Non-Fading Property of Silicate Mineral Paints

Pigments are of mainly two varieties: Organic and Mineral. Organic pigments are carbon-based structures with certain groups called chromophores that are responsible for their distinct color. They are of practically unlimited variety and extremely versatile. Modern day acrylic paints typically rely on organic pigments for a majority of their shades. Organic pigments have the drawback of being vulnerable to weathering and thus tend to fade over a period of time (See our article on “UV Stability of Zydex Silicate Mineral Paints and the Si-O-Si bond“). Mineral pigments are typically metal oxides that have distinct coloring properties. Being in a highly oxidized state, they are not prone to further weathering and retain their coloring properties over 20+ years. Furthermore, due to their high refractive indices, they have excellent hiding power and opacity. Mineral pigments offer a somewhat limited color selection but good progress has been made in the last 20 years to cover almost the entire color gamut. Certain bright colors such as blue, orange, yellow etc. are made using rare earth metals and can be expensive.