When developing a new product for outdoor use or when looking to extend the life of an existing product, it is essential for manufacturers to understand the effects of weathering exposure.
In order to determine the life expectancy of a product or material, it’s important to understand how it reacts when exposed to certain environmental conditions. For many companies, accelerated weathering evaluations are a necessary part of the product development process however, companies often struggle with time limitations and capacity. This bottleneck in the testing process can mean a loss of productivity and lost revenues.

Common Materials Exposed to Xenon Arc Accelerated Weathering: 

• Films
• Interior / exterior polymeric parts for automotive applications
• Paint and coatings
• Roofing
• Fascia (plastic / coated materials)
• Textiles
• Rubber and plastic laminates

Common post-weathering evaluations include:

• Tensile
• Elongation
• Photographic documentation
• Physical property changes or retention

Industries We Serve

• Materials
• Components
• Transportation
• Packaging
• Consumer

Common Standards

General

• ASTM G151 – Lab Light Sources - Nonmetallic Materials
• ASTM G155 – Xenon Arc - Non-Metallic Materials

Rubber

• ASTM D750 – Weathering Deterioration
• ASTM D925 – Surface Staining
• ASTM D1148 – Discoloration from UV / Heat Exposure
• ISO 3865 – Staining (organic material contact)
• ISO 4665 – Resistance to weathering

Plastics

• ASTM D1248 – Polyethylene Plastics - Wire and Cable
• ASTM D2565 – Xenon Arc - Outdoor Applications
• ASTM D4101 – Polypropylene Injection / Extrusion
• ASTM D4459 – Xenon Arc - Indoor Applications
• ASTM D5071 – Xenon Arc - Photodegradable Plastics
• ASTM D6662 – Polyolefin-Based Plastic Lumber Decking
• ISO 29664 – Artificial weathering (acidic deposition)
• ISO 4892-2 – Xenon Arc lamp exposure

Roofing Materials

• ASTM D1670 – Failure in Bituminous Materials
• ASTM D4434 – Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Sheet Roofing
• ASTM D4637 – PDM Sheet in Single-Ply Membrane
• ASTM D4798 – Xenon Arc Method Bituminous Materials
• ASTM D4811 – Non-vulcanized Rubber Roof Flashing 
• ASTM D5019 – CSM Sheet in Single-Ply Membrane
• ASTM D6083 – Liquid Applied Acrylic Coating
• ASTM D6878 – Thermoplastic Polyolefin Based Roofing

Adhesives and Sealants

• ASTM C732 – Aging Effects on Latex Sealants
• ASTM C734 – Low-Temp Flexibility of Latex Sealants
• ASTM C793 – Weathering / Elastomeric Joint Sealants
• ASTM C1184 – Structural Silicone Sealants
• ASTM C1257 – Solvent-Release-Type Sealants
• ASTM C1442 – Artificial Weathering of Sealants
• ASTM C1519 – Durability / Construction Sealants
• ASTM C1501 – Color Stability / Construction Sealants
• ASTM D904 – Artificial Light Exposure – Adhesives

Printer Inks, Artist Materials, and Paper

• ASTM D3424 – Printed - Lightfastness / Weatherability
• ASTM D4303 – Lightfastness of Colorants (Art Materials)
• ASTM D5010 – Printing Inks and Related Materials
• ASTM D6901 – Guide for Art Colored Pencils
• ASTM F2366 – Lightfastness of Ink Jet Prints

Coating

• ASTM D3451 – Coating Powders and Powder Coatings
• ASTM D3794 – Coil Coatings
• ASTM D6577 – Industrial Protective Coatings
• ASTM D6695 – Xenon Arc - Paint Exposure / Related

Packaging

• ASTM D6551 – Xenon Arc - Pressure-Sensitive Tapes 

Automotive

• ASTM D7356 – Accelerated Acid Etch Weathering of Automotive Clearcoats Using Xenon-Arc Exposure
• ASTM D7869 – Xenon Arc Exposure with Enhanced Light and Water Exposure for Transportation Coatings
• ISO 4892-2 – Xenon Arc lamp exposure   
• ISO 105-B06 – Color fastness: Xenon Arc fading lamp test
• ISO 11341 – Paints and varnishes exposure to artificial radiation -- Exposure to filtered Xenon Arc radiation  
• ISO 105 B10 – Textiles - Color fastness exposure to filtered Xenon Arc radiation
• DBL 5555 – Daimler
• DBL 7399 – Daimler
• DIN 75202 – Porsche, Daimler
• FLTM EU BO 050-1 – Ford
• GM 9125P – General Motors
• GMW 14162 – General Motors
• GMW 14170 – General Motors
• GME 60292 – GM Opal
• HES D6601 – Honda
• JIS D0205 – Japan
• PF-1 1365 – Chrysler
• PV 1306 – Volkswagen
• PV 3929 – Volkswagen
• PV 3930 – Volkswagen
• VDA 75202 – BMW
• 50451 – Fiat

Our Expertise

Our state-of-the-art equipment allows for the evaluation of 3D specimens with varying types of light exposure to simulate your product’s service environment. Our range of weathering equipment utilizes flat panel and rotating carousel weathering systems to meet most environment xenon and fluorescent light testing standards.