Water-based paint, due to its composition, can be damaged by low temperatures. It is necessary to have a control system that guarantees it is in perfect condition for use. If the water-based paint freezes, it can be irreversibly damaged.
This type of paint contains components that, if frozen, can expand and separate from the mixture. This means that, even when returning to a higher temperature and thawing, the mixture does not blend correctly again, ending up lumpy. In addition, once damaged, if applied it can cause enamel flaking, cracks and colour fading.
Exposure of water-based paint to low temperatures
Paint drums are stored in warehouses, which rarely have an air-conditioning system, mainly due to their size and therefore the cost of heating the entire warehouse. Likewise, paint containers are sometimes stored on site or transported there by truck for later use in construction.
When this storage, or the transport of the drums, takes place in low-temperature areas, it poses a risk to the preservation of this paint. Sometimes the work area is not so cold but, depending on the time of year, freezing temperatures can be reached at night. In these cases, moreover, the problem is much harder to detect, since the next day, as the temperature rises, we will not be aware of the problem until we have to use it.
This type of paint is used, for example, to paint the plastic accessories of cars. In such a use, paint with defects cannot be allowed, since it will deteriorate in a short time, and it is an application in which quality requirements demand a long-lasting paint without defects.
Detecting paint freezing with temperature indicators
The Tempasure temperature-drop indicators react with an irreversible colour change to temperature drops.
These devices are adhesive, so they can be attached to paint drums during storage or transport. You only need to activate them by pulling a tab and, from that moment on, if the temperature drops below the indicated value, they will change colour permanently. In this way, we can check whether the paint has been exposed at any point to a critical temperature and has therefore become defective.
Sometimes, being located in a shed or warehouse, the paint drums have some protection against temperature drops. If the Tempasure device is attached to the drums, we can easily check which ones have been affected and which have not. It is common for the temperature in a warehouse or industrial unit not to be uniform, due to gaps through which icy air can enter or the proximity of motors or machinery that emit some heat, raising the temperature.
These temperature indicators are easy to use and contain no batteries or electronic components. They are a convenient way to ensure that the paint we are going to use is in perfect condition and has not undergone a freezing process during storage or transport.
