The Chemistry of Colour

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending an educational talk at the University of Salford given by Paul Sheppard, the regulatory and compliance manager of HMG paints. The talk aimed to give a brief introduction into understanding the chemistry of colour.

Paul covered a lot of interesting content surrounding paints, colours and coatings, and the processes used to create them. I found I learnt a lot from this talk surrounding colours and what affects how we perceive colour, as well as the technological advancements of the industry.

I also gained a greater insight into the workings of the paints industry, which I had never given much thought to prior to this talk. I realised that there is much more chemistry that goes into formulating paints than I had first imagined. I had also never considered all the different applications of paints such as to coat cars, buildings, and almost everything around us, and that each application of the paint requires a different formulation to give the desired properties, such as, heat resistance, water resistance, and durability.

Throughout this talk, I realised that paints and colours have a greater purpose than just being used for decoration. I was fascinated to learn so much, not only about the applications of paints but also how all the variations of the colours are produced. I left this talk with a deeper knowledge of colour chemistry and a desire to learn more about the paints industry.