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Application Properties and Appearance

Scope and Field of Application

This is a test designed to measure how easy it is to apply coatings to a substrate using a brush and / or a roller. After application, the appearance and hiding power of the film assessed and the coverage calculated.

This work is not carried out to any international standard: we use our own in-house method.

Summary of Method

The test is carried out using a substrate appropriate to the coating being applied:-

Coating Type	Substrate	Dimensions (mm)	Preparation
Interior Paints for Walls and Ceilings	Plasterboard	1,200 x 1,200	Sealed with thinned white matt emulsion paint. A 200 mm wide black stripe is painted centrally across the board using matt black emulsion.
Exterior Masonry Paints	Plasterboard	1,200 x 1,200	Sealed with thinned white matt emulsion paint. A 200 mm wide black stripe is painted centrally across the board using matt black emulsion.
Interior and Exterior Paints for Joinery	Hardboard	1,200 x 600	Sealed with thinned undercoat. If the coating being tested is intended to obscure the substrate (e.g. an undercoat or a one-coat finish) a 200 mm wide black stripe is painted centrally across the board, parallel to the longest side, using matt black undercoat.
Interior and Exterior Paints for Metal	Steel	230 x 380	Abraded
Interior and Exterior Wood Stains	Softwood	190 x 2,100	Planed
Shed and Fence Coatings	Softwood	290 x 1,800	Rough-sawn

An experienced painter applies the coating to the chosen substrate using a brush and / or a roller. The application is carried out gravimetrically according to the general principles of BS 3900-A16 / ISO 7254 . This enables the spreading rate to be calculated.

 

The ease of application, if carried out by brush, is rated by the painter according the following scheme:-

Property	Rated As
Ease of Brush Loading	Easy, Acceptable or Difficult
Ease of Application	Easy, Acceptable or Difficult

 

The following scheme is used to assess coatings applied using a roller:-

Property	Rated As
Ease of Roller Loading	Easy, Acceptable or Difficult
Ease of Application	Easy, Acceptable or Difficult
Degree of Foaming	None, Slight, Moderate or Severe
Amount of Spatter	None, Slight, Moderate or Severe

 

Once the paint has dried, the appearance of the painted substrate is assessed as follows:-

Property	Coatings Assessed	Rated As
Quality of Finish	All	Good, Acceptable or Poor. In the case of Poor the rating includes the reason why the coating is rated so (e.g. patchy appearance, runs, streaks etc)
Hiding Power	All except non-opaque wood coatings and coatings for metal and sheds and fences.	Good, Acceptable or Poor
Gloss / Sheen	All except matt finishes and shed and fence coatings.	High, Mid or Low

Sample Requirements

We require 1 litre of coating.

Accreditation

Although PRA is accredited to ISO 17025 by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), we are not accredited to carry out this particular test.

 

 

Please contact Peter Collins for further details.

 

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