How to Read a Paint Tube

Hi, I'm Katie Lydiard, and I'm here to kind of walk you through the information on different paint tubes. Each one is a little different, depending on the manufacturer, but I'm here to show you the general information that will be on each one. Ok. I have 3 different paint tubes here. Um, the first thing that you'll notice, of course, is the maker here.

Uh, these are the manufacturers. I have Gamblin, Georgian, and M. Graham. Uh, of course, the manufacturer's name is going to be bright and easy to read, right? You'll also notice the name of the color.

Now, the color that the manufacturer decides to name this specific tube is completely subjective. There is no rhyme or reason except for what they feel like, um, what they're going to call each individual paint that they manufacture. There is a database, and I'll tell you more about that in a moment, of some sort of consistency when it comes to pigments. But once they make it into paint, they can name it whatever they want. And so you'll see some kind of funny names.

Um, and you'll wonder what is that? And so a lot of manufacturers like to use kind of more razzle-dazzle type names for their paint. Um, what it ultimately comes down to is what pigments are in your paint. Ok, it will stay on here, whether it's an oil color or like this is an acrylic. It will also have a number here, series 4.

This one doesn't seem to have a series, but this one is series 1. The series number is how they ultimately price the paint. So the lower series tends to be a lot cheaper than the higher series. And what makes the paint more expensive or more cheap is not only how much pigment is in the paint, what type of pigment is in the paint, but also how many fillers are in the paint. So the cheaper the paint, the usually more cheap fillers are in the paint, and we want more quality pigment within that paint.

Um, so that's where you're kind of going to be seeing the price tag at. Ok, so that's all up on the front. And then if you'll also see, actually, the size, this is 2 fluid ounces, 59 mL, this is 37 mL. The smaller tubes are gonna be about 40 mL, um, but again, that just depends on the manufacturer. OK, if we turn it to the back.

there's a lot more information that we need to be aware of. Up here we have the pigment and right here that's where you're going to know exactly what pigment is in there. You can get onto the Color Index database. It's free online and you can check exactly what pigment is used using this. These letters and that number right next to it.

Um, over here this is where it is, it's kind of covered up by the barcode, unfortunately, but if you look really closely, you can see the letters and number and then over here on this acrylic. Let's see if we can find that. Here it is, right here. PBR 7. And it will also sometimes say right on there um what the pigment name is, so this is.

Calsalind natural iron oxide containing manganese. You may or may not know what that is. I certainly don't know what it is, but if I know what the oil content is, um, and I, or this, this one is acrylic, uh, but if I kind of know the ratios of oil to pigment or vehicle to pigment, um, then I can be a lot more aware of the quality of the paint. Um, like I mentioned, the word vehicle, the vehicle is the binder. It's what.

is allowing the pigment to become paint, and they grind it together until it emulsifies and attaches to each other. The paint and the pigment or excuse me, they grind it together until it, you know, comes together and the pigment is really bound to that vehicle. Now sometimes they do need to add a little bit extra, um, say if the vehicle is too thick, they'll have to add a dilutant. To make it able to actually be able to paint with, you know, uh, but on the whole, you're looking for just pigment and just vehicle, um, and you can see what the vehicle is here. This one is alkali refined linseed oil.

Um, this one, of course, is going to be acrylic, and so it's an acrylic polymer emulsion. Anything that isn't quite labeled, um, I, I kind of want to stay away from. OK, so that's the vehicle, and then you might notice here light fastness. This has kind of been a little dirty, uh, because this tube gets a lot of use. But light fastness, this one has it labeled as permanence down there.

This one is also light fastness. A lot of manufacturers use light fastness and permanence. Very similarly, but they actually mean different things. Permanence is the stability of the paint in a paint layer. Light fastness is how it reacts to UV light.

So we want a permanence that is also very light fast, and you can go to the manufacturer website to get the specifics on what each paint um does and the different tests that they've done to measure that. Uh, but we definitely want a good permanence and a good light fastness, and each manufacturer has a different code to indicate that. Um, the last thing that I want to talk about is this seal right here. This is a seal that tells me that it has been tested nontoxic for children and adults. This one does not have that.

However, this is going to be a far stronger paint in the paint layer, and so I'm going to be a lot more careful around pets and kids when I'm using this, and this one is going to be. Kind of, well, I'm gonna let my kids use it for their finger paints more. Uh, this is a student grade paint and this is a professional grade paint, and they handle much differently. So, next time you go to the art store, know what's in your paint, know the information on your paint tube so that you can make a more informed decision.