What are different paint finishes used for?

Painted architectural features and decoration have existed in various forms and finishes since ancient times, and their use has been changing with architectural styles and building technology.

First, artificial pigments were developed by Egyptians by grinding lumps of coloured glass or frit to give blue and green, but they seem to have used these colours rather sparingly, perhaps because of their high cost. They also used mineral blue and green made by crushing lapiz lazuli and malachite: these pigments would have been still rarer and even more costly.

The development of new pigments and paints over the centuries must have been driven primarily by commercial interests, to satisfy both artistic and decorative needs.

Some of the almost forgotten ancient paint techniques like limewashing, colour washing and soft distemper are now being revived, for aesthetic as well as ecological reasons.

Decorative painting techniques and paint finishes are now used not only to define and enlarge interior and exterior spaces visually but also to give a facade or interior a character. Ceilings and centrepieces, walls, wall panels, door and window trims, bar fronts and reception desks - all of these architectural elements can be enhanced through the skilful application of custom paint finishes.

Nowadays, most commercial painters work in acrylic paint as these dry fast, are durable, relatively odourless, give good coverage and are easy to combine with other mediums. However, making custom paint is not an easy process, and only a few artists have the expertise and understand the complexities of the process. There are several advantages to making custom paint over commercially available ones. You have control over the ingredients, and you can achieve greater clarity of hue, making paints far stronger than the standard commercial type. Most importantly, colours and finishes can be adjusted according to the project requirements and the desired effect.

There are unlimited choices when creating custom paint finishes. For commercial applications, the most common categories are metallic finishes, concrete finishes, Woodgrain finishes and Stone effects. These, with the proper surface preparation, can be applied on virtually any surface including metal, glass, MDF, plasterboard, 3d wall panels, chipboard, fabric, plaster and concrete.

Diemme Creative Solutions has a library of over 500 custom paint finishes that are continuously expanding.

Contact Diemme's highly experienced project managers about your next project and custom paint finishes; we love to collaborate and craft unique solutions for your architectural design projects.