The Language of Finishing: Paint and Coatings Glossary A–B

Practical definitions for the materials, equipment, processes, inspection methods, and application terminology used throughout the professional coatings industry.

This installment of The Language of Finishing covers industry terms beginning with the letters A and B. Definitions are written for applicators, inspectors, contractors, maintenance personnel, finishing-line operators, equipment professionals, specifiers, and others who work with applied coatings.

Where a term has different meanings across coating sectors, the primary definition is followed by an industry-specific explanation.

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A

Abrasion

Industry areas: Floor Coatings, Protective Coatings, Marine, OEM, Linings

Abrasion is the wearing, grinding, rubbing, or removal of a coating caused by mechanical contact. Foot traffic, vehicle tires, sliding equipment, cargo, cleaning tools, abrasive particles, and moving liquids containing solids can abrade a coating.

Related terms: Abrasion Resistance, Erosion, Wear Resistance

Abrasion Resistance

Abrasion resistance is a coating’s ability to withstand mechanical wear without excessive loss of thickness, protection, or appearance. It is especially important for floors, decks, cargo areas, pipelines, hoppers, tanks, and equipment exposed to repeated contact.

Laboratory abrasion results are useful for comparison, but they may not reproduce every field condition. ASTM D4060 addresses abrasion resistance using a Taber Abraser, while ASTM D968 covers falling-abrasive methods.

Abrasive

Industry areas: Surface Preparation, Protective Coatings, Marine, Rail, Aerospace, OEM

An abrasive is a material used to clean, roughen, shape, or remove material from a surface. Common blasting abrasives include steel shot, steel grit, garnet, aluminum oxide, coal slag, crushed glass, and other natural or manufactured media.

Abrasive selection affects surface cleanliness, profile, production rate, dust generation, contamination risk, and operating cost.

Abrasive Blast Cleaning

Abrasive blast cleaning propels abrasive particles against a surface to remove rust, mill scale, old coating, and other contamination while producing a surface profile.

The required degree of cleanliness must be specified. Terms such as white-metal, near-white-metal, commercial, industrial, and brush-off blast cleaning describe different prepared-surface conditions. They are not interchangeable.

Related terms: Blast Cleaning, Anchor Profile, Surface Cleanliness, Surface Profile

Abrasive Media

Abrasive media is the material propelled against a surface during abrasive blast cleaning. Media may be metallic or nonmetallic, expendable or recyclable, angular or rounded.

Angular media generally produces a sharper profile, while rounded media tends to peen the surface and create a more rounded profile. The coating specification and substrate should govern media selection.

Accelerated Weathering

Industry areas: OEM, Automotive, Aerospace, Architectural, Protective Coatings, Roof Coatings

Accelerated weathering exposes coated test specimens to controlled ultraviolet radiation, moisture, heat, or other conditions intended to produce property changes associated with outdoor exposure in less time.

Accelerated weathering is normally used to compare materials or evaluate changes in color, gloss, chalking, cracking, and other properties. It should not automatically be interpreted as a direct prediction of years of outdoor service. ASTM G154 covers the operation of fluorescent ultraviolet lamp apparatus used for material exposure.

Acceptance Criteria

Industry areas: Inspection, Quality Control, OEM, Aerospace, Protective Coatings

Acceptance criteria are the established requirements used to determine whether materials, preparation, application, testing, or completed coating work is acceptable.

Acceptance criteria may include allowable environmental conditions, surface cleanliness, surface profile, coating thickness, cure, adhesion, appearance, holiday-test results, and defect limits. The criteria should be established before inspection begins.

Acrylic Coating

Industry areas: Automotive Refinish, OEM, Architectural, Roof Coatings, Wood Finishing

An acrylic coating uses an acrylic-based binder and is commonly selected for color retention, gloss retention, weather resistance, clarity, and appearance. Acrylic coatings may be waterborne, solvent-borne, thermoplastic, thermosetting, or combined with other resin technologies.

Performance varies considerably by product. The term “acrylic” alone does not establish chemical resistance, service temperature, or suitability for a particular application.

Activator

Industry areas: Automotive Refinish, Aerospace, OEM, Protective Coatings, Floor Coatings

An activator is a component added to certain coatings to initiate or enable the intended curing reaction. It may also be called a hardener, converter, or catalyst, although these terms are not always chemically identical.

The manufacturer’s specified mixing ratio must be followed. Too much or too little activator can affect pot life, hardness, adhesion, appearance, chemical resistance, and complete cure.

Adhesion

Industry areas: All Coating Sectors

Adhesion is the ability of a coating to remain attached to the substrate or to another coating layer. Adhesion may be influenced by cleanliness, surface profile, coating compatibility, application conditions, cure, moisture, and service exposure.

Adhesion should not be confused with cohesion, which is the internal strength of the coating itself.

Adhesion Failure

Adhesion failure is separation at the interface between two different materials. Examples include separation between the primer and steel, between two coating layers, or between a floor coating and concrete.

Identifying the actual plane of separation is essential. A detached coating does not automatically prove poor adhesion to the substrate; the failure may have occurred between coats, in a surface contaminant, or within a weak substrate.

Adhesion Test

An adhesion test evaluates how well a coating is attached to its substrate or another coating layer. Common field methods include tape testing and pull-off testing.

ASTM D3359 covers tape-test procedures for relatively ductile coatings on metallic substrates. ASTM D4541 covers pull-off testing using portable adhesion testers.

Results from different test methods or instrument types should not be treated as directly interchangeable.

AED — Anodic Electrodeposition

Industry areas: E-Coat, OEM, Metal Finishing

AED means anodic electrodeposition. It is an electrocoating process in which the workpiece serves as the anode during coating deposition.

Anodic systems preceded the widespread adoption of cathodic electrocoat in many automotive and industrial applications. The equipment, coating chemistry, electrical controls, and pretreatment system must be designed for the selected electrocoat process.

Aerated Powder

Industry areas: Powder Coating

Aerated powder is powder coating material through which controlled air has been introduced to help the powder behave more like a fluid. Proper aeration supports consistent delivery from a feed hopper or fluidized bed.

Insufficient aeration may produce poor flow and surging. Excessive air can create geysers, uneven feeding, or excessive powder movement.

Aerosol

Industry areas: Spray Application, Safety, Industrial Hygiene

An aerosol is a suspension of fine liquid droplets or solid particles in air or another gas. Spray application creates an aerosol of coating droplets, while powder coating creates airborne solid particles.

Aerosol size and concentration affect transfer, overspray, ventilation requirements, worker exposure, and fire or explosion hazards.

Air-Assisted Airless Spray

Industry areas: Wood Finishing, OEM, Industrial Finishing, Protective Coatings

Air-assisted airless spray uses moderate-to-high fluid pressure to provide most of the atomization, then adds relatively low-pressure compressed air at the spray gun to shape and refine the pattern.

It can provide a softer pattern and finer finish than conventional high-pressure airless spray while maintaining higher production than many air-spray applications.

Related terms: Airless Spray, Atomization, Air Cap, Fluid Pressure

Air Cap

Industry areas: Air Spray, HVLP, LVMP, Automatic Spray

An air cap is the spray-gun component that directs compressed air around the fluid stream to atomize the coating and shape the spray pattern.

Air caps are engineered to work with particular guns, fluid nozzles, coating flow rates, and air volumes. Air-cap selection affects atomization quality, pattern size, air consumption, and transfer efficiency.

Air Compressor

Industry areas: Spray Application, Abrasive Blasting, Pneumatic Equipment

An air compressor produces compressed air for spray guns, pneumatic pumps, controls, breathing-air systems, blast-cleaning equipment, and other shop or field operations.

A compressor must provide adequate air volume at the required pressure after accounting for piping losses and simultaneous demand. Compressor horsepower alone does not determine whether sufficient air will reach the equipment.

Air Dryer

Industry areas: Liquid Spray, Powder Coating, Abrasive Blasting, Instrument Air

An air dryer removes moisture from compressed air. Common types include refrigerated, desiccant, and membrane dryers.

Dry compressed air is important because moisture can contaminate liquid coatings, cause finish defects, interfere with powder transport, damage pneumatic equipment, and contribute to corrosion in the air system.

Air Hose

An air hose carries compressed air from the supply system to a spray gun, pump, tool, regulator, or other device. Hose diameter, length, pressure rating, cleanliness, and condition affect equipment performance and safety.

A hose intended for general compressed-air service should not be assumed suitable for supplied breathing air, high voltage, solvents, or other specialized applications.

Air Make-Up Unit

Industry areas: Spray Booths, Industrial Finishing, Automotive Refinish

An air make-up unit supplies replacement air for air removed by a spray booth or finishing-room exhaust system. The replacement air may be filtered, heated, cooled, or otherwise conditioned.

Properly balanced make-up air helps maintain booth airflow, temperature, pressure relationships, finish quality, and safe ventilation.

Air Spray

Air spray uses compressed air to atomize liquid coating at the spray gun. Conventional air spray, HVLP, LVMP, and certain other technologies are forms of air-atomizing spray.

Air spray is widely used where appearance, control, color matching, or fine atomization is more important than the production rate available from higher-pressure airless equipment.

Airless Spray

Industry areas: Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Roof Coatings, Marine, Protective Coatings

Airless spray atomizes coating by forcing it at high fluid pressure through a small, shaped orifice. Compressed air is not introduced at the spray gun to atomize the coating.

Airless equipment can apply material rapidly and handle many high-solids coatings. High-pressure injection injuries are a serious hazard; the spray stream must never be directed toward any part of the body.

Airless Spray Gun

An airless spray gun is a high-pressure valve controlled by a trigger. When opened, it allows pressurized coating to pass through the airless tip and form a spray pattern.

The gun, hose, fittings, swivel, tip guard, and tip must all be rated for the system’s maximum working pressure.

Airless Tip

An airless tip is the replaceable component containing the precision orifice that controls the approximate spray-pattern width and fluid flow of an airless system.

Tip selection depends on coating viscosity, required flow, pump capacity, desired pattern width, and surface being coated. As a tip wears, its effective orifice grows, increasing material flow and reducing pattern control.

Aliphatic Polyurethane

Industry areas: Protective Coatings, Automotive, Aerospace, OEM, Floor Coatings

An aliphatic polyurethane is commonly used as a finish coat where exterior color retention, gloss retention, chemical resistance, and weatherability are required.

Performance and application requirements vary by product. Applicators must observe the specified mixing ratio, induction time, pot life, film thickness, recoat interval, and respiratory-protection requirements.

Ambient Conditions

Industry areas: Application, Inspection, Field Coating

Ambient conditions are the environmental conditions surrounding coating preparation and application. They commonly include air temperature, relative humidity, ventilation, wind, precipitation, and airborne contamination.

Surface temperature and dew point are related measurements but should be recorded separately. Conditions can vary considerably within a structure, containment, booth, tank, or work area.

Amine Blush

Industry areas: Epoxy Coatings, Marine, Floor Coatings, Linings, Protective Coatings

Amine blush is a surface film that can develop on some amine-cured epoxy coatings during cure, particularly under cool or humid conditions. It may appear greasy, waxy, cloudy, or sticky.

Blush can interfere with adhesion of the next coat and should be removed using the coating manufacturer’s recommended procedure before sanding or overcoating.

Anchor Pattern

Industry areas: Surface Preparation, Protective Coatings, Linings, Marine

Anchor pattern is a commonly used term for the surface roughness created by abrasive blasting or certain power tools. The preferred technical term is often surface profile.

Profile provides a mechanical attachment surface for the coating. A profile that is too shallow may reduce adhesion, while a profile that is too deep may leave peaks insufficiently covered. ASTM D4417 covers field measurement of surface profile on blast-cleaned steel.

Anodizing

Industry areas: Aerospace, Architectural Metal, OEM, Metal Finishing

Anodizing is an electrochemical process that increases or modifies the oxide layer on a metal surface, most commonly aluminum. The resulting surface may provide corrosion resistance, wear resistance, decorative appearance, or a base for subsequent finishing.

An anodized surface is not prepared for painting merely because it appears clean. The specified cleaning, treatment, and compatibility requirements must still be followed.

Anti-Corrosive Coating

An anti-corrosive coating is intended to reduce or delay corrosion of the underlying substrate. It may function by forming a barrier, providing inhibitive protection, supplying sacrificial protection, or combining several mechanisms.

The term is broad and does not identify a particular coating chemistry or expected service life.

Application Window

Application window is the range of conditions or time during which a coating may be successfully applied. It can refer to allowable temperature and humidity, time after mixing, time between coats, or a product-specific installation period.

The technical data sheet should be consulted because “application window,” “pot life,” “working time,” and “recoat window” do not necessarily mean the same thing.

Applicator

An applicator is a person, contractor, or organization responsible for applying a coating or lining. The term may also refer to an application device in certain equipment contexts.

A qualified applicator should understand the coating system, substrate preparation, equipment, environmental limits, safety requirements, application technique, and inspection expectations for the work.

Atomization

Industry areas: Liquid Spray, Automotive, Aerospace, OEM, Industrial Finishing

Atomization is the process of breaking liquid coating into droplets so it can be transferred to a surface. Droplet size and distribution influence transfer efficiency, coverage, film formation, overspray, and appearance.

Atomization may be produced by compressed air, fluid pressure, centrifugal force, electrostatic assistance, or a combination of methods.

Atomizing Air

Atomizing air is compressed air used at a spray gun to break liquid coating into droplets. The correct pressure and volume depend on the gun, air cap, fluid flow, coating, and desired finish.

Excessive atomizing air can increase overspray and reduce transfer efficiency. Insufficient air can produce coarse atomization, poor pattern development, or an uneven finish.

Automatic Spray Gun

Industry areas: OEM, Industrial Finishing, Automotive Manufacturing, Wood Finishing

An automatic spray gun is opened and closed by a remote pneumatic, electrical, or electronic signal rather than by a hand-operated trigger. It may be mounted in a fixed position, on a reciprocator, or on a robot.

Automatic guns can improve repeatability and production control, but they still require correct positioning, triggering, overlap, maintenance, and material delivery.

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B

B-Staging

Industry areas: Powder Coating

B-staging describes a condition in which a thermosetting material has partially reacted but has not reached final cure. In powder coating, unwanted B-staging can occur when material is exposed to excessive heat during storage, handling, reclaim, or processing.

Partially advanced powder may exhibit poor flow, reduced appearance, or inconsistent cure.

Back Ionization

Industry areas: Electrostatic Powder Coating

Back ionization is an electrostatic powder application condition in which excessive charge accumulates in the deposited powder layer. The electrical field can begin repelling additional powder and disrupting the deposited film.

It may appear as small craters, star-shaped patterns, roughness, or an uneven surface. Possible contributing factors include excessive voltage, heavy film build, poor grounding, close gun distance, and excessive charging.

Related terms: Electrostatic Rejection, Grounding, Faraday-Cage Effect

Bake

Industry areas: Powder Coating, OEM, Automotive Manufacturing, E-Coat

Bake refers to exposing a coated part to elevated temperature for a specified time to dry, fuse, cure, or develop the required coating properties.

Oven-air temperature and part-metal temperature are not necessarily the same. Many coating schedules are based on the time the part remains at the required metal temperature.

Bake Schedule

A bake schedule specifies the time-and-temperature relationship required to cure or process a coating. It may be expressed as a range of part-metal temperatures and the time maintained at those temperatures.

Underbaking can leave a coating incompletely cured. Overbaking may affect color, gloss, flexibility, adhesion, or performance. The coating manufacturer’s schedule should govern.

Barrier Coat

Industry areas: Protective Coatings, Automotive Refinish, Marine, Roof Coatings, Maintenance Painting

A barrier coat is applied to isolate the substrate or an existing coating from a subsequent layer, contaminant, chemical, or service environment.

Barrier coats may reduce staining, prevent bleed-through, separate potentially incompatible materials, or provide additional resistance to moisture and chemicals. Compatibility must be confirmed; a barrier coat is not a universal remedy for an unknown or unstable existing coating.

Basecoat

Industry areas: Automotive Refinish, Automotive OEM, Aerospace, Decorative Finishing

A basecoat is a coating layer primarily responsible for color and visual effect in a multistage finish. In a basecoat-clearcoat system, the clearcoat provides much of the gloss, weather resistance, and environmental protection.

Basecoat application variables include color match, metallic orientation, hiding, flash time, film build, gun setup, and spray technique.

Batch Oven

Industry areas: Powder Coating, OEM, Industrial Finishing

A batch oven cures one load of parts at a time rather than continuously conveying parts through the oven. Parts are loaded, the doors are closed, the heating cycle is completed, and the batch is removed.

Batch ovens are commonly used by custom coaters and operations handling different part sizes, colors, materials, or production schedules.

Bead Blasting

Industry areas: Aerospace, Automotive, Stainless Steel, Metal Finishing

Bead blasting uses rounded media, commonly glass or ceramic beads, to clean, peen, or produce a uniform surface appearance.

Bead blasting does not necessarily produce the sharp anchor profile required by every protective coating. Media selection and the resulting surface condition must match the specification.

Bell Atomizer

Industry areas: Automotive OEM, Industrial OEM, Electrostatic Application

A bell atomizer is a rotary application device that uses a rapidly spinning bell-shaped cup to form liquid coating into fine droplets. Electrostatic charging is commonly used to attract the droplets to a grounded workpiece.

Bell atomizers can provide high transfer efficiency and excellent finish quality in automated production, but performance depends on rotation speed, coating flow, shaping air, voltage, grounding, and robot or reciprocator programming.

Binder

Industry areas: All Coating Sectors

The binder is the film-forming portion of a coating that holds pigments and other components together and helps the coating adhere to the substrate. It is also commonly called the resin.

Applicators encounter binder terms because they influence cure, flexibility, weatherability, chemical resistance, recoatability, and equipment-cleaning requirements.

Blast Cleaning

Blast cleaning removes surface contamination by directing abrasive, water, or another cleaning stream against the substrate. In many coating specifications, the term refers specifically to abrasive blast cleaning.

The method, required cleanliness, surface profile, and permitted abrasive must be defined. “Blast cleaned” by itself does not establish an acceptable surface condition.

Blast Nozzle

A blast nozzle directs and accelerates the air-and-abrasive stream used in abrasive blasting. Nozzle size, design, wear, air pressure, hose condition, and compressor capacity affect cleaning rate and abrasive consumption.

A worn nozzle can consume substantially more compressed air and may reduce system performance if the compressor cannot maintain the required pressure.

Blasting Pressure

Blasting pressure is the compressed-air pressure supplied to an abrasive blast nozzle. For meaningful jobsite evaluation, pressure should be considered at or near the nozzle while blasting—not only at the compressor.

Pressure loss can result from undersized hose, excessive hose length, worn couplings, restrictions, leakage, or inadequate compressor output.

Bleeder-Type Airless Gun

Industry areas: Airless Spray, Line Striping

A bleeder-type airless gun maintains a continuous internal flow path or pressure-relief function associated with a particular pump design. It must be matched to equipment designed for that operating arrangement.

A bleeder gun and a standard non-bleeder gun should not be treated as automatically interchangeable.

Bleeding

Industry areas: Automotive Refinish, Architectural, Maintenance Painting, Wood Finishing

Bleeding is the migration or dissolution of colorants, stains, asphaltic material, dyes, or other substances from the substrate or an underlying layer into a newly applied coating.

It may appear as discoloration, staining, or a change in color. A suitable stain-blocking or barrier system may be required after the source is identified.

Blistering

Industry areas: All Coating Sectors

Blistering is the formation of raised areas or bubbles in a coating caused by localized loss of adhesion or separation within the coating system.

Possible causes include moisture, osmotic pressure, solvent retention, heat, corrosion, contamination, outgassing, or application over an unsuitable surface. The location of the separation and the material inside or beneath the blister are important diagnostic clues.

Blooming

Industry areas: Industrial Coatings, Automotive Refinish, Wood Finishing

Blooming is the development of a haze, film, deposit, or reduced gloss on a coating surface. It may result from migration of coating components, cure conditions, moisture, temperature, or incompatibility.

The term is sometimes used inconsistently. The observed condition, exposure, and coating type should be documented instead of relying on the defect name alone.

Blushing

Industry areas: Automotive Refinish, Lacquer Finishing, Wood Finishing

Blushing is a cloudy, milky, or hazy appearance that can develop when rapid solvent evaporation cools the coating surface and allows moisture to condense or become trapped in the film.

High humidity, excessive airflow, an unsuitable thinner, or low material temperature may contribute. The remedy depends on the coating and should follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Bond Coat

Industry areas: Protective Coatings, Thermal Spray, Concrete, Linings

A bond coat is an intermediate layer intended to improve attachment between the substrate and a subsequent coating or between otherwise difficult-to-join layers.

The term may refer to a specialized primer, tie coat, or metallic layer depending on the industry. It should not be assumed to mean the same material in every coating system.

Bonding

Bonding is the secure joining of a coating to a substrate or one coating layer to another. In electrostatic and electrical-safety discussions, bonding can also mean electrically connecting conductive objects to maintain equal electrical potential.

The context matters: coating adhesion and electrical bonding are different concepts.

Booth

Industry areas: Liquid Spray, Powder Coating, Automotive Refinish, OEM

A booth is an enclosure or controlled structure used to contain a coating application operation and direct overspray, vapor, powder, and residue toward an exhaust or recovery system.

Spray-booth design, ventilation, electrical classification, fire protection, filtration, lighting, and maintenance are governed by the materials and processes used. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.107 contains requirements affecting spray-finishing operations using flammable and combustible materials.

Bounce-Back

Industry areas: Powder Coating, Electrostatic Application

Bounce-back occurs when powder particles fail to remain on the workpiece and are deflected or repelled into the booth. It can reduce transfer efficiency and contribute to uneven film build.

High powder velocity, excessive air, poor grounding, excessive charge, gun position, and heavy deposited film may contribute.

Box Coating

Industry areas: Protective Coatings, Marine, Structural Steel

Box coating is a brush-application technique in which coating is worked onto a surface using strokes in more than one direction, often at approximately right angles. It is used to improve coverage and work material into irregular areas.

The term is sometimes encountered in older specifications and maintenance-painting practice. It should not be confused with stripe coating, although both may be used to improve coverage on difficult areas.

Breakthrough

Industry areas: Coating Application, Surface Preparation, Inspection

Breakthrough generally means that an underlying coat or substrate has become visible through the surface being worked. During sanding, it may mean cutting through a topcoat or primer. During coating application, it may describe insufficient hiding or film thickness.

Because the term is context-dependent, an inspection report should describe what layer was exposed and how the condition occurred.

Bridging

Industry areas: Roof Coatings, Floor Coatings, Linings, Protective Coatings

Bridging occurs when a coating spans a crack, seam, void, corner, or surface irregularity instead of fully conforming to and contacting the underlying surface.

The unsupported film may later split, puncture, or trap air and moisture. Reinforcement, sealant, filling, stripe coating, or a different application method may be required.

Broadcast Aggregate

Industry areas: Floor Coatings, Concrete Coatings, Secondary Containment

Broadcast aggregate is sand, decorative flake, quartz, aluminum oxide, or another solid material distributed over a wet resinous coating.

It may be used to increase thickness, improve slip resistance, add texture, create a decorative finish, or build a reinforced flooring system. The aggregate must be clean, dry, compatible, and applied at the specified rate.

Brush-Off Blast Cleaning

Industry areas: Surface Preparation, Maintenance Painting, Galvanized Steel, Nonferrous Metals

Brush-off blast cleaning is a relatively light abrasive blast-cleaning process used to remove loose contamination, create or restore surface texture, or prepare an existing coating for overcoating.

It is not equivalent to commercial, near-white, or white-metal blast cleaning. The applicable substrate-specific standard must be identified. SSPC-SP 16, for example, addresses brush-off blast cleaning of coated or uncoated galvanized steel, stainless steel, and nonferrous metals.

BTU — British Thermal Unit

Industry areas: Ovens, Booth Heating, Process Heating

BTU means British thermal unit, a unit of heat energy. In finishing systems, BTU ratings may be used when describing burners, ovens, air make-up units, and process-heating capacity.

Equipment selection requires more than comparing burner ratings. Heat loss, airflow, product mass, required temperature rise, exhaust volume, and cycle time also affect performance.

Build Coat

Industry areas: Protective Coatings, Linings, Floor Coatings, Marine

A build coat is a coating layer used to develop thickness within a multicoat system. It is often an intermediate coat applied between the primer and finish coat.

A build coat may improve barrier protection, fill profile, provide color contrast, or contribute chemical and mechanical resistance. It must still remain within the manufacturer’s specified thickness and recoat limits.

Bulk Feed System

Industry areas: Powder Coating, High-Production OEM

A bulk feed system supplies coating material from a larger container or centralized source to one or more application stations. In powder coating, it can reduce manual handling and support continuous high-volume production.

Consistent material conditioning, fluidization, delivery, level control, and contamination prevention are essential.

Burnishing

Industry areas: Architectural Coatings, Floors, Interior Finishes

Burnishing is an undesirable change in appearance—often increased gloss or darkening—caused by rubbing, cleaning, repeated contact, or abrasion.

Flat and low-sheen coatings can be particularly susceptible. Burnish resistance is different from general washability or scrub resistance.

Burn-Off Oven

Industry areas: Powder Coating, OEM, Equipment Maintenance

A burn-off oven uses controlled heat to remove cured coating from hooks, racks, fixtures, and certain metal parts. The coating is thermally decomposed so the remaining residue can be removed.

The process must be properly controlled to avoid damaging the base metal, distorting parts, creating unsafe emissions, or weakening racks and fixtures.

Bypass Valve

Industry areas: Airless Equipment, Paint Pumps, Circulating Systems

A bypass valve redirects fluid away from the normal discharge path. On an airless sprayer, the prime or spray valve may direct material back through a return line during priming or pressure relief.

In circulating systems, a bypass arrangement may help control pressure or maintain circulation. The valve should never be treated as a substitute for the pressure-relief and safety procedures required by the equipment manufacturer.

Referenced Standards and Industry Resources

• ASTM D4060 — Abrasion Resistance of Organic Coatings by the Taber Abraser
• ASTM D968 — Abrasion Resistance by Falling Abrasive
• ASTM G154 — Fluorescent UV Exposure of Materials
• ASTM D3359 — Rating Adhesion by Tape Test
• ASTM D4541 — Pull-Off Strength of Coatings
• ASTM D4417 — Field Measurement of Surface Profile
• AMPP Surface Preparation Standards Committee
• Powder Coating Institute Glossary
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.107 — Spray Finishing

Continue Exploring the Language of Finishing

This A–B installment is part of The Language of Finishing: A Paint and Coatings Industry Glossary. Additional installments will cover terminology from C through Z, followed by a dedicated standards, organizations, and acronym index.

Technical Notice: This glossary provides general educational definitions. Terminology can vary among industries, manufacturers, standards organizations, contracts, and jurisdictions. Always consult the coating manufacturer’s current technical data sheet, safety data sheet, equipment instructions, project specification, and complete current edition of any referenced standard.

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Tags: coatings glossary A-B, abrasion resistance, abrasive blasting, coating adhesion, airless spray, spray atomization, automotive basecoat, powder coating, barrier coatings