High-tech hues: How innovation is changing the way we see paint

Think paint, think innovation. For homeowners looking to transform a space, colour typically dominates the decorating conversation, but paint companies’ research and development is focused on more than the range of hues, and technology is constantly improving safety, coverage and durability.

Over the past century, paint has evolved from decorative to dynamic, says Ashley Saltern, product director, PPC Architectural Coatings (Dulux and Sico Canada), adding the future of paint is being shaped by three key forces: performance, sustainability and user empowerment.

“Once limited in colour, durability and safety, today’s coatings are formulated for high performance and easy application,” she says, adding that the introduction of synthetic pigments and binders expanded colour range and stability, while the development of water-based and zero-volatile organic compounds (VOC) formulations greatly improved indoor air quality and environmental safety.

Kristen Gear, lead colour specialist for Home Hardware’s BeautiTone Paint and Home Products division, agrees that the industry-wide move away from VOCs is one of the most impactful changes in the paint industry in the past decade.

“While colour chips and finishes still grab the spotlight in-store, the real breakthroughs are happening inside the can,” she says. “Despite being more environmentally friendly, today’s low-VOC paints don’t sacrifice performance. In fact, they’re outperforming many of their solvent-based predecessors — thanks in part to the next-generation resins and pigments they contain.

“We really get behind the move to VOC-free paint because we want to reduce our footprint as much as possible,” says Gear, adding initiatives to reduce per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — ‘forever chemicals’ — are another big focus.

Reflecting on the impact of innovation in the industry Thelma Longakit, Cloverdale Paints laboratory manager, notes the many advances since the company’s start in 1933 as a small operation serving local farmers near Cloverdale.

“Back in the ’30s, a customer might walk out with a gallon of solvent-based enamel, hand-mixed, leaded, no MSDS (material safety data sheet), no VOC talk. Today, they’re choosing between eco-certified lines, zero-VOC options or CO₂-derived resins — formulated in our lab, tinted by computer and built to meet tough environmental standards,” says Longakit.

PPC’s Saltern draws attention to another area impacted by technology: durability. “Where high-gloss finishes were once required for washability, today’s super-premium paints can deliver exceptional stain resistance, scrubbability and hide in flat or low-sheen finishes — freeing homeowners to choose finishes based on design, not just durability,” she says.

Of course, technology has also had a major impact on colour. The colour spectrum available to homeowners today is the direct result of pigment and tinting innovation, says Saltern.

“Our zero-VOC, high-strength colourants used across the Dulux and Sico product lines enable a broader, more vivid palette, from deep blues and bold neutrals to historically hard-to-achieve reds and yellows. These colourants provide better hiding power, improved colour stability and support consistent performance across sheens,” she adds.

Gear agrees and recalls when she started working in the industry 23 years ago, “yellow was a horrible exterior colour.”

“It would fade fast. Same with purples. But now, with high-strength colourants, those colours stay richer for longer, even in direct sunlight.”

Cloverdale’s Longakit also recalls colour challenges in her early years in the industry.

“When I started in the paint industry nearly four decades ago, colour choice was limited — maybe a few dozen standard options, mixed from basic pigments. Today, we offer thousands of precise, reproducible colours, and it’s all thanks to advancements in pigment chemistry, dispersion technology and tinting systems,” she says.

Longakit notes that while modern high-performance organic and inorganic pigments have expanded the range of hues, brightness and durability, better grinding and dispersion methods result in clean, stable colours with less pigment.

The result? “Customers get near-unlimited colour choice — whether they’re matching a designer swatch, a historic tone or a corporate brand colour — and we can deliver it quickly, consistently and in low-VOC or specialty formulations,” she says.

But Steve Waterman, Behr Paint Company’s SVP, head of research and development, believes the biggest change in the paint aisle was a new way of thinking.

“For years, shoppers could only choose from a handful of pre-tinted colours such as Swiss Coffee or Navajo White, since stocking hundreds of shades just wasn’t practical. Behr flipped that model on its head (in 1986). Instead of premade colours, Behr introduced un-tinted bases and paired them with in-store tinting and computerized colour matching,” he says adding that overnight, shoppers had access to a full colour centre and thousands of ‘exotic’ hues on demand.

“The colours always existed. The innovation was putting the power to create them into the hands of the shoppers and The Home Depot retail associates; no warehouse required,” he says, noting that innovation didn’t just expand the palette, it reshaped how consumers think about customization in paint and set a new standard.

While colour — through initiatives such as the annual Colour of the Year campaigns promoted by most major paint companies — may grab the headlines, there are many behind-the-scenes innovations that homeowners might take for granted.

BeautiTone’s Gear says one of these is the emergence of multi-functional paints — like paint-and-primer-in-one formulas.

“They reflect real advances in how resins and pigments work together to provide stronger adhesion and hiding, even over bare drywall or previously painted surfaces,” she says.

Likewise, kitchen and bath paints are formulated to resist mildew and tackle challenges like surfactant leaching — the streaky marks that can appear in humid environments without proper ventilation, she says.

Waterman notes that for water and dirt repellency, Behr designs the dry paint film to have low surface energy, so liquids and grime don’t stick. “This is a result of specialized ingredients and tightly cross-linked polymer networks, so water beads up and stains wipe off instead of soaking in,” he says, adding outdoors, coatings are formulated to be water-repellent yet breathable, so walls can shed rain but still release trapped moisture underneath.

Getting smarter

PPC’s Saltern notes “smart” paint is a growing category of coatings designed to do more than add colour.

Waterman points out the push to lower levels of VOC and technology from every ingredient area is enabling smart paint innovation. “A smart paint is a coating that delivers value beyond colour and basic protection, healthier indoor air, longer surface life, easier cleaning and more. A smart choice is also a sustainable one,” he says.

“In the residential space, we’re already seeing smart paint in action through products engineered to solve real-life challenges,” says Saltern.

Examples include Dulux’s Clean Surface Technology (available in Dulux Diamond Distinction and SICO Clean Surface available at RONA and independent dealers).

“This innovation delivers outstanding resistance to both water and oil-based stains, excellent washability, and a long-lasting freshly painted look,” says Saltern noting that even stubborn stains like mustard, lipstick or greasy fingerprints can be wiped away without damage to sheen or colour.

Dulux Anti-Scuff — designed for high-traffic spaces — is another smart solution, set to launch this October in Dulux Paint stores across Canada.

“In the future, we anticipate coatings continuing to push beyond esthetics and protection to provide valuable added functions,” says Waterman. “A big area of focus currently is radiative cooling technology, where lighter shades in combination with the reflection of solar radiation can keep a surface cooler than an equivalent colour and, in some cases, even below the ambient temperature.”

Looking ahead, Cloverdale’s Longakit adds the next generation of smart paints includes technologies such as self-cleaning surfaces using hydrophobic or photocatalytic additives and antimicrobial finishes for health care and high-traffic areas, and thermochromic or self-healing systems, still largely in development.

“These technologies show real promise — but from a formulation and production standpoint, they still face challenges in cost, durability and scalability,” adds Longakit.

“Paint may seem simple, but behind every can is a science-backed formula built to do more — resist scuffs, fight dirt, manage moisture, stay clean longer and even help control heat. That’s how technology is quietly changing what homeowners can expect from paint,” says Waterman.