A solvent is a pure or mixed liquid that is used to make the paint flowable when it is applied. Solvents are chemical substances that can dissolve, suspend, or extract other materials. Solvents work on the principle of “like dissolves like.” Therefore, a solvent will work if it has similar chemical characteristics to the substance that it is trying to dissolve.
Water is also a solvent, which is described as “inorganic” (not containing carbon). Types of solvent are ester (ethyl acetate, butyl acetate), ketone (acetone, methyl ehtyl ketone, MIBK), alcohol (ethanol, buthanol), aromatic hydrocarbon (toluen, xylene, benzene), aliphatic hydrocarbon (n-hexane, heptane), ether (ethylene glycol monoethyl ether).
Solvents are volatile liquids added to paints to dissolve the binder (the resin component) and to modify the paint viscosity. The solvent must have an evaporation rate that works well in the application environment. Ideally, the solvent should also be nontoxic, of low cost, and have an acceptable odor.
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