If you've ever painted a wall in your home by yourself, or if you are a professional spray painter, you must be knowing what spray paint is. And there are high chances that you must have picked up a can of spray paint and used to complete some home painting project quickly. While we are aware of the process involved in spray painting, most of us do not know about its history - invention, and evolution.
Before the 19th century, the only kind of painting process known to us was using a hand brush. This was the only form of painting used for all types of buildings - residential, commercial, and industrial. It would take men several days and weeks to complete a single painting project. Painting using a hand brush would also make this process quite time-consuming and expensive. But this changed towards the beginning of the 20th century.
We have two men to thank for this invention. One of them is Joseph Binks, who was a maintenance supervisor at a department store in Chicago. He was entrusted with the task of whitewashing the walls in the basement of the store. He has to complete the painting of a large area of walls, and his crew was taking a lot of time to do this task. There were several floors to be completed, and Binks observed that even after day and night of toiling hard, his crew could complete only one floor after several weeks of working. This was when he came up with the idea of making a hand pump with a nozzle and using it for painting the walls.
This was the world's first spray painting device. His invention wasn't known to people until the Colombian Exposition1893 in Chicago. There were a lot of buildings to be completed in the exhibition and even as the opening day approached near, the work wasn't anywhere near to be completed. Binks used his spray painting device and completed the work before visitors came to the exhibition. He saved the day for all. Only after this, his invention became known to the public, and he could turn it into a profitable venture.
During the same time, Dr. Allen DeVilbiss was struggling with treating his patients with a sore throat. He was not able to manage his patients properly because whatever medicines he gave to them, went past the affected area. He needed something to apply for the drug directly to the affected area. He invented the world's first atomizer. His device had a rubber bulb that could be squeezed, a small tube and a metal jar for storing the medicine.
The inventions by both the men continued to inspire their industries, and soon, these devices inspired the automotive industry. On site spraying became very popular for vehicles. Painting a car would not take much time now. On site spraying services made the task very quick and easy. Since then, automotive painting has evolved continuously and improved significantly.
