The selection struggle
Have you ever looked at 4 feet of paint roller in hardware and wondered which is best suited for your paint job? You're not the only one. A recent paint accessories customer behaviour study showed that 31% of customers are asking for assistance when selecting their paint accessories. Another interesting fact, when buying a paint brush, is customers will look behind the brush 51% of the time for more information (but as you may know, no information can be found behind the brush).
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As a paint accessories manufacturer, we know that those facts are a clear indication that customers are looking for some sort of direction, wanting help to select the right tool.
The history behind the term 'For all paints'
The only direction you can find on today's paint accessories is the term "for all paints", and here are its origins:
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The first latex paint appeared in the late 1940s with Sherwin-William’s "Kem-Tone". With water as its largest component, brushes were reacting differently with this technology (bristle absorbs water molecules, but not other parts of the paint, making it difficult to use). Since do-it-yourself started using this technology, two types of paint came to be: Oil-based and water based. Thus, paint brush manufacturers start working on synthetic filament.
The first synthetic filaments were developed by Dupont during the 1950s. It was developed mainly to replicate the shape of Chinese bristle. The first filament used was nylon (known as Tynex) that was extruded, mechanically tapered, and then tipped and flagged to resemble pig bristle.
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But it was more in the 1970s where we began to see synthetic filament on the market: Dupont found a way of chemically tapering polyester filaments. In the 1990s, once certain patent licenses were expired, we began to see more and more synthetic brushes, but always with the mention: for all paints, understood as good for both water-based paint and oil-based paint.
Paint evolution and the complexity of selecting the accessories
Let’s be clear here: brush and roller react differently depending on the quality of the paint, to be more precise, the viscosity. That viscosity also varies between brand, finish, type of paint (wall, ceiling, industrial, etc.) and coloration.
The self-priming paint released a couple of years ago created a new problem: Very often, store managers asked us what is the best brush/roller for the self-priming paint, realizing that common brushes no longer reacted the same with this technology.
Problem solved
Chidaca have introduced the 'selection's guide', an innovative and refreshing way to give all the information the customer is looking for. You'll be able to understand the difference in quality between brushes and rollers, the ideal type of paint to use by viscosity and the ideal type of surface the applicator can be used on.
Quality rating
Type of paint guide
Type of surface guide
The «finish» is the quality of the finish that our accessory can offer (no brushstroke and no orange peel finish) in a general manner.
The «robustness» is how durable and resistant it is to rough surfaces, as well as its long-term durability.
Like the title indicates, the «absorption» shows the quantity of paint that can be absorbed when the type of paint by viscosity is respected.
The «control» is the precision that we can give to our accessory as well as the ease to release the paint.
A high viscosity paint is more difficult to hold, therefore it requires a stronger and more flexible accessory. This graphic shows you what kind of paint by viscosity (density) these accessories belong to.
A smooth surface requires smoother and fine accessories. A rough surface, conversely, need a more resistant tool. This graphic shows you the ideal condition to of use.