Decorative Coatings - the most visible industry

Around 50 litres of decorative paints and other coatings are all that is needed to provide the internal decoration and external protection of woodwork, masonry and garden equipment that a new house requires for five or more years.

Even more paint is used in the maintenance of the existing 25 million housing stock throughout the UK. Timely application of a few litres of paint to windows and doors prevents decay and conserves resources.

Masonry finishes stop surfaces being disfigured by unsightly staining and the penetration of water into the underlying structure.

The challenge to house owners and the coatings industry is immense and there is a renewed public interest in home decoration and pride of ownership, matched by new colours and new techniques for applying paint, producing novel effects easily.

Due to the proliferation of home decoration magazines and TV programme there has been a boom in DIY decoration, with Britain now having about 30 million ‘domestic’ DIY painters and the coatings industry selling about 165 million litres a year for this market alone. Woodcare products, for interior and exterior use, have taken on a new lease of life as homeowners realise the high cost of replacing windows, doors, garden furniture and conservatories. Even those with PVC are finding the newly developed paints useful for colouring the white or masking the grey effect of some plastics.

Skilled professional painters and decorators now number some 200,000 in the UK, working with latest paint materials and techniques, with emphasis on health and safe working practices.