Question about enamel paint

Bgrigg wrote:

Ah, there I go thinking, again!

Thinking never hurt anyone.  I am just not going to take any chances

Triarius wrote:

Bgrigg wrote: I thought Enamel paints meant it dried to a hard, durable finish, regardless of whether it was oil, acrylic, or latex based? I also thought Enamel paint itself was the misnomer, compared to fired "vitreous" enamel? Ah, there I go thinking, again! That's okay—I used to get paid to think. But then I got so good at it that they decided they'd rather have me make money for them instead. But I wanted to keep thinking, so they let me go… On Topic: Coatings science is the only field I have ever encountered that has a more complex, contradictory, and confusing terminology than geology—and the Glossary of Geology is bigger than a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. "Enamel" in coatings technology, has come to mean any paint that is made with a hydrocarbon soluble polymer that is not compatible with water. In the coatings ad biz, the word gets used very loosely, because people associate it with durability. Indeed, that was why the term was originally used for paint—as a sales gimmick associating its finish with the original meaning: a fired, vitreous finish. This is the simple, short explanation. I know a paint chemist who can talk on the subject until your eyes glaze over so thoroughly that it makes true enamel look dull…

That's okay, Ross, you did fine all by yourself. My left eyeball has a definite glazed quality! 

Bgrigg wrote:

I thought Enamel paints meant it dried to a hard, durable finish, regardless of whether it was oil, acrylic, or latex based? I also thought Enamel paint itself was the misnomer, compared to fired "vitreous" enamel? Ah, there I go thinking, again!

That's okay—I used to get paid to think. But then I got so good at it that they decided they'd rather have me make money for them instead. But I wanted to keep thinking, so they let me go…

On Topic: Coatings science is the only field I have ever encountered that has a more complex, contradictory, and confusing terminology than geology—and the Glossary of Geology is bigger than a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

"Enamel" in coatings technology, has come to mean any paint that is made with a hydrocarbon soluble polymer that is not compatible with water. In the coatings ad biz, the word gets used very loosely, because people associate it with durability. Indeed, that was why the term was originally used for paint—as a sales gimmick associating its finish with the original meaning: a fired, vitreous finish.

This is the simple, short explanation. I know a paint chemist who can talk on the subject until your eyes glaze over so thoroughly that it makes true enamel look dull…

I thought Enamel paints meant it dried to a hard, durable finish, regardless of whether it was oil, acrylic, or latex based? I also thought Enamel paint itself was the misnomer, compared to fired "vitreous" enamel?

Ah, there I go thinking, again!

"Oil-based" is a common misnomer for enamels. Originally, the most permanent paints (not including encaustics) were made with oils that would eventually dry to a hard film that was difficult to redisolve. The term was, improperly, transfered to more modern paints made with petroleum-based polymers, since these were derived from petroleum—oil, in common use. Today, although some enamel paints contain drying oils in addition to the other binders, the term "oil paint" is properly applied only to the paints used by artists (when they aren't using acrylics…)

Bottom line: yes, you can turn in the dried up paint, whether it is truly oil-based or enamel. 

Enamel paint is petroleum based, i.e., it is thinned with mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, etc.  It is not diluted with water.  HTH.

E