Effect of Illumination/Observation Geometries on Visual Assessment of Certain Geometric Attributes of Automotive Paints

Illumination/observation geometries have an effective role in visual assessments of geometric attributes such as gloss, distinctness of image, orange peel of automotive paints. In this research, gloss, distinctness of image and orange peel of an automotive paint were investigated under three different illumination/observation conditions namely, directional, diffuse and combination of the two(i.e. directional plus diffuse) usually achieved in a standard light cabinet. For each condition, the visual assessments were carried out at various viewing geometries. For this purpose, three scales, i.e. specular gloss, distinctness of image and orange peel were prepared for a black automotive finish. These scales were separately evaluated visually under various illumination/viewing conditions by a panel of 8 observers. The statistical parameters showed that the visual perception of gloss under directional lighting/viewing geometry of 38º/7 º along with visual perception of distinctness of image and orange peel observed in a standard light cabinet with a 45º /0º geometry gave the most reasonable results as the performance of observers in such set ups induced average stress values of less than 8%. J. Color Sci. Tech. 7(2014), 323-330©. Institute for Color Science and Technology.