Correlations of Accelerated and Outdoor Weathering of an ASA Polymer System

Colorfastness of an ASA polyblend in ten colors was studied using accelerated weathering and outdoor under-glass (UG) exposure.

For nine colors, the exposure required to reach an average delta E of 1.9 based on 0.6 MJ/m²/nm @ 340 nm in the 89°C Xenon arcs (GM conditions) was: 0.53 months for the 89°C Xenon; 1.13 months, the 63°C Xenon (ASTM); 6.1 months, Arizona UG; 28.1 months, Florida UG.

For one color, the light yellow, a reversal was observed, showing extensive color change in the 63°C Xenon and Florida UG but little color change in the 89°C Xenon and Arizona UG. UVCON (UVB) did not correlate with the Xenons, however.

Limited information on the Xenon arcs weathering and Florida direct exposure on color and gloss changes is also presented.