Influence of the shaking time on the forensic analysis of FTIR and Raman spectra of spray paints

In order to decide if replicated measurements of a trace fall within the intra-variability expected for reference paint samples, a forensic scientist has to understand and integrate all reasonable sources of variation. The origins of such variation in spectra can be various, but mainly include differences in components distribution (homogeneity of spraying) or differences originating from the manufacturing process (production batches). Instrumental variation can also be problematic for non-successive measurements.Infrared and Raman spectra were collected to study the homogeneity of the paint distribution after shaking a spray can for times of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 min. The results confirm that differences arise in both the spectroscopic techniques used in this study. Mainly, this survey shows that the problematic of shaking is particularly important when the pigment content can be detected from spray paint samples within the infrared domain. In these situations, the signal from the pigment might produce strong absorptions that vary with shaking time, leading to differences in relative intensities with respect to those attributed to the binder. For Raman spectroscopy, it has been shown that a gradient of pigment concentration is observable in some samples depending on the shaking time. The proportion of the signal due to the pigment increases with shaking times from 0 to 1 min and diminishes afterwards, to finally reach stabilization around 3 min of shaking. Not all samples are affected by these differences and it should always be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. From a statistical point-of-view, principal component analyses of the replicates show that the spectra are reproducible after 3 min of shaking.