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2025-03-03
Applying a layer of paint on the surface of wood not only protects the wood but also enhances the aesthetic appeal of its appearance, attracting consumers' attention. If the color of the wood paint is inconsistent, it will affect the user's visual experience and, consequently, the product's sales. The prerequisite for ensuring the accuracy of paint color is the precision of paint color matching. This article introduces methods for matching wood paint colors.
Wood Paint
The principle of preparing wood recoating paint involves color matching: if two colors are identical in hue, saturation, and brightness, they are considered a match. However, if any of these three parameters differ, the two colors are distinct. Adjusting two colors to appear visually identical or equivalent is the core principle of recoating paint color matching.
Before matching colors for wood recoating paint, it is essential to understand the target color, including the hue range of the sample, color card, or paint specimen, and to identify which colors compose it. Determine the primary color, secondary colors, their interrelationships, and their respective proportions. Use secondary colors to prepare the slurry, considering the type and amount of color paste, and follow the specified method to create a test board. Gradually add the color paste while stirring, strictly adhering to the principle of first adjusting depth and then hue. During color matching, pay attention to the interactions between different color pastes, reducing the amount added incrementally, especially as the color approaches the target. To ensure color accuracy, use as few types of color paste as possible. After each addition, stir thoroughly, and avoid judging the color based on the surface of the paint in the mixing container. Pigment flotation or settling significantly affects color matching; to control color floating, factors such as paint viscosity and film drying speed must be considered. When preparing light-colored paint, add a drying agent before adjusting the color. Ensure consistency in the fineness and pigment-to-binder ratio of the color paste. After matching a color for one or two batches, patterns can be identified to improve efficiency. When using a standard board for color matching, if it has been stored for a long time and appears dull, wet the dry board before comparing it with the sample. Before the final color observation, replenish any resin or other components and compare again, as adding resin may darken the color. When comparing the sample with a standard card, repeatedly check it from different angles—side to side and flat—to avoid human visual errors.
Color Matching Methods for Yellow Paint and Red Paint
Preparation of Yellow-Series Colors: Yellow pigments include chrome yellow, iron yellow, and lightfast yellow, which can be divided into three tones: deep, medium, and light. Deep yellow pigments have a dark reddish hue and can be used to prepare yellow-brown shades. Medium chrome yellow exhibits a reddish hue and can be mixed to create standard yellow, creamy yellow, or ivory yellow. Light chrome yellow, compared to deep and medium yellows, has a greenish hue and can be used to prepare light yellow or ivory yellow. During the preparation of yellow-series colors, pigments can be mixed simultaneously based on the provided sample color to adjust the hue. Lemon yellow has a more pronounced greenish hue than light yellow and can be used in vibrant yellow-series colors.
Preparation of Red-Series Colors: Red pigments include scarlet, toluidine red, alcohol-soluble fiery red, cadmium red, iron red, and red lead, available as inorganic or organic red pigments. The choice of red pigment depends on the standard color or specific requirements. Due to the strong penetration and floating properties of red pigments, they should not be mixed with primers or other colors. During the preparation process, minimize the use of yellow pigments to maintain the vibrancy of the red color.
PeColor Color Matching Software
Color matching is a critical process in industries such as printing and dyeing, coatings, plastics, inks, and furniture painting. Traditional color matching relies on experienced personnel who estimate dyeing formulas based on their expertise, followed by a repetitive cycle of "preparing small samples, visually inspecting them, and gradually refining the match" until the visual color difference, compared to the standard sample, reaches a gray card rating of 4 or higher. This process is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and material-wasteful, and it is influenced by the psychological and physiological variations of the color matcher, resulting in poor reproducibility and inconsistent evaluations among different technicians. With increasingly fierce market competition, customer orders are trending toward small batches, diverse varieties, high quality, strict standards, and short delivery times. Traditional manual color matching can no longer meet the demands of modern production. In this context, there is a growing need for instrumental assistance in color matching to improve production efficiency. Over the past half-century, advancements in colorimetry, color measurement instruments, and computers have given rise to computer color matching systems. Computer color matching is a modern technology that uses computers to achieve color measurement and formula prediction. This technology not only overcomes the effects of external light sources and human factors on measurement results but also provides rapid response and analysis of color formulas. The quick feedback of digital color information ensures practicality and efficiency in production, aligning with internationally accepted color quality evaluation standards.
The computer color matching system is a modern integrated system combining a colorimeter, a computer, and color matching software. Its primary function is to store the color data of paints used in production in the computer in advance and use this data to calculate the mixing ratios of these paints to achieve the same color as the target paint, thereby achieving the predetermined formula. The specific steps are as follows:
1. Establishing a Paint Base Database
Collect color data from processes such as preparing concentration gradient samples, paint dissolution, and color gradient development. Typically, a high-precision spectrophotometer is used to measure the color parameters of raw materials. This step is relatively tedious and requires the color matcher to patiently and meticulously verify the data to ensure the accuracy of the base database.
2. Measuring Sample Color Parameters
Use a spectrophotometer to measure the color data of the sample (the color requested by the customer, also called the standard sample) and transmit it to the color matching system. The software records the reflectance spectrum data of the sample and converts it into Lab values for display. Based on the standard sample’s data, the system matches it with the base database and quickly generates a custom color formula.
3. Manual Color Mixing and Sampling
According to the formula’s displayed pigment codes and proportions, and based on a preset total mixing amount, use a high-precision electronic balance to weigh out the corresponding amounts of pigments and manually mix them evenly. Apply the prepared paint to create sample swatches, following the same operating methods and parameter standards used in establishing the base paint database, and prepare multiple swatches for backup.
4. Color Difference Calculation
Use a spectrophotometer to accurately measure the color difference between the test sample and the customer sample, and calculate the color difference value. Analyze the feasibility of the test formula based on a preset color difference range. If the color difference between the formula and the standard sample is too large, formula adjustment is required.
5. Formula Adjustment
If the color difference between the formula and the standard sample is too large and falls outside the required range, select "Adjust Formula" in the software menu, and the software will provide a new solution. Repeat the process of manual mixing, creating swatches, and measuring samples according to the adjusted formula proportions until the color difference falls within the required range and the formula is deemed satisfactory.
Using a computer color matching system not only saves significant time and reduces paint waste but also objectively controls paint color. Additionally, the system can input leftover pigments into the database as base paints for use in future color matching, improving paint utilization efficiency.
