How to measure the gloss of paint: let's discover the surface gloss test

Respecting the gloss parameters is often essential during the painting phase; for this reason it is essential to evaluate it with safe, standardized and easily replicable tests.

Brilliance is one of the main aesthetic characteristics of surface coatings, like the color itself. For this reason, the paint gloss measurement test is essential to evaluate the appearance of a surface-coated article.

Through a special tool, called a glossmeter, it is possible to identify the level of gloss achieved by the painting, in order to understand if it meets expectations.

It must be considered that the visual aspect can determine people's perception of a product, and that this perception is subjective. To get around this “personal” component, one of the measurement parameters used to define and quantify the overall visual quality of a product is gloss. For this reason it is essential to evaluate it with safe, standardized and easily replicable tests.

Brightness is measured by shining a beam of light at constant intensity, at a fixed angle, on the surface you want to evaluate and then monitoring the amount of light reflected from the same angle. This specular reflectance is measured using the aforementioned glossmeter. It should be kept in mind that different surfaces require different reflection angles.

Gloss is classified as matte, semi-gloss or glossy, and the unit of measurement that governs it is called Gloss Units (GU). The process involves the detection of 3 different angles of reflection, at 20, 60 and 85 degrees.

The evaluation scale of this parameter goes from a minimum value of 0, which indicates a totally non-reflective surface, up to the maximum value of 100, which indicates the maximum possible brightness.

The standard that regulates this test is ISO 2813.