Case Study: Acid Rain Simulation for Automotive Coatings

One of the world’s leading suppliers of automotive clear-coats and their automotive OEM began to notice a problem of small, permanent spots appearing on cars arriving through shipping ports near Jacksonville, Florida.  They determined that the spots were acid etch marks caused by air pollution in the area.

Through a joint development effort between Q-Lab and the customer, a secondary spraying system was developed for the Q-SUN Xe-3 to accommodate an acid solution that would recreate the acid etch problem. The Q-SUN Xe-3 tester’s near horizontal flat array format (vs. vertical rotating drum machines) eliminated runoff of the solution, allowing it to remain on the surface and simulate the real life application.

As a result of extensive experimentation, a test protocol was developed that mimics the harshest 12 weeks in Jacksonville,in an accelerated laboratory test of only 400 hours.  This has allowed the customer’s scientists all over the world to quickly formulate and retest specimens in their efforts to find ways to resist the acid etch problem.