PaintAdditives.org is an independent reference on the additives that formulators put into liquid paint, organized in 15 families and written from named primary sources.
It serves paint formulators, R&D and QC chemists, regulatory staff and raw-material buyers. The 15 families of paint additives are compared on the root page, every value comes from the body that issues it, and a producer data sheet counts only for that producer's own product. The Editorial Team writes every page, and a reader who finds an error writes to editorial@paintadditives.org.
How we check: regulations and classifications are read at the body that issues them, standards at the standards body, and every additive level names its basis and its source; the full method is in methodology and fact-checking.
What PaintAdditives.org Covers#
PaintAdditives.org covers the additive families a formulator adds to liquid paint, the substances behind them for paint use, the paint types, the defects, the tests and the rules that govern them.
Restricted and legacy substances such as lead driers, chromates, tributyltin, nonylphenol ethoxylates and UV-328 appear for their regulatory and replacement angle only, with guidance on what replaces them and no supplier request.
The 15 Additive Families in Scope#
The reference sorts paint additives into 15 families, listed below in the order of the root page. The paint types in scope are architectural and decorative paints, wood stains and varnishes, primers, industrial liquid paints, and road-marking and antifouling paints, both waterborne and solventborne.
- Rheology modifiers
- Dispersing agents
- Wetting agents
- Flow, leveling and slip additives
- Defoamers
- Driers
- Anti-skinning agents
- Coalescents and film-formation aids
- Biocides and preservatives
- Matting agents and waxes
- Corrosion inhibitors and anticorrosive pigments
- UV absorbers and light stabilizers
- Neutralizers
- Adhesion promoters
- Functional additives
What the Site Leaves Out#
The site leaves out four groups. They are consumer add-ins sold by brand, art paints, auto refinishing and paint removal; powder, UV-curable, coil and can coatings; neighboring fields such as inks and adhesives; and cosmetic and pharmaceutical uses. A molecule with several uses is described for its paint use only.
Who the Reference Is Written For#
The reference is written for paint formulators, R&D and QC chemists, regulatory and EHS staff and raw-material buyers at paint makers, with US rules and the Indian market covered beside EU law.
Metric units come first with US units in parallel, such as g/L with lb/gal (1 lb/gal = 119.83 g/L), °C with °F and µm with mils. Every additive level names its basis: percent metal on binder solids for driers, percent as supplied on pigment for dispersants and ppm active on total paint for biocides.
Where Every Value Comes From#
Every value comes from a named primary source: the issuing body for law and classification, the standards body for test methods, and a producer's data sheet only for that producer's own product.
The table compares the source behind each type of value.
| Value type | Issuing body or source | Example instrument or document |
|---|---|---|
| Substance identity (CAS, EC, formula) | ECHA for EC numbers, PubChem for CAS and structure | ECHA substance information, PubChem compound record |
| EU classification and restrictions | ECHA, EUR-Lex; IMO for antifouling systems | CLP Annex VI, REACH Candidate List, Annex XIV and XVII, EU Biocidal Products Regulation |
| EU VOC and Ecolabel rules | EUR-Lex | Directive 2004/42/EC |
| US federal and state rules | eCFR, EPA, SCAQMD, CARB, OEHHA | 40 CFR 59 subpart D, 16 CFR 1303, Proposition 65 list |
| Test methods | ASTM, ISO, CEN, BIS catalogues | Standard designation with edition year |
| Product values | Producer technical data sheet or guide formulation | The value of that product only |
The official source wins over a producer document, and a producer data sheet never overrides a regulation or a standard. The steps in how every value is sourced and checked apply this order to each fact. A hazard line follows the harmonized CLP Annex VI entry where one exists, and a notified classification is never called harmonized.
Encyclopedias, unauthorized copies of a standard or a law, and secondary blogs are never sources.
How a Sourced Value Reads on This Site#
A regulatory value names its jurisdiction, instrument and entry, category, basis and date, as the four examples below show.
- EU VOC definition: any organic compound with an initial boiling point of 250 °C (482 °F) or less at a standard pressure of 101.3 kPa, Directive 2004/42/EC Art. 2(5), consolidated text 02004L0042-20210716.
- EU category a, interior matt walls and ceilings: Phase II limit of 30 g/L (0.25 lb/gal) for waterborne and solventborne paint, ready to use, water included, from 2010-01-01.
- US architectural coatings: VOC content in g/L less water and exempt compounds, 40 CFR 59.406(a)(1), with the EPA Method 24 result governing over formulation data.
- US consumer paint lead limit: 0.009 % (90 ppm) of total nonvolatile content or dried film, 16 CFR 1303.1, since 2009-08-14.
The same number never travels between jurisdictions, because the EU figure keeps water in the calculation and the US figure removes it. Limits by jurisdiction are compared on VOC in paint.
Why PaintAdditives.org Is Producer-Neutral#
PaintAdditives.org is producer-neutral because it sells no additive and takes no payment for a listing, a ranking or an editorial mention. A producer is named only as the source of one product's value, or in a neutral alphabetical list on substance and supplier pages.
Trade names appear only in grades sections and as synonyms of the generic substance. No company is ranked or endorsed.
Requests reach independent providers and suppliers, and no listing on this site is paid for; read the editorial policy. Anyone who wants to request quotes for paint additives writes the specification once, and the request is not a ranking of anyone.
Who Writes the Pages: The Editorial Team#
No page claims an outside expert author or reviewer, and the team byline stands for the whole site.
The site names no individual, so trust rests on the sources and the dated values, which a reader can check. Independence rules, supplier listings and corrections follow the editorial policy.
Corrections and Contact#
A reader who finds an error writes to editorial@paintadditives.org with the page URL, the value and the primary source that contradicts it, and the team corrects the page against that source. A corrected value carries its new date.
Questions on scope or sources go to the same address.
The contact page lists the channels. Other ways to contact PaintAdditives.org are set out there.
Where to Start: Sections of the Reference#
The reference is organized in 9 sections, from substances to tools, and each section index lists every page in it.
- Paint additive substances: identity, function and regulatory status of each substance
- Paint formulations by paint type: the additive package of each paint type
- Paint formulation fundamentals: raw materials, process and additive levels
- Paint defects and the additives that prevent them: cause, additive fix and test
- Paint additive regulations: VOC, biocides, labels and restricted substances
- Paint test methods: how additive performance is measured
- Paint formulation calculators and quote requests: calculators and the quote request
- Paint additive glossary: terms, synonyms and abbreviations
- Privacy policy: what the site collects through its forms