Weathering and Corrosion Testing of Coatings and Surfaces

Weathering & light exposure are significant causes of damage to coatings, plastics, adhesives, sealants, and other organic materials. This damage includes gloss loss, fading, yellowing, cracking, peeling, embrittlement, loss of tensile strength, and delamination. For many manufacturers, it is crucial to formulate products that can withstand outdoor service environments. Accelerated weathering and light stability testers are widely used to provide information on material durability for research and development, quality control and material certification. Outdoor testing in benchmark locations such as Florida and Arizona is an important addition to accelerated testing as it provides realistic results by exposing test specimens to natural conditions. Testing outdoors provides comprehensive, accurate results by reproducing complex weathering patterns not easily duplicated in an accelerated laboratory environment.