Scratch Testing ISO 1518

Protective coatings are designed to prevent substrate from corrosion, erosion, oxidation, scratch, and wear. The Elcometer 3000 Motorised Clemen Unit is a high load scratch tester ideally designed to test paints and coatings that have a conductive substrate. The Elcometer 3000 can apply a maximum load of 5 kg during a scratch test which makes it ideal for studying the failure mechanisms of paints and coatings.

To produce consistent, repeatable and reproduceable tests, the Elcometer 3000 brings the scratch probe gently in contact with the sample, moves across the coating, and then lifts the probe from the sample. This instrument complies with the standard ISO 1518 Paint and Varnishes – Determination of Scratch Resistance.

For samples with a conductive substrate, when the coating is completely removed during testing, the contact of the scratch probe with the conductive substrate is indicated by a lamp and voltmeter indicator. The failure of a coating can also be determined visually by comparing adjacent scratches. The image below shows a sample tested using progressively larger loads to determine the minimum load of failure as indicated by the voltmeter.

Typical Experimental Results

Applications

Instrument: Eclometer 3000 Motorised Clemen

Key Specs