Perspectives on weatherability testing of automotive coatings

Automotive coatings continue to evolve rapidly in order to reduce the environmental impact of coating operations and to meet rising customer expectations for appearance and performance. The anticipated changes in chemistry, together with improved appearance retention and the need to respond rapidly to customer desires, have placed new challenges on weathering protocols. This paper discusses these issues and describes several methodologies that are likely to be part of the next generation of accelerated testing protocols. Of critical importance is the need to understand and minimize where possible sources of variability in testing that can lead to uncertain results and increased risk of failure in service.