Experience, along with sophisticated analytical and physical testing equipment, has brought Weldon Laboratories a reputation as one of the nation’s premier paint and coatings testing laboratories.

Failure Analysis Capabilities Include:

• Light Microscopy. Light microscopy using a stereo microscope is an invaluable tool for examining both small and large samples. It is almost always the first step in a laboratory failure analysis.
• Scanning Electron Microscopy – Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. SEM-EDS employs a powerful electron microscope equipped with an x-ray detector. The combination allows very high magnification, along with simultaneous multi-element analysis. It could be used to identify certain pigments, to characterize corrosion products, to detect salts or other inorganic contaminates, or to determine the plane of failure in an adhesion failure.
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Samples will absorb infrared light in various fashions depending on their chemical composition. The resulting infrared spectrum can be used to identify the type of paint, to determine the mix ratio for certain types of two component paints, and to detect such things as degree of cure, contamination, pigment type, batching variations, and even some types of chemical degradation.



The infrared spectrum of this sample clearly identifies it as an epoxy.

• Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy. GC-MS is used to identify (and in some cases quantify) the various solvents in a thinner or liquid paint sample, and to detect solvents present in the liquid trapped within failing, blistered coating. It can even identify residual solvents in dried samples to determine if an un-authorized thinner was used.
• Pyrolysis GC-MS. With a pyrolysis attachment, the power of GC-MS can be used to obtain compositional information on resins, additives, and other non-volatile ingredients of paints and coatings.
• Differential Scanning Calorimetry. DSC is used to analyze dried paint samples for thermal events such as chemical reactions, melting points, and glass transition temperatures. It is primarily used to determine the relative degree of cure of samples which are not amenable to such analysis by infrared spectroscopy.
• Wet Bench Facilities. Weldon Laboratories is equipped to do various wet bench chemical test methods, such as density, % solids by weight or volume, %pigment, viscosity, VOC, and numerous other tests.

Physical Testing Capabilities Include:

• Salt fog (ASTM B117).
• Alternating QUV/Cyclic Salt Fog (ASTM D5894, “Prohesion”).
• Accelerated Weathering (QUV, Xenon Arc).
• Abrasion Resistance (ASTM D4060).
• Impact Resistance (ASTM D2794)
• Adhesion (ASTM D3359, D4541).
• Hiding Power (ASTM D2805).
• Flexibility (ASTM D522).
• Hardness (ASTM D3363, D2240).
• Sag Resistance (ASTM D4400).
• Humidity Resistance (ASTM D2247, D4585).
• Atlas Cell for Chemical Resistance (NACE TM-01-74).
• Chemical/Immersion Testing (ASTM D1308).
• Water Vapor Permeability (ASTM D1653).