Till now there has not been a quick and reliable means to test paint volume solids on a routine quality control basis - either in plant or during paint manufacture.

A major US based coil coater recently told us that they have drastically reduced their out of spec defect rate related to color.

Volume solids can affect color in different ways. Firstly, achieving the right film thickness is crucial. Knowing paint volume solids improves your ability to hit the target film thickness. The 50% savings reported to us were achieved directly as a result of measuring paint volume solids alone.

By using Wolf Innovations DFM1 on-line dry film instrument, out of spec film build will never again be the cause of color issues. Reduction in color matching defects can be reduced by significantly up to 85%. Ask us how. Peak metal cure temperature must also be in control. Over cure can cause a shift towards magenta and yellow, especially in whites and light colors.

Secondly, when the paint manufacturer has the ability to measure volume solids quickly accurately and efficiently during paint production they also have a tool to improve achieving the correct pigment balance and the correct pigment to binder ratio. Paint manufacturers currently measure paint weight solids but do not measure volume solids as a standard quality control test. Pigments typically have a higher density than that of resin. Identifying a pigment ratio quality issue requires measurement of both weight solids and volume solids. For example, when weight solids is correct but the volume solids is not, the pigment ratio may be out.

Another major advantage of Wolf's PVS1 is the ability to track your paint suppliers volume solids consistency and performance over time. A payback period less then 3 months is realistic for most coil lines.