Commonly known as Birla Putty, as Birla White Cement introduced this product in the market. The White Cement putty is now manufactured even by some paint companies and there are many local players now in the market selling this type of product.
Market price range of local varieties start from Rs 325/- to Rs 500/- for 20 Kg pack to branded products like Birla or J.K. Putty or others
So some common brands are
- Birla Putty
- J.K. White Putty
- Jensolin Putty by Jenson & Nicholson
- Asian Paints White Cement Putty
- British Paints and other players like SIKA, Roofit etc.
Common Packaging Available: 20 Kg packs (with Rs 40 to Rs 50 token inside), 40 Kg Packs (Without Token)
About the Product
Basic Ingredients: White Cement + Polymers + Fillers to make it smooth and reduce the need of curing.
The product has now become very common and almost every new construction be it private home or commercial construction, the market has adopted the product blindly.
The Perception is that it provides a very smooth surface and reduces the consumption of Paint.
Some of the Companies are also promoting and giving huge advertisement that the putty application protects your paint!
In Reality…
- The extra smoothness of cement putty surface reduces the consumption of the paint. This means that it also reduces the Dry Film Thickness of the Paint when applied on the Putty. What it effectively does is that the minimum recommended quantity required for the paint to perform specially on the exterior surface per square feet is reduced to half therefor it also reduces the life and performance of the paint. As the minimum material required to form a protective layer to withstand UV Rays, Rain and the Air Pollutants effectively is not there. Due to the over smoothness of the white putty surface, the consumption of paint required for the expected performance is only 40% of the required quantity. This reduces the life of the final coating drastically.
- Cement Putty does not protect your paint from of moisture ingress in the Surface !
- Some of the trade Magazines carry full page ads claiming that the White Cement Putty protects your paint from moisture and prevent it from peeling off !
- The fact is, paint peels off whenever when there is moisture in the surface of the wall, which may be due to waterproofing issues or absorption of water in the wall due to proximity of water.
- The white cement putty itself will not come or “De-Bond” due to moisture, but the paint, which forms a non-breathable layer will always peel off. No matter what the surface is i.e. White Cement Putty or regular putty or POP, it wont matter.
- If there is moisture in the surface the paint cannot survive, be it of any quality. So the false perception is created that use of white cement putty inside the structure will keep the paint safe.