Decoding Paint Application Feel

By J. Harris, A. Vaynberg, H. Vonhögen , M. Durst, B. Owens, S. Weathers, D. Wilkins

Paint application “feel” is a key performance attribute. Currently, it is determined empirically by a trained technician who rolls out the paint on a desired substrate and then assigns a perceived application “feel” rating to the paint. Commonly, this rating is characterized by a description of the quality of spreading and the ease of application of the paint. The subjective nature of the evaluation process presents a significant hurdle and uncertainty to rheology modifier selection and paint formulation.

Three commercial waterborne paint formulations were rolled out and the application feel was empirically evaluated. The roll-out experiments were performed by a trained evaluator on a substrate attached to the Sensorial Evaluation Device. The device does not interfere with the empirical feel evaluation and concurrently records the shear and normal forces exerted on the substrate along with the roller position and its speed during the roll-out experiment.

The results indicate that the Sensorial Evaluation Device accurately captures the application data and that this data can be used in understanding the subjective paint feel. The rheological characterization of paint offers additional understanding of the empirical paint feel.