Varnish, Wax and Underbody Coating: This Is How We Test Products For Area Protection
Because we want tests to be realistic we almost always conduct tests using already rusty metal sheets. To get an even layer of oxidation we only use sand-blasted sheets.
Now we will show you what follows next. Before the corroded testing sheets are coated the rough rust has to be removed.
The test we show you now is about proving that the products work on very strong corrosion as well: instead of a steel brush we use a simple brush with pig’s bristles for “cleaning”!
Only the upper surface of the sheets matters for the test. To prevent corrosion from creeping round the sheet from the back and the edges tampering with the results we apply “edge protection”!
The sharp edges always have to get extra protection during testing. Otherwise the result will be falsified and the whole test backfires! In professional corrosion protection the cumbersome word “edge protection” is a well-established and common term.
How Testing Sheets Are Coated
Just like for the rusting shown above there are special regulations and norms for coating, i.e. the application of corrosion protection agents. Not all of these regulations are really of importance for us. For the tests to be meaningful, however, it is important that the conditions are the same for all samples.
This includes the following examples:
– The respective products are used strictly according to the instructions of use.
– The coatings are applied using the required tools.
– Layer thickness is measured after each step.
– The required drying times are adhered to.
Winter 2015: Working overtime for a test on Tenerife. Here we are testing five products by the competition against a new product of our own. We want to do two tests at the same time, so this time there is twice the effort: Two times six, that is 12 sheets, have to be coated. We spray whenever the workshop is empty: from half past 5 in the morning and in the evenings when everybody has left.
Test Environment: This Is Where We Conduct Tests
The sheets are mounted at places where the exposure to corrosion is decidedly strong. This means, among others, the following factors:
– Salt water: accelerates any kind of corrosion.
– Temperature: the higher, the better.
– Ultra-violet light: regardless of the kind of coating, ultra-violet light destroys the long molecular chains of corrosion protection agents rather quickly. They are downright hacked apart by the radiation. Thus the products lose their protective effect.
The testing sheets are mounted where the exposure is highest: on top of the bridge. Here there is endless salt-water spume and ultra-violet light.
Here, on the highest deck of the ship the exposure is so high that the test does not take long. After just half a year the differences in the protective effect are clearly visible.
For further information on testing on the tuna fishing cutter refer to:
http://www.timemax.de/industry/teneriffa-2/