Paint 101: Color Retention

In looking for the right paint for your home improvement project, you may have come across the term “Color Retention.” Simply put, this is paint’s ability to retain its original shade. Apart from paint formulation, environmental factors affect your paint’s color and your paint project.

Poor Color Retention Results in Chalking and Fading

Often confused to be the same paint condition, chalking and fading differ in description.

Chalking

Chalking is when a layer of chalk appears from the surface of your paintwork. It is caused by prolonged exposure to weathering, among other things:

• Skipping surface preparation
• Incorrect application of paint or spreading paint too thin
• Over-tinting paint that’s not intended for tinting
• Using low-grade paint. It’s important to know that highly pigmented and oil-based paints tend to chalk more.

Fading

In technical terms, paint’s fading is formally called Photodegradation. It refers to the lightening of the paint color, especially on surfaces with consistently high exposure to sunlight. These factors further speed up paint’s fading:

• Environmental pollutants that weaken the coating
• Poor maintenance
• Incorrect surface preparation and application of paint
• Using the wrong paint product

What needs to be remembered though is that paint naturally lightens over time. Loss of or change in paint’s color is caused by harsh elements such as intense UV exposure. But when premature fading or chalking happens, it’s usually due to the paint’s formulation, and its vulnerability to damaging elements. This vulnerability is otherwise known as poor color retention.

High Quality Paint for Guaranteed Color Retention

There’s no paint that can deliver life-long vibrance to your painted surfaces.  However, you can rely on high quality paints for longer-lasting colors.

Among superior adhesion and excellent hiding quality, Island Premium Paints guarantees outstanding color retention with its Product Satisfaction Guarantee. It is formulated to tough out the dry and wet seasons of the Philippine weather to keep premature paint damages such as chalking, fading and yellowing at bay.

Read more about paints and plan your home improvement projects with para sure tips from Island Paints!