Technical Services for the Paint Industry: an Overview

Technical Services images

The services that we offer the paint industry include, analysis, consultancy, including the provision of expert witness testimony, environmental monitoring and testing.

We also supply standard viscosity oils for the calibration of flow cups and viscometers as well as potassium ferricyanide test papers for the on-site assessment of the efficiency of blast cleaning processes.

In addition there are laboratories specialising in inks, radiation curing and microbiology .

Our experience with paints inks and other surface coatings enables us to assist clients with problems involving plastics, polymers, polishes, adhesives, sealants, putties and mastics. Although we are a Member based organisation located in the UK, our services are also available to non-Members worldwide.

The Testing Laboratory is accredited to ISO 17025 by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). A list of all the tests for which we are UKAS accredited is available.

Our Stack Emission Monitoring procedures have been endorsed by the Source Testing Association.

The services that we offer encompass the whole life of a product and can be used to investigate:-

Analysis

We offer a wide range of analytical services ranging from determining the lead content of paint flakes to a full quantitative analysis of a liquid paint. We have considerable experience in identifying the causes of defects in surface coatings which may be due to the inclusion of fibres or particles or to contamination of the substrate prior to painting. Full details of our services are given on our analysis page.

Consultancy

Our consultants have, between them, extensive experience of all aspects of the paint, ink and surface coating industries. They can offer confidential and independent advice on matters relating to product selection, manufacture and application. Establishing the reasons for the premature failure of coatings in service forms an important part of our work as does the provision of expert witness testimony. In recent years marine arbitration has emerged as a distinct speciality. Our consultancy page gives further details of the range of services available.

Environmental

As part of our environmental services we can monitor VOC and particulate concentrations in the workplace and in emissions to atmosphere. We can also advise on all aspects odour nuisance reduction, waste minimisation and the selection and evaluation of abatement equipment. Our aim is to assist companies to comply with Safety, Health and Environmental legislation while maintaining or improving process efficiency.

The increasing interest in the subject of Environmentally Friendly Paints has prompted us to devote a page to this topic. This summarises the research, information and technical services available at PRA and also provides links to relevant external sites.

Testing

Evaluating the durability and the anti-corrosive properties of paint is an important part of our work and we are pleased to advise clients regarding the selection of appropriate test methods. We can also assist raw material suppliers by incorporating their products into paints prior to testing. We are authorised to carry out the test work needed to obtain ecolabel approval and we have particular expertise in all matters relating to colour matching. Inks, radiation curing and microbiology are special areas of expertise which warrant separate laboratories which deal with the research, technical and information services connected with these disciplines. Our testing page gives full details of the paint testing services available and on this page you will find links to more than 50 pages each of which gives details of individual tests that we undertake.

Standard Viscosity Oils

We supply viscosity oils & calibration services, including a range of hydrocarbon oils for use in the calibration of flow cups and rotational viscometers. These oils come with a calibration certificate giving the viscosity at selected temperatures in the 20° to 30°C range. The calibration is traceable to International Standards ISO 3104 and 3105. We also supply these oils in the form of bubble viscometers which are widely used in the paint and resin industries as a means of obtaining a simple and rapid measure of viscosity. We are pleased to advise on the most appropriate oils to use and we also offer a rapid turn-round service for the certification of flow cups. Please refer to our viscosity oils page for further information.