Question

Name all the raw materials of the paint coating of a wooden pencil... (what is the paint coating made of and how is it processed)

Answer 1

The most important ingredient in a pencil is the graphite, which most people continue to call lead. Conté's method of combining graphite with clay is still used, and wax or other chemicals are sometimes added as well. Virtually all graphite used today is a manufactured mixture of natural graphite and chemicals.The wood used to manufacture pencils must be able to withstand repeated sharpening and cut easily without splintering. Most pencils are made from cedar (specifically, California cedar), the choice wood for many years. Cedar has a pleasant odour, does not warp or lose its shape, and is readily available. Some pencils have erasers, which are held on with a ferrule, a metal case that is either glued or held on with metal prongs. The erasers themselves consist of pumice and rubber.

The most commercially used graphite is made in factories rather than mined, manufacturers are able to easily control its density. The graphite is mixed with clay according to the type of pencil being made—the more graphite used, the softer the pencil, and the darker its line. For colored pencils, pigments are added to the clay, and virtually no graphite is used.

Coloured pencils are produced in much the same way as black-writing pencils, except that their cores contain coloring materials such as dyes and pigments instead of graphite. First, clay and gum are added to pigment as bonding agents, and then the mixture is soaked in wax to give the pencils smoothness. When the pencils have been formed, the outsides are painted according to the colour of the center mixture.