Gloss has been defined as ‘The attribute of surfaces that causes them to have shiny or lustrous, metallic appearance.’
Manufacturers design their products to have maximum appeal: from highly reflective car body panels to glossy household appliances or matt finish automotive interior trim.
This is especially noticeable where parts may be produced by different manufacturers or factories but will be placed adjacent to one another to create the finished product.
Gloss can also be a measure of the quality of the surface, for instance a drop in the gloss of a coated surface may indicate problems with its cure, leading to other failures such as poor adhesion or lack of protection for the coated surface.
The gloss of a surface can be greatly influenced by a number of factors, for example the smoothness achieved during polishing, the amount and type of coating applied or the quality of the substrate.
It is for these reasons that many manufacturing industries monitor the gloss of their products, from cars, printing and furniture to food, pharmaceuticals and consumer electronics.