Paint does far more than add color.
Across a wide range of applications, from automobiles, trains, and ships to buildings, infrastructure, and home appliances, paint helps protect substrates from ultraviolet rays, rain, wind, heat, and dirt, while maintaining appearance and performance over the long term.
Ensuring that paint delivers these properties reliably requires a range of testing and evaluation that simulate real-world use conditions and harsh natural environments.
At the Nippon Paint Group, we ensure product quality and reliability through a combination of long-term evaluations in natural environments, tests that simulate real-world use conditions, and assessments using specialized testing equipment.
Miyakojima Weathering Center: Assessing Quality in Natural Environments
At the Nippon Paint Group’s Miyakojima Weathering Center in Okinawa Prefecture, we conduct weatherability testing on coating films.
Coated test panels and painted parts are placed outdoors and exposed to natural conditions such as sunlight, rain, humidity, and sea breezes, allowing us to assess changes in the coating over time.
Miyakojima shares latitude and climate similar to those of Miami, Florida, home to an outdoor exposure testing site regarded widely as a global benchmark. With intense ultraviolet radiation, salt-laden sea breezes, a hot and humid climate, and frequent typhoons, Miyakojima provides an exceptionally harsh environment for coating films. Under these conditions, test panels and painted parts are exposed outdoors over extended periods so that changes in color, appearance, and coating performance can be assessed.
The center’s expansive site is lined with a large number of test panels, and the evaluation results are used to support product development and quality improvement.
Marine Seafront Research Center
At the Marine Seafront Research Center in Tamano City, Okayama Prefecture, we evaluate and analyze marine coatings in a natural marine environment.
Located on the waterfront, the center uses natural seawater to assess the antifouling performance of marine coatings and the properties that enable that performance. The results are used to ensure product reliability and quality, as well as to support new product development and product improvement. All antifouling coatings are evaluated at this center, and only those that pass a range of verification tests are brought to market. In addition to standard evaluation tests, the center is also working to develop new testing methods to accelerate development and increase the likelihood of success.
Marine coatings must be designed not only to prevent the attachment of marine organisms and protect hulls from corrosion, but also with careful consideration for the marine environment. The ability to recreate conditions similar to those encountered during actual voyages is therefore a major advantage, helping drive the development of products that are both more environmentally friendly and offer higher antifouling performance.
Evaluation Under Simulated Use Conditions
①Automotive Coating Tests
Automotive coatings are required not only to maintain an attractive appearance but also to withstand the various stresses encountered during vehicle operation and use.
For example, chipping tests simulate stones striking a vehicle while it is in motion, while drop-weight impact tests evaluate the effects of impact. These tests are used to confirm that the coating film does not crack or peel. Brushing tests, which simulate repeated contact with the brushes used in automatic car washes, are used to evaluate scratch resistance.
We also conduct chemical resistance tests using substances that simulate cosmetics and food products to assess performance under conditions similar to those inside a vehicle.
Through repeated evaluations that simulate real-world vehicle use, the Nippon Paint Group ensures the high level of quality required of automotive coatings.
②Industrial Coating Tests
Industrial coatings used on home appliances and other products are tested under conditions that simulate both the staining that can occur in everyday life and the processing they undergo during manufacturing.
For example, we conduct food staining tests using substances such as soy sauce and mustard, as well as stain-resistance tests to determine whether marks from oil-based permanent markers remain on the coating film. These evaluations are designed to simulate the conditions faced by home appliances used in kitchens and living spaces.
Steel sheets used in products such as outdoor air-conditioning units are often press-formed or bent after coating. To confirm that the coating can withstand these processes, deep-drawing tests are conducted to verify that the coating film does not crack or peel after forming.
These evaluations help ensure the aesthetic quality and durability of home appliances and housing equipment, as well as good processability during manufacturing.
Combining Real-World Testing with Test-Equipment Evaluations Accelerated Weathering Tests
In addition to evaluation conducted under real-world conditions, we carry out accelerated weathering tests using specialized testing equipment.
By repeatedly exposing coating films to intense light, heat, and moisture, these tests allow us to assess age-related changes in a shorter period of time.
Protecting Quality and Creating New Value
At the Nippon Paint Group, product performance is verified through multiple approaches that combine evaluations in real-world environments at outdoor exposure facilities, including the Miyakojima Weathering Center and the Marine Seafront Research Center, with application-specific testing for automobiles, home appliances, and other products, as well as accelerated weathering tests.
These evaluation capabilities, developed and refined through ongoing work behind the scenes, are what underpin the quality and reliability of our products.
Looking ahead, we will continue to advance a broad range of testing and evaluation efforts to develop products that customers can use with confidence and to create new value.
