Paint

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v t e

Assorted tempera (top) and gouache (bottom) paints

Paint is a liquid pigment that, after applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image, known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are either oil-based or water-based, and each has distinct characteristics.

Primitive forms of paint were used tens of thousands of years ago in cave paintings.^[1][2]

It is illegal in most municipalities to discard oil-based paint down household drains or sewers.^{[citation needed]} Clean-up solvents are also different for water-based paint than oil-based paint.^[3] Water-based paints and oil-based paints will cure differently based on the outside ambient temperature of the object being painted (such as a house). Usually, the object being painted must be over 10 °C (50 °F), although some manufacturers of external paints/primers claim they can be applied when temperatures are as low as 2 °C (35 °F).^[4]