Contact angle measurements to determine the rate of surface oxidation of artists’ alkyd paints during accelerated photo-ageing

The rate of surface photo-oxidation and changes in polarity of the surfaces of artists’ alkyd paint films were studied by a rapid and novel approach using sessile drop contact angle measurements. The contact angles of distilled water and diiodomethane drops on the film surfaces were measured over a period of 25–2000 h of artificial ageing at 40 °C under an indoor light filtered Xenon light source. Chemical changes on the surfaces of the films were also followed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR). Titanium white artists’ paint samples from three different manufacturers were investigated: Winsor & Newton, Ferrario and Da Vinci Paint Co. As the films aged, there was a decrease in the contact angle and an increase in the polar component of the free surface energy of the paint film surfaces indicating the formation of photo-oxidation products. Such changes correspond well to the chemistry of oil paints, and suggested chemistry of long-alkyd paints, because of their relatively high weight percent of fatty acids.