Paints and Coating Inspection Equipment

There are a huge number of inks, coatings and paint tests designed to help you determine how well your surfaces will withstand real life applications. We offer a full suite of testing options, including:

• Paint adhesion testing
• Coating thickness tests
• Viscosity testing
• Washability testing
• Gloss testing
• Brightness testing
• Scratch resistance testing

Our wide selection of paints and coatings testing equipment is designed to help you meet the internationally recognized standards of your industry. Our wealth of test and measurement expertise means that not only are our inks, coatings and paint testers designed to accommodate current testing standards, they also often offer solutions for samples that don’t yet have a standardized testing method.

Coating thickness results can be affected by substrate material, surface roughness, magnetic properties, and the type of coating being applied. Variations in probe angle, calibration method, or environmental conditions can also impact accuracy. Using properly calibrated instruments and consistent measurement techniques ensures reliable, repeatable thickness data.

The correct adhesion method depends on coating type, substrate, expected performance, and industry standards. Cross‑cut tests are ideal for thin or brittle coatings, while pull‑off adhesion tests provide quantitative strength data for thicker or high‑performance coatings. Matching the method to your coating system ensures meaningful, comparable results.

Industrial Physics offers three hardness testing solutions across our TQC Sheen and United Testing Systems product lines, each purpose-built for a different aspect of coating and substrate evaluation.

The TQC Sheen Pendulum Hardness Tester measures the surface hardness and drying or curing progress of wet or cured coating films. It uses either the König or Persoz pendulum method, both of which assess damping oscillation on the coating surface. Portable and straightforward to operate, it suits laboratory and on-site coating inspection.

The United Testing Systems Tru-Blue II Rockwell Hardness Tester is a bench-top instrument for Rockwell hardness testing on metal substrates. It complies with ASTM E18 and ISO 6508 and is used in NADCAP-approved facilities. It measures across aluminum, steel, tinplate, and other metals, making it well suited to harder substrates and thicker coating systems where Rockwell scales apply.

The United Testing Systems Tru-Blue Micro VT extends our hardness testing capability into the Vickers and Knoop microhardness range. It measures micro-scale hardness for localized coating analysis and detailed hardness mapping across thin or layered coating systems.

Together these three instruments give you full coverage from coating film hardness through to substrate microhardness, so you can evaluate the right property at the right point in your quality process.

The right instrument depends on what you need to measure and where in your process you need to measure it.

For wet or cured paint and coating film hardness, use the TQC Sheen Pendulum Hardness Tester. It measures the surface response of the coating itself, making it the standard choice for drying assessment, curing verification, and film performance evaluation.

For Rockwell hardness on metal substrates or thicker industrial coating systems, use the United Testing Systems Tru-Blue II. Rockwell is the appropriate method when you need to evaluate the substrate’s bulk hardness or when the coating is thick enough to require indentation testing rather than surface film assessment.

For Vickers or Knoop microhardness, use the United Testing Systems Tru-Blue Micro VT. Microhardness is the right method when you need localized measurements across thin films, plating layers, or coating cross-sections where standard Rockwell would compromise the sample or return unreliable results.

If you need help matching a method to your specific coating system, our applications team can advise on the right instrument and standard for your workflow.

Each hardness tester in our range is aligned with the internationally recognized standards that apply to its measurement method.

The TQC Sheen Pendulum Hardness Tester operates in accordance with the standards for pendulum damping methods for organic coatings, including ISO 1522 and ASTM D4366. These cover the König and Persoz methods for measuring surface hardness of paint, varnish, and related coating films.

The United Testing Systems Tru-Blue II Rockwell Hardness Tester complies with ASTM E18 and ISO 6508, the primary international standards for Rockwell hardness testing of metallic materials. The instrument is used in NADCAP-approved facilities, which reflects its acceptance in aerospace and other regulated quality environments.

The United Testing Systems Tru-Blue Micro VT is aligned with ASTM E384 and ISO 6507 for Vickers and Knoop microhardness measurement. These standards define the indentation methods used to measure hardness of small parts, thin sections, and localized areas of larger samples.

If you need to confirm the exact standards conformance for your application, or you need documentation for quality audit purposes, our applications team can provide the relevant certifications and testing evidence.