There are many types of coatings, and the classification is more complicated. In the past, some were classified according to the object of use; some were classified according to the effect of use; some were classified according to color and brightness; some were classified according to the construction method... This is neither uniform nor scientific. Therefore, my country's Ministry of Petrochemical Industry has unified the principles of classification and naming of coatings, and promulgated the "Classification and Naming of Coating Products" standard.
According to the ministerial standards, the classification principle of coatings is based on the main film-forming substances in the coating base material. If the main film-forming substance is a mixture of two or more resins, the resin that plays a major role in the coating film should be used as the basis. Combined with the specific situation of the current coating varieties in our country, the coatings are divided into 18 categories, of which the auxiliary materials are divided into five categories, and their names and codes are shown in the following table:
| serial number | code name | category | main film-forming substance |
| 1 | Y | Grease paint | Natural animal and vegetable oils, clear oils (cooked oils), synthetic oils |
| 2 | T | natural resin paint | Rosin and its derivatives, shellac, maricin, animal glue, lacquer and its derivatives |
| 3 | f | Phenolic resin paint | Modified phenolic resin, pure phenolic resin |
| 4 | L | Asphalt paint | Natural asphalt, petroleum asphalt, coal tar pitch |
| 5 | C | Alkyd resin paint | Glycerin alkyd resin, pentaerythritol alkyd resin, other modified alkyd resins |
| 6 | A | Amino resin paint | Urea-formaldehyde resin, melamine-formaldehyde resin, polyimide resin |
| 7 | Q | Nitro paint | Nitrocellulose Vinegar |
| 8 | m | Cellulose paint | Ethyl cellulose, benzyl cellulose, light methyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, other cellulose esters and ethers |
| 9 | G | perchlorethylene paint | perchlorethylene resin, modified perchlorethylene resin |
| 10 | x | Vinyl paint | Vinyl chloride copolymer resin, polyvinyl acetate and its copolymer, polyvinyl acetal resin, polydivinyl acetylene resin, fluorine-containing resin |
| 11 | B | Acrylic paint | Acrylic acid ester resin, acrylic acid copolymer and its modified resin |
| 12 | Z | Polyester paint | Saturated polyester resin, unsaturated polyester resin |
| 13 | h | Epoxy paint | Epoxy resin, modified epoxy resin |
| 14 | S | Polyurethane paint | polyurethane |
| 15 | W | Element organic paint | Elemental organic polymers such as silicone, organochrome, and organoaluminum |
| 16 | J | Rubber paint | Natural rubber and its derivatives, synthetic rubber and its derivatives |
| 17 | E. | Other paint | Other film-forming substances not listed above, such as inorganic polymer materials, etc. |
| 18 | Auxiliary materials | Thinner, moisture-proof agent, drier, paint remover, curing agent |
The unified naming method of the above 18 categories of products is more detailed and strict, which played a certain role in promoting the development planning, data statistics and industry standardization of the coatings industry at that time. However, this set of naming methods cannot adapt to the ever-changing development of the paint industry, and it is too complicated for users to be familiar with, and it is not in harmony with the current naming of international paint products. Foreign paints are basically divided according to their uses. For example, wood paint products include: alkyd, nitro, acrylic, polyurethane, polyester and other wood paints. It is very convenient to decide to buy.
With the rapid development of the domestic paint industry, the naming of paints produced by many manufacturers has broken the rules and regulations, and many simple, eye-catching, and easy-to-remember paint names have appeared, thereby increasing paint sales. The fresh paint names that have appeared so far are:
Porcelain-like paint, spray paint, enamel paint, quick-drying paint, hand-sweeping paint, ice flower paint, crystal floor paint.
