is an organic sizing which acts as a sealant coating usually covered by other layers of inert materials, such as gypsum or calcium carbonate, with the aim of creating a smooth, flat surface3. This succession of layers can be finished off with a final layer of animal glue or of drying oil which reduces the absorption of this porous surface.
- Priming layer: this layer, which possesses a specific colour freely chosen by the artist, will be in direct contact with the paint. Most often the priming layer is oil-based, something that also helps to seal the ground layer, and in this manner prevents the painting having a matte appearance. It is also possible to paint directly onto a colourless ground layer, though this was infrequent in the period we are referring to and its usage was not been described as a commonplace practice in contemporary treatises4.
In publications, especially in English, it is quite common to find the term «double ground» used to describe this system. However, in this article we have opted to employ the terms explained previously, owing to their more widespread usage in Spanish terminology, particularly in artistic treatises on Baroque painting which we will be referring to further on.
The objective of this paper is, therefore, to initiate a study of the development of preparations for painting on canvas in sixteen and seventeen century Spain. To this end we have compared works by various painters at different moments in time, systematically analysing the colour and composition of the aforesaid layers. Furthermore, we have had recourse to studies of other works published in the literature in the last few years, comparing the results with the painting procedures recorded in the artistic treatises of the period.
In a separate section, we have studied the preparations used by a group of artists who worked together on a single project: the decoration of the Hall of Realms in the new Buen Retiro Palace, from 1634 to 1635. This commission, quite unique in terms of the painting of the period, provides us with a collection of works by Spanish artists in a single setting, and with the opportunity to compare the features of precisely contemporaneous examples.
The existing information we have about the materials employed by the artists is scanty and incomplete. This paper aims to take the first step in researching this broad and complex subject, which is open to review and to development in other directions. The addition of new data from the study of more paintings by the Prado Museum’s Analysis Laboratory combined with data from specialist literature will allow for a more comprehensive study.
1
Despite the obvious advantages of canvas, at first it was regarded as a second-class material, due perhaps to its comparatively low price. Felipe de Guevara expresses his opinion along these lines in Comentario de la Pintura [Comments About Painting], written in about 1560, regarding the quality of the supports made using canvas compared to the traditional wooden panel. While he admits the usefulness of canvases – “they are most convenient [. ] by being portable one may more easily move them from one place to another”-, he continues to regard them as a flawed material compared to the “excellence” he ascribes to painting on panel. According to this author “This latest technique of painting with oils on canvas is generally so well-received this day and age, that I almost think it has [sic] acevilado “debased” [a variant spelling of envilecido according to a clarifying note by Antonio Ponz, or acivilado according to the Dictionary of the Real Academia Española de la Lengua] painting to a large extent, having overthrown the authority and perpetuity of panels”. One needs to bear in mind, however, that Guevara was not himself a painter, and his comments are therefore those of a theoretician and not of someone who knew his materials and was required to use them in his profession. F. DE GUEVARA, Comentario de la Pintura [. ] y algunas notas de Antonio Ponz, Jerónimo Ortega (ed.), Madrid, 1788, p.75.
2
A noteworthy example of this may be found in the many works, including large-scale pieces, painted on panel by Peter Paul Rubens, which coexisted with his use of the canvas right up until his death in 1640.
3
The Spanish term for ground layer, “aparejo”, is used in the sense of “parejo”, which means even, smooth and uniform, to allude to the characteristics a surface prepared for painting should possess.
4
In effect, it is more common to find paint applied directly on top of the ground layer when it comes to painting on wooden panels. See M. GÓMEZ and M. JOVER “Fernando Gallego en Trujillo: Estudios Químicos”, Bienes Culturales, 8 (2008), pp. 49-60, and M. GÓMEZ, “Estudio analítico de la técnica pictórica. Aplicación a tablas y retablos españoles”, in A. SERRA et al., La pintura europea sobre tabla. Siglos XV, XVI y XVII, Madrid, 2010, pp. 148-159.
The artistic treatises
Of the various artistic treatises written in this period, the ones by the painters Francisco Pacheco (1564-1644), Vicente Carducho (1576-1638) and Antonio Palomino (1655-1726) contain the most detailed explanations about the materials used5. In all three cases the treatises deal with the art of painting in general and include, at shorter or greater length, references to the materials and the procedures employed by artists. In addition, the text often includes an assessment of methods by comparing technique and approaches.
Arte de la Pintura [The Art of Painting] by Francisco Pacheco, was published posthumously in 1649. The Libro Tercero [Third Volume] is the most interesting from the point of view of artistic techniques and it contains detailed descriptions of procedures to follow in choosing materials and tools, in preparing supports, mixing colours, etc. This artist and theorist not only regarded the canvas as a recommendable support, he went as far as to extol its advantages: «the invention of oil painting on canvas was very useful because of the risk panels have of opening and because of its lightness making it easy to carry paintings to various provinces»5. With regard to the application and composition of the ground layer and
the priming layer, he considers a number of different systems and evaluates the suitability of each6:
”
Some prepare with a porridge made of flour or spelt meal, cooking oil and a little honey (a not very appetizing, almost edible, mixture) […] and once it dries they apply pumice stone to it and prime it with oil
In other words, it is a very organic style ground layer (flour starch, oil, sugars from honey), but without any inert materials which therefore made it prone to deterioration when exposed to a damp atmosphere, something the author also points out. He goes on by describing other methods,
”
Others ground with glove glue, which after drying is applied with the same again, tempered with finely sifted gypsum […] and they prime it with a brush once or twice
This refers to a gypsum and glue ground layer, similar to the ones used to prepare panels, but unlike these it was applied in a single layer.
”
Others ground the canvases with glove glue and finely sifted ash, instead of gypsum and […] they prime it solely with common red ochre ground up with linseed oil; this they use in Madrid
On this occasion, ashes are used to ground the canvas and a red priming layer is applied on top on which to paint, and he expressly associates this technique with painters from Madrid.
”
Others employ a priming layer made of white lead, red lead and charcoal black all ground together with linseed oil on top of a gypsum ground layer
This priming layer produced a warm grey tone, which was also applied on top of a gypsum ground layer.
Those first four methods involve a relatively thick ground layer containing varying amounts of organic material. Pacheco discouraged their use because «the canvases get damp and rot over time and the painted areas scab and flake». He suggests an alternative system:
”
A more reliable means I have found is soft glove glue… which is used thinly to cover the pores of the canvas; leave it to soak in well and […] prime it on top […]. The best and smoothest priming layer is that kind of clay used in Seville, ground to powder and tempered on the millstone with linseed oil […] to which you may add, if you wish, some lead white to the clay to give it more body
In other words, he proposes a ground layer reduced to solely a few hands of animal glue covered by a thick priming layer (he specifies at least threes coats should be applied) made of clay and a touch of lead white which would act as a siccative7. This was the method employed by the painters of Seville.
When it comes to describing materials and methods, The Eighth Dialogue of Vicente Carducho’s Diálogos de la Pintura(1633) [Painting Dialogues] is quite meagre in details compared to Pacheco’s treatise. As regards the process of readying the canvases prior to being painted in oils, his only comment is: «firstly coating with glue that which is to be painted on, and afterwards the rest of the gypsum ground layers and priming layers are added»8. So he mentions animal glue followed by a gypsum ground layer and a priming layer, but without describing in any detail the kind of binder each layer should use nor its amount or thickness. Since our study includes an analysis of various micro-samples taken from works by Vicente Carducho, later on we will discuss the correlation between these instructions and the method actually employed by the author.
Lastly, the volume La práctica de la pintura [The Practice of Painting], from the complete work El Museo Pictórico y Escala Óptica (1715-1724) [The Pictorial Museum and Optical Scale] by Palomino, is extraordinarily prolific in explanations and all kinds of considerations regarding the right or wrong practice of a painter’s trade. It describes, among other matters, materials and utensils, ways to stitch the canvas, its properties, how to nail it in addition to ways to prepare it prior to painting. Like Pacheco, he weighs the many advantages of the use of canvases in comparison to panels, a support he recommends solely for small-scale works which do not entail assembling various pieces. With regard to the preparation of the canvas, he mentions a variety of methods, which generally coincide with the ones described by Pacheco9:
”
The first coat for the ground layer […] is made by heating water […] and then adding finely sifted flour to it […]; some people subsequently add a little honey and a touch of linseed oil according to their liking, but not ordinary cooking oil.
This ground layer, devoid of inorganic inert materials, is the same as the first one described by Pacheco, and Palomino too discourages its use «because it becomes mouldy when left in damp places». He continues: «The other method of preparing the canvas in the first coating is with glove glue». This type of thinner and organic ground layer was the one most recommended by Pacheco and it appears that Palomino prefers it too as he does not mention any drawbacks to its use whatsoever. At the end of the chapter he refers to a final system which in his opinion is not to be recommended: it is the same one made of ashes and animal glue that Pacheco mentioned. Palomino regards these ground layers as excessively thick and rigid, deeming it better for the priming layer to be practically touching the canvas10.
In the next paragraph he goes on to describe oil priming layers, noting the differences between techniques followed in Seville and Madrid. Firstly he describes –generally coinciding with Pacheco– a clay priming layer, made mainly of ferruginous clays and an oil binding:
”
Made for this or that kind of ground layer, an oil-based priming layer is prepared, which in Andalusia and other places is made from river silt deposited during flooding which, when it dries in hollows, can be prised up like shingles.
With regard to Madrid he clarifies
”
… when this is not available, greda may be used, which in Madrid they call tierra de Esquivias, the kind used to cure wine, the priming layer is made, grinding it up firstly on a stone mill […] and then adding a small amount of red ochre to grant it colour and consistency, and mixing in linseed oil.
This priming layer uses a different type of white clay called greda, which is coloured by adding red oxide pigments11. This layer is the same colour as the one described by Pacheco, but has different components, since Pacheco makes no mention of greda.
Lastly, in both cases Palomino advises adding some kind of siccative, «since both silt and greda are non-drying». He is referring to the addition of «a portion of old colours»12 –in other words, the leftovers of colours on the palette or sometimes, the direct use of «sombra del viejo» [umber pigments], associated with very dark brown coloured shading pigments composed of manganese oxides– which actively encourages the drying of oils. Other pigments with siccative properties could be found in palette leftovers (such as white lead, copper and cobalt pigments and manganese too).
Both Carducho and Palomino, mention how incommodious this process of preparing the canvases prior to painting is for artists, a task that should be carried out by «millers, or servants» or entrusted directly to specialist workshops. This detail is worth bearing in mind when it comes to trying to understand some of the similarities between works by different artists or discrepancies in the oeuvre of a single painter who seemingly employs different materials indistinctly.
The extent to which the methodological descriptions contained in these treatises faithfully reflected real practices and whether they have been borne out by current analytical data will be assessed in subsequent sections.
5
F. PACHECO, Arte de la pintura (1649), Bonaventura Bassegoda (ed.), Madrid, 1990, pp. 480-490; V. CARDUCHO, Diálogos de la pintura, imprenta de Manuel Galiano, Madrid, 1865, pp. 296-301; A. PALOMINO, Museo pictórico y escala óptica. Tomo II: La práctica de la pintura (1715), Madrid, 1988, pp. 125-134.
6
PACHECO, op. cit. (note 5), p. 481.
