COLOR INDEX
Modern pigments are divided into two main groups: mineral and organic. The mineral pigments can be produced naturally and synthetically. In our paints we use the most high-end pigments by substituting the lead-chrome and other harmful pigments with modern alternatives such as pyrrolyl, venadium, benzimidazole and azo pigments that are not inferior but even surpass them in light resistance, intensity and brightness of color. In carmine and red violet instead of the unsustainable alizarin we use qunacridone and pyrrole pigments. Paints of MAESTRO PAN Company belong to the ultra-fine Aesthetic class paints that are ground to colloidal state and the size of the pigment is less than two microns.
In the world practice it is accepted that pigments are identified by colour Index.

              P.W. - White pigments
              P.Y. - Yellow pigments
              P.O. - Orange pigments
              P.R. - Red pigments
              P.V. - Violet pigments
              P.B. - Blue pigments
              P.Br. - Brown pigments
              P.Bk. - Black pigments

Also, many companies indicate the covering capacity of the paints on the label – i.e. the ability of the paint to make the color of the surface on which it is applied invisible.

                covering

                semi-covering

                semi-azure

              azure

The light resistance of the paint depends on the quality and type of the pigment which it contains. In a simplified form this is the ability of the paint to retain its color under the influence of light.

             Excellent light resistance
               Very good light resistance
               Good light resistance
                 Low light resistance

                    
PRIMER
The primer (or “ground” from German grund - basis, soil, land), is an essential element of painting technology, material that is applied with a brush or painting knife on the base of an art work – board, canvas, parchment, paper, metal, etc., for the better application of paint on a flat surface.

The main function of the primer is technological - it must be strong enough and durable and the paint layer applied on it should adhere well. But the primer can also have artistic and aesthetic function, for example, when engraved or has an embossed surface. When using translucent paints and varnishes (velatures) the primer shines under the paint layer which (as with the colored primers) gives special effects and affects the shades of paints. The composition of the primer can be most different depending on what material it is applied on as well as the time of the creation of the painting. For example, traditionally for oil painting in the primer is added linseed oil as an adhesive-binder and for tempera painting (icons) artists have most often mixed the primer with glue, plaster or chalk powder.

The most common materials used for priming (in various combinations):
1) Filler of minerals: plaster or chalk; in more recent times – white lead, zinc white and others.
2) Adhesives: glue, gelatin, linseed oil, poppy oil, egg, gum Arabic, etc.
3) Plasticizer, for example, honey, various natural and artificial gums, soap.
Especially in the western painting (17-18 century) primer has been specially tinted by the addition of pigments (red, gray and others primers). Historical recipes and guidance for various types of primers are gathered in the icon-painters’ hermeneutics and the western treatises on painting.