Water-based paints: Measures against spoilage needed
Water-based paint is more susceptible to biodeterioration during processing, preparation, and storage. A new study emphasises the sufficient proactive measures are needed to control and prevent microbial contamination along the production chain.
The experimental setup of a the study comprised the investigation of the paints (e.g., pH, water content, FTIR) as well as the isolation and identification of bacterial and fungal contaminants via Sanger sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS.
Need for tailored measures
The researchers have identified well-known paint degraders such as Bacillus and Pseudomonas spp., however also less frequently abundant species like Rhodococcus. While the diversity within gram-negative bacteria turned out to be higher compared with gram-positive ones, the latter were predominant in paint and their immediate ambience, indicating that they are more resistant toward the applied measures. As the researchers point out, their study emphasises the need for manufacturers to apply tailored measures against paint spoilage as a prerequisite for further product- and production-specific preservation concepts.
The study has been published in Journal of Coatings Technology and Research, Volume 22, pages 481–490, (2025).
Reading tip: Water-borne coatings
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