Do You Know These Water-based Paint Basics?

Water-based paint was initially not accepted by the public; people doubted the new product, and early on some makers added gasoline, xylene or banana oil to cause trouble. Basic understanding: oil paint is deeply rooted in consumers' minds; many know little about its hazards - you can only move in a month after painting and mistakenly think it is then non-toxic, but that is wrong: the lack of pungent smell just means formaldehyde has dropped to a tolerable level while benzene, toluene and free TDI in hardeners and thinners keep emitting for decades, harming children's intellect and with TDI carcinogenic, which is why developed countries banned oil paint long ago. Development stages: first generation based on acrylic - good water/weather resistance but mediocre chemical and physical performance; second generation acrylic + water-based polyurethane composite - keeps acrylic's weather/apply tolerance and improves hardness, still low chemical resistance, a mid-range product few domestic firms make; third generation acrylic-modified water-based polyurethane - much improved overall, pencil hardness above 2H, wear exceeding oil paint, stable chemistry and much better alcohol/alkali resistance, a high-end product monopolized by a few makers. Still, single-component water-based paint lags two-component oil paint in hardness and heat resistance, e.g., on dining tables and floors its weakness shows.