33
Haze*
Haze describes the milky halo or bloom seen on the surface of high gloss surfaces.
Surface haze can be problematic in most coating applications including automotive
manufacture, powder coatings and other high gloss coatings. It can be attributed to a
number of causes including incompatible materials in a formulation, poor dispersion and
problems encountered during drying/curing/stoving.
Coatings without haze can be seen to have a deep reflection and have high reflected
contrast. Those with haze exhibit a slight “milky” finish which can be seen over the highly
glossy surface.
Haze is caused by microscopic surface texture which diffuses light adjacent to the main
component of the reflected light.
When viewing the reflection of a strong light source in a surface with high haze the image
“blooms” and has a bright halo around it.
Haze is an important measure for highly polished metals and is often associated with
polishing marks and machining direction.
Gloss-haze meters are traditionally used to measure this parameter and use a standard
glossmeter design with additional light stops and diodes to measure the haze component
2º either side of the specular component.
*This is option only available on the Novo-Gloss 20/60/85 with Haze
