Elcometer 3086 Motorized Pencil Hardness Tester

Elcometer 3086 Motorised Pencil Hardness Tester provides a rapid method for determination of the comparative scratch resistance and hardness of a coating.

This test is known as the Wolff-Wilborn method and is fully described in BS 3900 - E19, ISO 15184 and ASTM D 3363 - 92a. A coated panel is placed on a firm horizontal surface and the pencil lead is held firmly against the coating, point way from the operator, at a 45 angle. The Pencil Hardness Tester travels across the coating sample. The hardness of the pencil lead is increased until one or both of the following defects mark the coating:

• Plastic deformation; a permanent indentation in the paint surface without cohesive fracture.
• Cohesive fracture; the presence of a visible scratch or rupture in the surface of the paint film, material having been removed from the paint film. (Above definitions are taken from ISO 15184.)

Note: For the ASTM method D 3363, the test is started using the hardest pencil

lead and continued down the scale of hardness to determine the two end points:

• The pencil lead that will not cut or gouge the coating.
• The pencil lead that will not scratch the coating.

The Elcometer 3086 is motor driven; this helps to eliminate any variation in test results which may occur due to operator technique. Your Pencil Hardness Tester uses standard black leads, and is supplied with 14 grades of lead, covering 6H (very hard) to 6B (very soft).

Elcometer 3086 Motorised Pencil Hardness Tester can be used in accordance with the following National and International Standards:

• ASTM D 3363, BS 3900-E19, EN 13523-4 supersedes ECCA T4, ISO 15184,
• JIS K 5600-5-4.