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KTA-TATOR, INC.
Corporate Headquarters
115 Technology Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15275
Phone: 412.788.1300
Fax: 412.788.1306
E-mail: info@kta.com

Instrument Sales
1-800-KTA-GAGE
Lead Hotline
1-800-LEAD-OFF

Coatings Research & Testing Laboratory

The KTA-Tator Coatings Research and Testing Laboratory is one of the top research labs of its kind in the United States. The lab is located in our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania headquarters and serves clients from around the world.

To maintain our cutting-edge lead over the competition, KTA uses staff training and state-of-the-art equipment to solve some of the toughest coatings problems in the industry.

Our inventory includes the following instrumentation:

• Gas Chromatographs
• Ion Chromatographs
• High Pressure Liquid Chromatographs
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometers
• Atomic Absorption/Emission Spectrometers including attenuated total reflectance (ATR)
• Tinius Olsen Universal Testing Machine
• Optical Microscopes with Microphotography capabilities
• Scanning Electron Microscope with integrated light element dispersive x-ray analysis (SEM/EDS)
• Keyence VHX-500
• Complete wet bench chemistry facilities

Accelerated testing equipment in the KTA laboratory includes:

• Salt fog cabinets
• Humidity cabinets
• Immersion tanks
• Atlas cells
• QUV
• KTA's Envirotest
• Q-Fog cabinets for Prohesion testing
• Ultraviolet light chambers
• Abrasion testing equipment
• Cathodic disbonding apparatu
• Others

In the 1990s, nothing has dominated the landscape of the paint industry like the problem of lead-based paint. KTA responded to that problem in many ways, one of which was equipping our lab to handle the strict testing requirements required by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) for testing hazardous materials.

To date, lead-based paint testing remains one of the staples of the KTA laboratory. In addition to lead, KTA maintains the equipment to provide testing for other hazardous materials which can be found in paint as well.

The basic test involves the removal of suspected hazardous paint samples from a painted surface. The samples are prepared in the KTA laboratory for analysis by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Using this method, we are able to determine the percent lead by weight in the paint film. Similarly, soil samples can be tested for hazardous metal content as well. Soil testing includes the removal and analysis of pre-job and post-job soil samples for lead content. Hazardous waste testing (TCLP) includes removal of samples of debris and conducting laboratory analysis by TCLP to determine if debris is hazardous or non-hazardous for up to 8 heavy metals.

The analytical capabilities of the KTA lab are supplemented by extensive physical testing capabilities. With an in-house, walk-in blast booth, two blast cabinets, and three spray booths, KTA has the ability to perform all aspects of a coatings testing program without subcontracting the work.

Our laboratory expertise is further enhanced by the practical "field sense" that the Company maintains from inspection work. Indeed, A KTA coating failure investigation is all inclusive from the ability to recognize defective workmanship in the field to more sophisticated laboratory analysis of the coating system itself.

For more information on KTA's analytical and physical testing services please downlown KTA's Laboratory flyer (PDF 156Kb).

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