American Coatings Show 2018

12.4 Influence of the Mechanical Properties of Clearcoats on Scratch Resistance (Room 234-236)

10 Apr 18
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Tracks: Session 12: Measuring & Testing II, Session 12: Measuring, Testing & Automation

Speaker(s): Mei Wen; Jun Lin; Kyle Price, Axalta Coating Systems

A common goal of clearcoat manufacturers is to increase the resistance to scratch and mar events; however, characterizing this type of damage can be challenging. Sophisticated nano and micro scratch techniques have been developed that have the ability to accurately characterize the mechanical performance of coating surface. Ultimately, one needs to relate differences in scratch performance to basic mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of the film. In this work, various clearcoat formulations and processing conditions were characterized using advanced nano scratch techniques to measure scratch and mar performance. Additionally, the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of the films were characterized including tensile properties, indentation hardness, dynamic moduli, and glass transition temperature. This study explores how a coating’s resistance to scratch and mar damage is influenced by the mechanical properties of the film via coating chemistry or application process as well as how the inherent parameters of the scratch test may influence the measured results.