What is scrub resistance?
Simply put, scrub resistance is a measure of resistance to abrasion. Scrub testing is commonly performed to test the durability of coatings, but it can also be used to measure the resistance of ceramic coatings to abrasion and degradation. Scrub resistance may be required by manufacturers and end users who want unbiased results in a controlled laboratory environment. We perform scrub resistance tests on ceramic coatings to provide us with reliable data, certification details and customers can rely on the IGL Coatings product range. This way we can always improve our products.
How Scrub Resistance Tests Are Performed
Following the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), our ceramic coatings are constantly being tested for improvement. Using the scrubability instrument, we can test the scrub resistance of ceramic coatings by two methods: visual and weight loss. The focus of ASTM's proposed standards for paints is that when non-abrasive or abrasive cleaning media are used, they should be formulated to withstand scrubbing with a nylon brush or cloth during a specified number of wash or cleaning cycles. Alternatively, if the end user requests the test, the cleaner specified by the requester shall be used in the test.
Typically, a scrub resistance test will consist of these three steps, which may take place over a time frame of more than a week, in which a black plastic matte board paints the object being tested. Both the manufacturer and the end user need to pre-specify the thickness of the coating applied to the panel by the requester. Since we are a manufacturer and do in-house testing in our own laboratory, we apply ceramic coating products to the panels.
Frosted panels need to be dried according to laboratory conditions to ensure results are not affected by the environment. Typically, this takes 7 days to fully dry the panels and be ready.
Once the panel is ready to be scrubbed, place it under the scrubability instrument to go through an abrasion cycle. Again, the number of iterations for these panels needs to be pre-specified to keep the variables constant.
At the end of the scrub resistance test, the R&D team will document their findings on how durable our ceramic coating is to wear cycles. This is important as we are constantly improving our products and ingredients for durability.
The importance of scrub resistance for ceramic coating products
This test ensures that ceramic coating products maintain their intended visual appearance, avoiding blistering, softening or thinning of ceramic coatings when exposed to cleaning products and abrasion. In addition to adhering to the standards we set on our products, scrub resistance testing is also important to create prototypes of future available products and to manufacture more new products that meet the needs of our customers around the world.
