At hci, we create and customize a variety of products for specialty applications and unique substrates including marking paints for use on athletic fields, traffic marking paints, and special effects coatings. Our innovative and dynamic lab performs state-of-the-art testing on these specialty products aimed to comply with specific customer requirements.

Case Study

Substrates: Gypsum Board.

Application: Various weight fiberglass mat products and gypsum board. 30 wet grams per linear board foot with an 8-gun carousel spray-coater at about 50 board feet per minute.

Variables: Speed of line, speed of applicator, transfer efficiency, and fluid and air pressure to spray guns to achieve desired stipple. Other variables include temperature, distance and speed through drying oven after application and the amount of flash-off time between entering ovens and application.

Main Consideration: The coating needed to provide a specific light reflectivity value (LRV) at a proper percentage of coverage to maintain certain acoustical values and pass an ASTM Flame and Smoke Test.

Adhesion: The product needed to withstand a specified number of scrub-cycles. Our product exceeded 1,000 scrub-cycles, which far exceeded the specification.

Color: The color required was white, but it needed to be bright enough to achieve the required 90+ light reflectivity (LRV) standard.