Effect of slurry mechanical damage on the properties of an organic coating system

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of wet abrasion and erosion on the protective and aesthetic properties of an organic coating system. Falling abrasive test and Taber test were chosen to produce the mechanical damage, using different abrasive slurries in order to evaluate the influence of the viscosity of the liquid mean and the hardness and shape of the abrasive agents. The level of aesthetic damage was evaluated through gloss measurements; 20° was the most sensitive angle to gloss changes; with this geometry, samples with different damage level could be compared. The correlation between the changes of gloss and the damage was investigated using optical microscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The level of loss of protective properties was evaluated through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements.