Alkyd paints

Alkyd

— paints and varnishes based on alkyd resins. Theoretically, such resins can be included in conventional paints (see "Type"), so the term "alkyd paint" is sometimes encountered. However, such paints are made on the basis of drying oil, and it would be more correct to classify them as oil paints. Most alkyd compounds are enamels (or 2-in-1 primers, see also “Type” for both).

The alkyd base makes it possible to achieve high resistance of the coating to atmospheric influences, sunlight, temperature extremes (and within a very wide range), as well as various chemicals, including detergents. Due to this, such compositions are widely used for both indoor and outdoor work, they are considered to be of very high quality and versatile. However, the actual properties are highly dependent on the specific brand of enamel.

Note that there are two main varieties of alkyd base — pentaphthalic and glyphthalic. The first variety is very popular and well-known, which is why it is sometimes distinguished into a separate group; see the relevant paragraph for more details. As for glyptal compositions, they do not harden so quickly under cold drying conditions, but they dry out completely much faster — in some “fast” enamels on this basis, the drying time can be as little as 6 hours.

It is also worth saying that for all types of alkyd enamels, the term "oil-phthalic" can also be used. This is done solely for marketing reasons, in fact, these are just two names for one type of binding base. See the relevant paragraph for more details.