How does Anti Static Paint work?

You have a problem with static, you’ve been recommended anti static paint but how does anti static paint work?

The majority of people quite frankly don’t care. If it solves their static problem they are happy. If however you are one of the minority or want to understand the basic principals involved we can help.

Controlled discharge

As a person walks on the painted floor and generates a static charge, the charge is immediately drained to ground through conductive footwear and then the floor.

An anti static painted floor creates a preferred pathway for the flow of electricity, keeping the electrical charge under control as the charge is drained. The charge flows over the surface and into a grounding point and disappears. No charge can ever build up. It is always instantly and safely removed.

Think of the grounding point as a plug hole and the electrical charge as bath water. The charge (water) drains over the painted anti static floor and is removed via the grounding point ( plug hole).

The chemical bit!

In the case of anti static paint, the paint contains elements (the most popular being carbon or tin) that transmit the electrical current through the painted floor. The current is then transmitted to conductive copper tape placed beneath the surface of the floor paint to a grounding point.

The elements in the paint are carefully measured and balanced to assess the speed of discharge. Don’t try mixing your own at home!

Hopefully that helps but if you have any questions regarding anti static paint please contact us at [email protected]