ISO 1518

Introducing ISO 1518 – Industrial Physics

ISO 1518 is a global standard to determine the resistance of paints, coatings and varnishes by scratching with a hemispherically tipped needle or similar. 

Abrasion and scratch resistance describes the ability of a material to resist various types of damage such as scratches, gouges, wear and other flaws. Is your test and inspection up to scratch? 

The ISO 1518 test method works with both single coatings and multi-coat systems. The stylus needle penetrates the substrate, unless you’re dealing with a multi-coat system. In this case the scratch test can be set up to inspect the penetration of the substrate or an intermediate coat. 

ISO 1518 scratch testing process

There are two main ways to approach the ISO 1518 scratch test: 

1. As a ‘pass / fail’ test: testing with a single specified load applied to the stylus to assess conformity with a particular specification 
2. As an assessment test by applying increasing loads to the stylus to determine the minimum load at which the coating is penetrated. 

ISO 1518 testing devices

So, how can Industrial Physics improve your ISO 1518 testing? 

When you need to analyze how your products will respond to everyday wear and tear, a scratch tester will do the job. Whether you make car doors, construction beams or beverage cans…we have the scratch testing equipment you need. 

Mechanized scratch tester
Crafted by TQC Sheen, our specialist paint testing brand, our mechanized scratch tester is just what you need to evaluate the hardness of your coatings using the scratch resistance method. 

A test panel is clamped and slowly moved whilst a stylus or alternative tool scratches the surface. Depending on test procedures, specified or variable loads can be applied to obtain different degrees of failure, from trace to destruction.  

Our mechanized scratch tester comes with the weight set required by ISO 1518-1. The weight set specified by the preceding international standard, ISO 1518, is optionally available.  

Need scratch resistance testing solutions? Get in touch

We’ve learnt a thing or two about paint hardness testing over the decades. Now Industrial Physics is recognized as a brand that likes to bring new, innovative scratch resistance hardness testers to market. 

We like to share our knowledge and we’re here to help you to answer your questions about scratch resistance testing. Across the knowledgebase section of our website we publish lots of blogs on related subjects. You’ll find blogs like this one, which looks at protecting your coating performance with scratch hardness testing. Or maybe you’d prefer to read about the quality standards used by car manufacturers. 

If you have any questions about ISO 1518 scratch resistance testing and how we can help you with other aspects of your paint testing, then just get in touch!

Your global test and measurement partner for ISO 1518