Paint Ideas · Glossary

Glossary

Not sure what a certain term means? Find it here in our glossary. Simply browse through or navigate by choosing a letter.

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Primer - An essential undercoat layer of paint. Primer kills stains, retards moisture absorption and provides a good surface for a top coat of paint to adhere to. Primer comes in water- and oil-based formulas. It is imperative that new or bare wood, and metal, be primed.

Propellant - The gas used to expel materials from aerosol containers.

PSI - Pounds per square inch, A measurement of pressure.

Penny - Unit of measurement for nail length, e.g., a 10d nail is 3 inches long. (abbr. d)

Pressure-treated wood - Wood treated under pressure with chemicals designed to protect against termites and fungi.

Pantry - A storage room or large closet for packaged foods.

Partition wall - A wall that divides space but plays no part in a building's structural integrity.

Pigmented primer-sealer - A type of primer-sealer that dries white instead of clear. It blocks existing wallpaper or discolorations on the wall from showing through semitransparent wallpaper.

Patina - The overall effect of the aging process on wood or a finish, generally characterized by a muting of the colors and a satin finish.

Pattern matching - To align a repeating pattern when joining together two pieces of fabric or wallpaper.

Parchment - An animal skin used for writing, or paper made in imitation of it; by extension, the decorative finish that has a similar appearance.

Premixed concrete - Bagged, dry cement, sand and aggregate that is mixed with water for small jobs, such as securing the base of a post.

Prepasted wallpaper - Wallpaper manufactured with a water-soluble adhesive on the substrate.

Porous - A surface that contains small pores or holes and will readily absorb gases or liquids.

Pole sander - A 4-foot pole with a swiveling plate to which sandpaper is attached, used to sand high walls or ceilings.

Proportion - The relationship of one object to another.

Plaster - A mixture of sand, lime and water of a consistency that can be applied to a wall or ceiling with a trowel. Various plasters have different uses, such as for patching holes, or for finishing a smooth surface.

Plasterboard - A base material that provides a fire-resistant underlayment for trowel-applied plaster and has an absorbent face paper meant to draw water away from the freshly applied plaster to keep it from slumping.

Popping - A paint defect characterized by raised bumps in the surface. Caused by solvent vapor forming within the paint after it has begun to skin-over. The resulting vapor pressure raises the paint surface at its weaker spots.

Paint-grade - Trim made of many small pieces of wood joined together into one long piece, using glue and interlocking joinery called finger joints.

Particleboard - Reconstituted wood particles that are bonded with resin under heat and pressure and made into panels. Particleboard has a tendency to swell when exposed to moisture.

Plastic cement - A dry cement mixture that includes a powdered latex additive to reduce cracking and serves as a waterproofing agent.

Pediment - A triangular piece found over doorways, windows and occasionally mantles. It also refers to a low-pitched gable on the front of a building that is either from, or inspired by, ancient Greece.

Pastel - A color to which a lot of white has been added to make it very light in value.

Positive stenciling - Creating an image or a motif, often in a repeated pattern , by painting a cut-out pattern.

Panel - A flat, rectangular piece of material that forms part of a wall, door or cabinet. Typically made of wood, it is usually framed by a border and either raised or recessed.

Primer-sealers - An alkyd- or acrylic-based liquid used to prime and seal walls before the wallpaper installation. Most primer-sealers on the market are acrylic-based. These types of primer-sealers soak into a porous wall surface and bond the paint to the wall surface.

Plywood - Pieces of wood made of three or more layers of veneer joined with glue, and usually laid with the grain of adjoining plies at right angles. Almost always an odd number of plies are used to provide balanced construction.

PVC - Polyvinyl chloride thermoplastic resin, often used to make plumbing supplies and drain pipes.

Palette knife - An artist's knife with a thin, dull, flexible blade, used for mixing, scrapping or applying paint. It can be made of plastic or metal.

Plumber's putty - A material used to seal openings around fixtures.

Print-Free - Paint that is sufficiently dry that it will not retain marks if a hand or brush is pressed into it.

Post-to-post railing - A balustrade in which the handrail is cut to fit between newel posts.

Polyvinyl glue - A frequently used wood glue that has as its base a synthetic resin called polyvinyl acetate. Also called wood glue (white) and carpenter's glue (yellow).

Pry bar - Flat bar available in a variety of sizes from 8 to 18 inches with a notch for removing stubborn nails.

Primary color - Red, blue or yellow that can't be produced in pigments by mixing other colors. Primaries plus black and white, in turn, combine to make all the other hues.

Penetrating Stains - Thin pigmented coatings which are designed to soak into wood or masonry.

Permanent Colors - Color pigments that do not fade on exterior exposure.

Photochemically reactive - Solvents which react with oxygen and nitrogen dioxide to form hazardous by-products known as photochemical oxidants or smog.

Plumb bob - A pointed metal weight with a string used to determine vertical alignment.

Permeability - A measure of water vapor transmission. The ability of a substrate to resist transfer of water vapor from one side to the other.

Perm Rating - A number to designate the amount of water vapor transmitted through a substrate - the lower the number, the less water vapor transmitted.

Pinholes - Small pore-like flaws in a material extending entirely through an applied film and which have the appearance of pin pricks.

Parts Per Million (PPM) - A measurement of the concentration of a substance in a liquid. For example, 3 ppm equals 3 pounds of a substance for a million pounds of a liquid.

Pressure treatment - A factory process of using pressure to force preservatives into wood.

Pinned baluster - Manufactured balusters with wood pins on the base that fit into holes bored in the stair treads.

Polyethylene sheet - A material well suited to retard vapor passage in a floor, wall or ceiling. Comes in thicknesses of 4, 6 and 8 mils.

Peeling - Paint failure where paint falls off the surface. Peeling is caused by moisture problems and expansion of the painted surface.

Prime - The process of initiating water flow in a pump to commence circulation by displacing air in the suction side of the circulation system.

Palm sander - A small, electric sander with vibrating pad to which sandpaper is clamped. Shaped to fit a palm, this tool facilitates woodwork sanding.

Polar Molecules - Molecules which have an uneven distribution of electrons. Such molecules have a negative and a positive end or side. As a result, they will attract one another and other polar molecules. Lacquer solvents are examples.

Porosity - Permeablility to water or air. Consider the porosity of a wall surface before applying a primer-sealer. If it is very porous, seal the wall with an oil-based sealer or a pigmented acrylic primer-sealer. Also consider the porosity of the wallpaper substrate. If it is very absorbent, a second application of adhesive may be required.

Premade lumber - Pieces that are factory cut and/or assembled.

Permit - A license that authorizes permission to do work on your home. Minor repairs and remodeling work usually do not call for a permit, but if the job consists of extending the water supply and the drain, waste, vent system, adding an electrical circuit, or making structural changes to a building, a permit may be necessary.

Plumb - Vertically straight, in relation to a horizontally level surface.

Photographing - When joint compound seams are visible through paint; curable by skim-coating.

Passivator - An inhibitor which changes the potential of a metal appreciably to a more cathodic or noble value.

Polyurethane - A tough, hard-wearing coating made of synthetic resins. It serves as a good top coat or finish and can be applied over most types of paint, except artist's oils.

Prepackaged concrete mix - A mix that combines cement, sand and gravel in the correct proportions and requires only the addition of water to create fresh concrete.

Pumice - A natural soft, abrasive stone substance (similar to lava rock) used to clean pool tiles.

Paint - A pigmented opaque material that completely covers and hides the surface to which it is applied. Paint is available in oil-based and water-based formulas.

Paver tile - Any floor tile that is not classified as red-bodied quarry tile. Ranges from impervious porcelain to soft-bodied Mexican patio pavers.

Polymerization - The reaction by which two or more molecules of a given substance combine with each other to form a compound from which the original substance can be regenerated.

Plan drawing - A schematic drawing that gives an overhead view of an area, such as a room or deck, indicating the positioning of items, such as furniture, windows, footings and so on, that are to be included in the finished area.

Polymer - Large molecule formed when many molecules are linked together by polymerization.

Plasticizer - A low molecular weight material added to polymeric materials such as paints, plastics, or adhesives to improve their flexibility.

Pressure-treated lumber - Wood that has had preservatives, specifically CCA, forced into it under pressure so it can repel rot and insects.

Propulsion sprayer - Machine that spits or "flips" small droplets of paint. Paint is supplied by either an attached reservoir or drawn from a paint can. With adjustable-rate-of-spray mist and pressure these machines are excellent for spraying large surfaces.

Pickling - A method used to give wood a whitish cast.

Parting - The selective corrosion or leaching of a component from an alloy such as the parting of zinc from brass, leaving a copper residue; similar leaching also may occur in other metals.

Pigment volume concentration ( PVC) - The ratio of the total volume of a pigment to the total volume of non-volatile matter in a paint.

PVC laundry basket - A frame constructed from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes that is designed to hold a drawstring mesh laundry bag.

Paste wood filler - Liquid or paste material designed to fill in holes or grain lines so that final finishes may be applied to a smooth surface. Also called grain filler or pore filler.

Passivate - Process to render a metal inert to a given environment.

Pigment - The substances that give paint color. Pigments are derived from natural or synthetic materials that have been ground into fine powders.

Plumb line - A long string weighted at one end with a metal plumb bob, used to determine true vertical lines.

Polystyrene Resin - Synthetic Resins formed by Polymerization of styrene.

Popped nails - Nails that have backed out of a wall because of vibration or structural setting.

Preservative - A protective coating designed for use on wood substrates. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a product must contain a fungicide in order to be labeled a preservative.

Prehung door - A door that's already set in a jamb, with hinges (and sometimes a lockset) preinstalled, ready to be installed in a rough opening.

Polar Solvents - Solvents such as alcohols, ketones, etc. which contain oxygen. These have high dielectric constants.

Peninsula - A countertop, with or without a base cabinet, that is connected at one end to a wall or other counter and extends outward, providing access on three sides.

Positive technique - Any painting technique that involves applying paint to a surface.

Plastisol - Film former containing resin and plasticizers with no solvents.

pH - A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. A value of seven is neutral; low numbers are acid, large numbers are alkaline. Strictly speaking, pH is the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration.

Portland cement - A type of cement (not a brand name). This combination of elements is largely lime and silica and is basic to making concrete and mortar.

Point of design - A specific detail on a strip of wallpaper's decoration. In a mural, the point of design is the highest or lowest point of the image portrayed.

Pavers - Man-made units, frequently identified as "paving bricks" which are either brick or molded concrete. There are many types, styles and sizes. Some interlock in patterns and when properly set in a base of sand or concrete will withstand a great deal of weigh

Piano hinge - A long butt hinge used in making a chest or other piece of cabinetry.

Photo murals - Wallpaper that reprints photographs, enlarged for placement on a wall or door.

Plastic laminate - A hard-surfaced, thin material made from melamine under high pressure and used for the finished surfaces of countertops, cabinets and furniture.

Pavilion - A rectangular structure with a slat, lattice or gable roof.

Pigmented stains - Those stains which get their color primarily from pigments mixed with binder and volatile thinners.

Paneling - Planks or sheets used as a finished wall or ceiling surface; often with a wood or simulated wood finish.

Pattern placement - A particular point or line at which a pattern will follow. Example: Pattern placement would be important when hanging a wallpaper design that would present a dominant pattern at the ceiling line, border line or chair rail.

Post-Modernism - A term used to define the developments in architecture and interior design that originated in modernism but began to diverge from that style. Unlike modernism, it includes ornamentation and uses historical references that are whimsically out of context.

Permanent structure - Any structure that is anchored to the ground or a house.

Pretrimmed wallpaper - Wallpaper with the selvage already cut at the factory.

Phenolic resins - A class of resins produced as the condensation product of phenol or substituted phenol and formaldehyde or derivatives.

Poise - Fundamental and absolute unit of viscosity measurement. A substance is said to have a viscosity of 1 poise when a force of 1 dyne is required to move a surface of 1cm.

Picture molding - Molding used to hang metal hooks to suspend paintings and wall hangings, so there is no need to put holes in the wall.

Perforated hardboard - Panel material, usually 1/4-inch thick, manufactured from pressed wood fiber and perforated with a series of holes. Perforated hardboard is often used as wall material in workshops and garages where it serves as a place to hang tools and other items; also known as pegboard or perf-board.

Pedestal - A stand-alone lavatory with a basin and supporting column in one piece.

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