The following glossary contains terms used commonly in the paint and coatings industry to describe the characteristics, usage and components of paints and coatings.Results for "H"
Hairline Cracking
Fine lines or incipient checks in the dried surface of finishing materials. Often caused by sudden temperature changes.
Half bath (powder room)
A bathroom that contains only a toilet and a sink.
Hammertone finish
A paint finish which makes the surface look as though it has been peened. Such finishes usually employ aluminum flake pigments and silicone oils.
Hand edger
A hand tool used to round the edges of a concrete slab.
Handrail
The part of the balustrade that is grasped.
Hardboard
A generic term for a smooth or textured grainless panel manufactured primarily from compressed wood fibers. Used as exterior siding.
HAP
See Hazardous Air Pollutant
Hazardous Air Pollutant
Pollutants that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, or adverse environmental effects.
HEPA Vacuum
High-efficiency particulate air-filtered vacuum designed to remove lead- contaminated dust.
Hardener
An activator curing agent, catalyst or cross linking agent.
Hardness
The degree of pressure a material will withstand without becoming deformed or scratched.
Hardware
Wood, plastic or metal plated trim found on the exterior of furniture, such as knobs, handles and decorative trim.
Hardwood
Trees that have broad leaves (in contrast to conifer or softwoods). The term has no reference to the actual hardness of the wood. Examples are: oak, maple, ash, beech, walnut, and hickory.
Harmonious color scheme
Also called analogous, a combination focused on neighboring hues on the color wheel. The shared underlying color generally gives such schemes a coherent flow.
Harp
On a lamp, the metal frame that holds the shade.
Haze
The dullness of a surface removable by polishing. It usually results from faulty solvent balance or incompatibility of ingredients.
Head jamb
The top member of a door or window frame; on doors, the frame consists of a head jamb, two side jambs and a threshold; window frames are the same, except the bottom member is called a sill or stool.
Head wall
The wall that faces you when walking down a stairway.
Header
In wall framing, a horizontal structural member that forms the top of a window, door, skylight or other opening to provide framing support and transfer weight loads. Header thickness must equal wall width.
Headroom (of stairs)
The vertical distance from the nosing (the part of the tread that overhangs the face of the riser) to any object above.
Heart grain
Wood with a V-shaped grain pattern.
Hearth
A noncombustible horizontal surface in front of a fireplace; the hearth may be flush with the surrounding floor or raised above it.
Heartwood
Wood near the center of a tree that is harder, stronger and usually more rot-resistant than wood closer to the outside.
Heat Resistance
The ability of a coating to remain intact and undamaged after exposure to a predetermined elevated temperature.
Heel stop
A strip of wood (1x1 or smaller) attached to an angled shoe shelf; the shoe heels are hooked over the heel stop to keep the shoes from sliding off.
Helix stairway
A stairway that moves in a spiral around a central axis. These structures often have convex or concave walls, and are difficult to wallpaper.
Hide glue
The traditional glue used by cabinetmakers. It comes in toffee-like sheets, in pearls or as a premixed liquid. Hide glue is reversible by applying heat and water.
Hiding power
The ability of paint or stain to obscure the surface over which it has been applied. Hiding power is provided by the paint’s pigment, and is affected by how thickly the paint tends to apply, and how well brush marks flow out.
High Build
A term referring to a paint film which can produce a thick film in a single coat.
High Solids Paint
Paint containing 35 to 80 percent solids, These products have become popular because of the reduction in solvent emissions associated with their use. They are generally characterized by higher viscosities.
High Velocity Ovens
Ovens which use extremely hot, fast moving air to cure paint films. Their advantage is reduced floor space and fast cure times. Large or complex shapes are sometimes difficult to cure, however.
High-density overlay (HDO)
A resin-impregnated fiber bonded under high heat and pressure to one or both sides of a plywood panel. The tough overlay withstands severe exposure without the need for further finishing.
Hold Out
The ability of a paint film to dry to its normal finish on a somewhat absorptive surface.
Holiday
A spot missed while painting a surface.
Hollow-wall fastener
This type of fastener is designed for use in walls made of plaster or drywall. It consists of an anchor bolt with a sleeve that expands against the inside of a wall.
Honeycombing
Checks often visable at the surface that occur in the interior of a piece of wood, usually along the wood's rays.
Horizontal guideline
A line used to align wallpaper or a border on a horizontal plane.
Horizontal pattern sequence
In wallpaper, the horizontal recurrence of a pattern or design across a wall surface. A straight-across match has the same pattern at the top of every strip.
Horizontal working lines
Level, horizontal lines that serve as a guide for laying horizontal courses of tile on a wall or other vertical surface.
Hot Rolled Steel
Steel which has been formed while still hot, generally characterized by the presence of bluish-black mill scale.
Hot Spots
Lime spots which are not completely cured and bleed through the coating on a plastered wall.
Hot spraying
Spraying of hot lacquers or paints, the viscosities of which have been reduced to spraying consistency by means of heat instead of by the addition of volatile solvents. By such a process, it is possible to apply materials with higher solid contents, and therefore achieve a better film build.
Housed stringer
A form of staircase construction in which the stringer has tapered mortises routed into the face of the finish stringer. Treads and risers slip into the mortises and are secured with wedges.
Hue
The basis of a color, e.g., whether it is a red or green. Lighter or darker variations are still the same hue. Thus, a light red and a deep red are of the same hue.
Hydrocarbon
Extracts from petroleum such as gasoline, lubricating oils, solvents, etc.
Hydrolysis
The interaction of water with a material resulting in decomposition.
Hydrometer
An instrument for determining the specific gravity of a liquid.
Hydrophilic
A substance which absorbs or has an affinity for water.
Hydrophobic
A substance which does not absorb or exhibit an affinity for water.
Hygroscopic
Absorbs and retains moisture from atmosphere or other sources.
Fine lines or incipient checks in the dried surface of finishing materials. Often caused by sudden temperature changes.
Half bath (powder room)
A bathroom that contains only a toilet and a sink.
Hammertone finish
A paint finish which makes the surface look as though it has been peened. Such finishes usually employ aluminum flake pigments and silicone oils.
Hand edger
A hand tool used to round the edges of a concrete slab.
Handrail
The part of the balustrade that is grasped.
Hardboard
A generic term for a smooth or textured grainless panel manufactured primarily from compressed wood fibers. Used as exterior siding.
HAP
See Hazardous Air Pollutant
Hazardous Air Pollutant
Pollutants that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, or adverse environmental effects.
HEPA Vacuum
High-efficiency particulate air-filtered vacuum designed to remove lead- contaminated dust.
Hardener
An activator curing agent, catalyst or cross linking agent.
Hardness
The degree of pressure a material will withstand without becoming deformed or scratched.
Hardware
Wood, plastic or metal plated trim found on the exterior of furniture, such as knobs, handles and decorative trim.
Hardwood
Trees that have broad leaves (in contrast to conifer or softwoods). The term has no reference to the actual hardness of the wood. Examples are: oak, maple, ash, beech, walnut, and hickory.
Harmonious color scheme
Also called analogous, a combination focused on neighboring hues on the color wheel. The shared underlying color generally gives such schemes a coherent flow.
Harp
On a lamp, the metal frame that holds the shade.
Haze
The dullness of a surface removable by polishing. It usually results from faulty solvent balance or incompatibility of ingredients.
Head jamb
The top member of a door or window frame; on doors, the frame consists of a head jamb, two side jambs and a threshold; window frames are the same, except the bottom member is called a sill or stool.
Head wall
The wall that faces you when walking down a stairway.
Header
In wall framing, a horizontal structural member that forms the top of a window, door, skylight or other opening to provide framing support and transfer weight loads. Header thickness must equal wall width.
Headroom (of stairs)
The vertical distance from the nosing (the part of the tread that overhangs the face of the riser) to any object above.
Heart grain
Wood with a V-shaped grain pattern.
Hearth
A noncombustible horizontal surface in front of a fireplace; the hearth may be flush with the surrounding floor or raised above it.
Heartwood
Wood near the center of a tree that is harder, stronger and usually more rot-resistant than wood closer to the outside.
Heat Resistance
The ability of a coating to remain intact and undamaged after exposure to a predetermined elevated temperature.
Heel stop
A strip of wood (1x1 or smaller) attached to an angled shoe shelf; the shoe heels are hooked over the heel stop to keep the shoes from sliding off.
Helix stairway
A stairway that moves in a spiral around a central axis. These structures often have convex or concave walls, and are difficult to wallpaper.
Hide glue
The traditional glue used by cabinetmakers. It comes in toffee-like sheets, in pearls or as a premixed liquid. Hide glue is reversible by applying heat and water.
Hiding power
The ability of paint or stain to obscure the surface over which it has been applied. Hiding power is provided by the paint’s pigment, and is affected by how thickly the paint tends to apply, and how well brush marks flow out.
High Build
A term referring to a paint film which can produce a thick film in a single coat.
High Solids Paint
Paint containing 35 to 80 percent solids, These products have become popular because of the reduction in solvent emissions associated with their use. They are generally characterized by higher viscosities.
High Velocity Ovens
Ovens which use extremely hot, fast moving air to cure paint films. Their advantage is reduced floor space and fast cure times. Large or complex shapes are sometimes difficult to cure, however.
High-density overlay (HDO)
A resin-impregnated fiber bonded under high heat and pressure to one or both sides of a plywood panel. The tough overlay withstands severe exposure without the need for further finishing.
Hold Out
The ability of a paint film to dry to its normal finish on a somewhat absorptive surface.
Holiday
A spot missed while painting a surface.
Hollow-wall fastener
This type of fastener is designed for use in walls made of plaster or drywall. It consists of an anchor bolt with a sleeve that expands against the inside of a wall.
Honeycombing
Checks often visable at the surface that occur in the interior of a piece of wood, usually along the wood's rays.
Horizontal guideline
A line used to align wallpaper or a border on a horizontal plane.
Horizontal pattern sequence
In wallpaper, the horizontal recurrence of a pattern or design across a wall surface. A straight-across match has the same pattern at the top of every strip.
Horizontal working lines
Level, horizontal lines that serve as a guide for laying horizontal courses of tile on a wall or other vertical surface.
Hot Rolled Steel
Steel which has been formed while still hot, generally characterized by the presence of bluish-black mill scale.
Hot Spots
Lime spots which are not completely cured and bleed through the coating on a plastered wall.
Hot spraying
Spraying of hot lacquers or paints, the viscosities of which have been reduced to spraying consistency by means of heat instead of by the addition of volatile solvents. By such a process, it is possible to apply materials with higher solid contents, and therefore achieve a better film build.
Housed stringer
A form of staircase construction in which the stringer has tapered mortises routed into the face of the finish stringer. Treads and risers slip into the mortises and are secured with wedges.
Hue
The basis of a color, e.g., whether it is a red or green. Lighter or darker variations are still the same hue. Thus, a light red and a deep red are of the same hue.
Hydrocarbon
Extracts from petroleum such as gasoline, lubricating oils, solvents, etc.
Hydrolysis
The interaction of water with a material resulting in decomposition.
Hydrometer
An instrument for determining the specific gravity of a liquid.
Hydrophilic
A substance which absorbs or has an affinity for water.
Hydrophobic
A substance which does not absorb or exhibit an affinity for water.
Hygroscopic
Absorbs and retains moisture from atmosphere or other sources.
