Getting Out of The Lab — Advantage of Evaluating Coatings in A Real-World Manufacturing Environment

By Dr. Douglas Corrigan

This article outlines an unmet industry need for formula-tors to conduct robust testing of their coatings products in real-world or simulated environments that closely resemble an OEM facility’s environmental and processing conditions as coatings are applied and cured. The illustrative examples provided in this article are not hypothetical but are based on actual OEM and end-user processes, widely available coatings products, and current market dynamics.

Application and curing dynamics of paints for factory and field-applied coatings are rarely quantified by coatings practitioners over a wide range of climactic and factory-specific conditions; yet, this information is critical to the long-term performance of the coating in global markets.