§1What this business is
Ceramic paints use tiny ceramic beads as the extender, which gives a thick, smooth, washable finish that resists sun, fungus and stains. Binders, pigments, solvents, fillers and additives are premixed, dispersed in a sand mill and high-speed tank, thinned, filtered and filled. Buyers are paint dealers, painting contractors and builders.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone from the paint trade — a dealer, contractor or plant chemist — with contacts among painters.
Who it is not for
Someone hoping to sell a new paint brand without a dealer or contractor network.
Advantages
- House-building and repainting keep wall-paint demand steady
- A premium product with a better margin than plain distemper
- Machinery is standard paint-plant equipment
- Can also sell to builders and contractors in bulk
Drawbacks
- Raw material is about three-quarters of sales
- Big paint brands dominate dealer shelves
- Testing equipment and quality checks are needed for every batch
- Needs a 40 kW connection
Skills you need
- Paint formulation and dispersion
- Viscosity and scrub testing
- Dealer and contractor sales
- Stock and credit control
Why difficulty 4/5: Paint chemistry, batch testing and a crowded branded market.
§3Market
Who buys
- Households and owners of commercial buildings
- Painting contractors and builders
How it sells
- Paint and hardware dealers
- Direct supply to contractors and builders
Good to know
- The report puts the Indian paints industry at 7.1 billion US dollars in fiscal 2020.
- It says decorative paints grew at 11.4% a year against 7.9% for industrial paints.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Dissolver machine | 1 | ₹60,000 |
| Sand mill machine | 1 | ₹5,00,000 |
| High-speed dispersion tank | 1 | ₹5,00,000 |
| Electronic weighing machine | 1 | ₹50,000 |
| Paint filtering machine | 1 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Brookfield viscometer, LCV model | 1 | ₹98,000 |
| Wet scrub abrasion tester | 1 | ₹65,000 |
| Demineralised water plant | 1 | ₹50,000 |
| Paint filling plant | 1 | ₹3,00,000 |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Ceramic Paints (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Bindersmain film-forming ingredient
- Pigmentsgive colour and cover
- Solventsfor thinning
- Fillers (ceramic microspheres) and additivesceramic beads act as the paint extender
From: PMEGP sample project report — Ceramic Paints (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam
- GST
- Pollution control board consent
- Fire NOC (solvents)
- Trade licence
- Trademark for the brand
§6Schemes & subsidies
PMEGP sample project; CGTMSE covers the collateral-free loan. The ₹23.63 L cost is above MUDRA's usual loan sizes for a single unit, so check with the bank.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: plant & machinery ₹17.23 L (incl. GST and transport) + misc assets ₹1.00 L + working capital ₹5.40 L = ₹23.63 L. Premises rented. Finance: term loan ₹16.41 L, WC loan ₹4.86 L, own ₹2.36 L.
Working capital: Working capital ₹5.40 lakh, of which bank finance ₹4.86 lakh — 7 days of finished goods and 5 days of raw material.
Year not printed on the report — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
- Pick 3209 for water-based paint and 3208 for solvent-based paint.
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Competition from national paint brands
- Price swings in pigments and binders
- Batch quality failures
- Long credit to dealers
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working ceramic paint manufacturing unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Ceramic Paint Manufacturing?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.