PAINT
Touchstone has earned numerous awards as an industrial problem-solver,
new product developer, and applied research laboratory for hundreds
of manufacturers in a wide range of business sectors. Our unique
capability as an industrial problem-solver is based on the diversity
of our highly experienced technical staff, supported by over $10
million worth of in-house laboratory equipment and testing facilities.
The following examples illustrate some of our contributions to this
business sector:
- Touchstone conducted a microscopic examination of paint and
plaster samples. The analysis identified the unknown fibers in
the specimen as human hair. The practice of using hair collected
from barbers was historically a common way to increase plaster
strength in "plaster and lathe" construction before
rocklathe or standard drywall sheet were invented.
- Touchstone performed evaluations of a paint system for roof
deck application for a roofing sheet manufacturer. The tests included
100 hour ASTM B117 salt spray testing.
- A metallographic study was performed for a coil coating company
concerning the variability and total paint film thickness.
- An analysis was performed on paint chip samples taken from a
bridge. The chips were analyzed in accordance with the ASTM methods
for the determination of metal content of organic materials to
determine whether lead or other metals were present.
- The purpose of this investigation was to determine the source
of the black streaks on the surface of sheet steel and to determine
if these black streaks were contributing to the blisters found
on the as-painted steel surface. It is believed that these silicon-based
particles were rolled into the surface of the steel sheets. The
fact that they are elongated into 'streaks' rather than existing
as 'spots' supports this thinking. Also, more importantly, they
are not found at any location across the thickness of the sheet
nor are they found on the opposite steel surface. It was shown
that the black streaks did contribute to the paint blistering.
- A manufacturer of roll formed painted roofing materials was
experiencing crazing and poor adhesion during roll forming. Touchstone
performed an investigation and determined that pre-heating of
coils increased the formability of the coatings which eliminated
the crazing and adhesion problems. The procedure was incorporated
into the manufacturing process and the crazing problem was eliminated.
- A water treatment plant, which services a coil coating line,
experienced substantially more sludge than normal. Touchstone
was asked to investigate. Samples were taken back to the laboratory
from various locations in the plant as well as from the wastewater
treatment facility. It was determined that a change in product
mix from processing cold rolled steel and galvanized sheet to
cold-rolled steel only increased the volume of sludge generated
by the water treatment plant.
- A manufacturer of oil filters encountered a paint adhesion problem
with their oil filters. It was thought that the tin-plate sheet
from which they are formed was contaminated. Problem steel samples
and samples of "good" tin-plate were supplied to Touchstone
for comparison. Both suppliers of tin-plate were found to be in
a clean state as-delivered. The company continued its investigation
of the problem inside its plant.
- A steel company which supplies steel to an after market automotive
parts supplier contacted Touchstone with a problem. When the automotive
parts company had painted the steel with their normal process,
major paint defects developed and samples of the product were
returned. Touchstone evaluated the problem via scanning electron
microscopy and metallography and found that alkaline cleaner salts
had not been properly removed in the steel plant. This led to
a poor phosphate pre-treatment. After forming and painting, the
paint would not adhere well to this poor phosphate coating.
- A manufacturer of galvanized electrical conduit contracted with
Touchstone to perform a study to compare powder paint coatings
of the otherwise unprotected threaded area to metallizing for
corrosion resistance. Salt fog tests were performed and it was
found that the powder paint coating protected the steel threads
as well as metallizing in salt fog exposure.
- A coil-coater developing a new coated, roll-formed steel product
requested that Touchstone determine whether the higher than normal
operating temperature of the curing oven had any affect on the
brittle, zinc/iron layer always present in galvanized steel. The
results of a laboratory-scale study of the process performed at
Touchstone found that there was no increase in the size of the
zinc/iron layer due to the change in thermal processing.
- A truck manufacturing plant was experiencing peeling of the
paint on the exterior of roof panels. An investigation at Touchstone
found that the zinc substrate lacked an effective pre-treatment
coating.
- Touchstone regularly performs numerous failures of prepainted
steel and aluminum building products such as roofing, siding,
gutters and many others. Problems with dross, scale, "orange
peel," hardness, improper cure, off-color appearance, and
adhesion are often discovered. Touchstone has a complete paint
evaluation laboratory including: pencil hardness, microhardness,
various abrasion tests, solvent wipe tests, scanning electron
microscopes with X-ray microanalysis, etc.
- Touchstone evaluated 5 different water-based coatings for a
square tubing manufacturer to determine their resistance to condensation-type
rust. Samples of each were placed in a Cleveland-condensing cabinet
and periodically examined for the presence of rust. The results
of this study helped the manufacturer to choose the best coating
for their products.
- The paint system used for the solid fuel boosters of the Space
Shuttle was evaluated to determine resistance to corrosion after
experiencing launch conditions. Panels were prepared according
to NASA procedures, heated and quenched in salt water to simulate
launch use conditions, and tested according to ATM B117 Salt fog
exposure resistance.
The above examples are only a sample of our work in this area.
We would be pleased to provide any additional information you may
require. We also invite you to review examples on our website of
work that we have performed in support of other business sectors.
Please contact one of our Project
Managers to discuss your manufacturing problem. We would welcome
an opportunity to add you to our rapidly growing list of satisfied
customers.
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