Paint manufacturing practice: for blending a light paste (low-to-medium viscosity) in paint and coatings industries, which mixer is typically used on the production floor?

Introduction / Context:
Paint and coatings plants handle a spectrum of rheologies, from thin resins to heavy pastes. Choosing the correct mixer depends on viscosity, solids content, shear requirement, and batch size. This question targets practical shop-floor knowledge: which machine is routinely used to blend light paste batches in pails or drums before let-down, shade adjustment, or packing.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• "Light paste" implies low-to-medium viscosity, not stiff doughs.
• Operation is blending/homogenizing pigments and resin already predispersed.
• Typical packaging vessels (cans or small drums) are used at the end of production.

Concept / Approach:
Charge can mixers (also called can mixers or pail mixers) mount directly on cans or small drums and use a propeller or folding blade to homogenize low-to-medium viscosity paint pastes. They are ideal for tinting, shade correction, and final blending without transferring product to a separate tank. Masticators and kneaders are high-torque batch mixers for rubber or very heavy pastes (e.g., putties, mastics) and are overkill for "light paste."

Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify viscosity regime: "light paste" → pail/drum blending feasible.Match equipment to task: portable/over-the-vessel blender preferred.Charge can mixer is designed for this duty: choose it.

Verification / Alternative check:
Standard operating procedures in paint shops specify can-mounted mixers for tinting and finish blending because they minimize cleaning, product transfer losses, and air entrainment when used correctly with appropriate blade diameter and speed.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Masticator: used in rubber compounding and very high-viscosity mastics, not typical paint light pastes.Kneader: sigma/planetary kneaders are for highly viscous doughs, sealants, or heavy putties.None of these: incorrect because a standard, widely used tool exists.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing dispersion (done on high-speed dissolvers or bead mills) with simple blending; here the pigment is already dispersed, so a gentle can mixer suffices.

Final Answer:
charge can mixer