Why Paints Are Moving Beyond Colour to Smarter Building Protection

Dr. Moulik Ranka, Managing Director, Zydex Group, explains how mineral-based coatings, healthier interiors and durable waterproofing are reshaping India’s paints industry

For decades, paints and waterproofing have largely been judged by how well they cover a surface. But as buildings become more sophisticated and homeowners demand healthier living spaces, the industry is being forced to rethink what a coating should actually do.

According to Dr. Moulik Ranka, Managing Director, Zydex Group, the next phase of innovation lies beneath the surface.

“The biggest challenge in India’s paints and waterproofing industry is that most technologies are still film-forming,” he says. “They work like a bandage placed over the wall, relying to protect the structure. But if that layer is damaged or moisture gets trapped behind it, the protection begins to fail.”

Zydex is taking a different route. Instead of creating a protective film on the surface, the company is developing mineral-based waterproofing systems that penetrate the masonry and become part of the structure itself.

“It is more like skin than a bandage,” Ranka explains. “A bandage can be peeled away. Skin cannot. When the material chemically bonds with the surface, it becomes far more durable and offers long-term protection.”

The same thinking is shaping the company’s paint technology. Unlike conventional paints that rely on acrylic polymers, Zydex is betting on silicate-based coatings, a technology widely associated with heritage buildings in Europe but still relatively new to the Indian market.

Traditional acrylic paints create an impermeable film that can trap moisture inside walls. Over time, that moisture often leads to blistering, bubbling and peeling, problems that are common in India’s humid and varied climatic conditions.

Silicate paints work differently. “The binder is potassium silicate, which gradually turns into a layer of stone,” says Ranka. “It remains microporous, allowing the wall to breathe instead of trapping moisture.”

That breathable quality not only improves durability but also reduces maintenance over the life of a building, an increasingly important consideration for homeowners, developers and institutions looking at lifecycle costs rather than just upfront prices.

Another area where consumer expectations are changing is indoor air quality.

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