Residual stability of polyurethane automotive coatings measured by chemiluminescence and equivalence of Xenotest and Solisi ageing tests

Degradation of poly(ester-urethanes) and poly(acrylic-urethanes), as a base for automotive paintings in interior applications, has been studied by chemiluminescence. The samples were clearcoat and black-pigmented paints, unstabilised and stabilized with HALS Tinuvin 292 and UV absorber Tinuvin 1130, exposed to various doses of artificial weathering in Xenotest and Solisi equipment. Chemiluminescence has appeared a powerful tool to evaluate the oxidation stability of various polyurethane systems. From the dependences of oxidation onset temperature on heating rate, the kinetic parameters describing the dependence of induction periods on temperature have been obtained. The kinetic parameters enabled us to calculate the length of the induction period for a chosen temperature, the protection factors of various additives and the residual stability of the polymer after an artificial ageing stress. It has been found that the loss of residual stability with ageing dose obeys a first-order relationship. Equivalence between the two methods of artificial ageing has been determined. The results indicate that the equivalence depends on the polymer composition. The procedure presented here can also be applied for the determination of equivalence of accelerated and field tests so contributing to establishing a reliable correlation between them.