Are coatings too invisible outside our industry?

Last week I stumbled across a video entitled “Could you imagine a world without coatings?” by the British Coatings Federation (BCF). It shows clearly that almost every aspect of our daily lives is influenced by coatings – whether that might be the media and food we consume, the house we live in or the transportation system we use.

Before I started working for the European Coatings JOURNAL I would have never asked myself that question. I have worked in publishing and journalism but I have never spent too much time thinking about the ink that allowed the articles I wrote and the books I edited to be read. Even now, if I find myself sometimes still being fascinated by the functions that coatings can have.

Looked up but overlooked

The video states that “coatings are the most looked up yet the most overlooked products”. That this sentiment is true I experience on an at least weekly basis. Whenever I meet new people and talk about my work, they are often amazed that there are magazines and books about coatings and that there is more to a coating than its colour.

The question which has been in my mind is: Is it necessary to make coatings more visible? It would certainly be great if the complexity of the industry would be known outside the field itself. What do you as members of the paints and coatings industry think? The BCF’s video is available at: http://www.coatings.org.uk/.