Technical > Testing Procedures

Testing Procedures

Whitford's testing program is extensive. The tests we perform run a wide international gamut, from standard ASTM, BS, DIN and JIS test methodologies for acid rain, salt fog, accelerated weathering and the like to some unique methodologies developed within Whitford.

Whitford invented the Mechanical Scratch Test to provide unusually sensitive testing of intercoat adhesion and resistance to wear.

Our test procedures are designed to examine different dimensions of coating performance, since each facet of a given product that can be examined offers another opportunity to improve the product.

Whitford has codified more than 100 different test procedures to determine characteristics that include film thickness, completeness of film cure, gloss, opacity, hardness, adhesion, flexibility, impact/drawability, abrasion resistance, mar resistance, coefficient of friction, resistance to chemicals, etc.

In keeping with our expenditures on R&D is the capital investment we make in testing equipment itself, without which it would not be possible to dig as deeply as we do into the intricacies of coatings and the problems they present.

This is never more true than with our flexible finishes, where performance is dictated by the specifications of the world's automotive manufacturers.

However, these specifications vary widely and so Whitford prepared an in-house "Test Matrix" which is made up from the most arduous elements of individual automotive specifications in the areas of weatherstrip, glass run and appearance applications.

When we develop new coatings, they are "bench marked" against the requirements of these performance specifications. You can see this by viewing our Flexible Finishes Test Matrix

Here are a few test procedures (and some test equipment) that we have developed within Whitford:

• Reciprocating Abrasion Test (TM135C):
  Simulates the wear a pot or pan receives in extensive home use as it is cleaned. See Reciprocrating Abrasion Test.
  
• Mechanical Scratch Test (TM137C):
  Measures a coating's wear from a scratching element under pressure at cooking temperatures.
  
• Ball Penetration Test (TM137B):
  Measures the time a coating on a surface can survive under a rotating pressure point with a given load.
  
• Cooking Tests (TM199A, B, C, D):
  Practical tests that measure a coating's ability to survive cooking in real-life situations. These range from a test that involves burning ten different common foodstuffs in a pan,
  to a special test developed for cookware used in the Far East that is subjected to particularly aggressive environments (such as fish chowder and soy sauce).
  
• Determination of the non-volatile [solids] content of coatings by weight.(TM103A)

Download-TM103A

The Reciprocating Abrasion Tester (called the "RAT" by the technicians) accelerates normal kitchen wear to provide fast, reliable and reproducible comparisons of wear resistance among coatings.

While our investment in testing equipment may appear significant for a company the size of Whitford, it becomes insignificant when compared to the benefits it provides for our customers in terms of better coatings.

And that, in turn, is significant for Whitford.

Further, unlike our competitors, we make our test procedures – and even the designs of our proprietary testing equipment – available to everyone. (For a copy of our 134-page test book, contact any of our offices.)

We believe that the more we can do to improve the quality of coatings in general, the more the consumer will benefit — and the faster and larger the entire market (and Whitford) will grow.