Q-PANEL steel and aluminum test substrates have been recognized as the world standard for a consistent and uniform test surface for paints, plating, adhesives, sealants, rust inhibitors and other coatings.

Q-Lab has been producing standard test substrates since 1956. Today, they produce more paint test panels than anyone in the world.

Thousands of labs around the world use millions of our steel and aluminum test panels every year for color development, weathering exposures, salt spray and corrosion testing, physical properties testing and quality control. A wide range of panel sizes and types are available for immediate shipment from stock.

If coatings tests are to be reliable and reproducible, they must be performed on a substrate which is reasonably consistent from test to test. Unfortunately, ordinary commercial sheet steel displays wide variations in the surface properties which affect the bonding of coatings.

Q-PANEL steel and aluminum test substrates from Q-Lab minimize metal variability as a source of bias in critical paint, coating and adhesion tests. They are clean, consistent, convenient, and economical.

Consistent

Q-Lab achieves consistent quality through volume metal purchasing from selected mills and automated production of millions of panels each year on a high-speed line. Rigorous inspection at several processing stages from raw material to finished product ensures high quality.

Cost-effective

High-volume production means that Q-PANEL substrates cost less than you might expect for such a standardized surface. Equally important, the convenience of clean, safe, standardized panels reduces the time lab personnel spend cleaning and handling panels.

Convenient

For maximum convenience, Q-PANEL substrates are supplied pre-cleaned, with a Q-shaped hanging hole. For safety and ease of handling, the panels have rounded corners and deburred edges. Our inventory of over a million panels means that 95% of our orders are shipped from stock.

Clean

The Q-PANEL production process thoroughly cleans panels and removes any oil from the surface. Special handling assures that all panels are completely clean when they are packaged. Steel panels are packed in plastic bags in quantities of 20 to 50 panels (depending on type and thickness), with a vapor phase rust inhibitor inside a sturdy cardboard carton, for a shelf life of several years. Aluminum panels are packed similarly, except without the rust inhibitor.

More information

Product brochure: q-lab-q-panel-brochure.pdf

Watch Q-Lab's video about Q-PANEL Standard Substrates