When using pigments with different sizes and formats and in different amounts, you get different levels of shine. The variations in the shine are calculated via the PVC, a rate calculated based on a simple expression that is about 50 years old and has been constantly reviewed to develop concepts related to interaction between pigments and resins. The lower the rate, the lower the pigment volume will be and the brighter the paint will be. Therefore shine paints have a lower amount of pigment and opaque paints have higher amount of pigment.
Tables and charts - paints
| PVC – Pigment Volumetric Concentration. The pigment volumetric concentration is a reference for paint description. This rate is found dividing the pigment volume by the total volume of the solid medium, as in the expression below: |  Vv – Pigment Volume | |
| PVC-Paint Shine Ratio. Even though they vary a lot depending on the kind and size of the pigment used, the more common PVC values associated to different levels of paint shine are: | High shine PVC from 20 to 25% No shine PVC from 30 to 35% Satiny PVC from 40 to 45% Opaque PVC from 50 to 55% | |
| Critical Pigment Volumetric Concentration - CPVC. The critical pigment volumetric concentration occurs when the maximum amount of pigment particles are “moistened” by the vehicle, resulting in a big change in the formula’s optical properties. Note the expression: |  Vv - Pigment volume Vva - Vehicle Volume Absorbed | |
| PVC-CPVC Ratio. PVC is utilized as abscissa in the graph representation of other properties assessed. The PVC/CPVC ratio is represented by the expression below: |  The ‘A’ values determine the expected properties from different paint applications. For example, high shine and glass aspect; good shine, resistance to friction and risk, resistance to washing; Resistance to corrosion, etc. | |
