Glossiness is an issue of concern in stone care engineering. Many people even regard it as the only measure of project quality. I think the higher the gloss, the better the project can be proved. But in fact, the gloss is only one of the factors that determine the decorative effect of stone. How to measure gloss and how to treat this problem? Let’s tell this story in this article.
● Multi-angle measurement is recommended
Indeed, in this era of rapid consumption, pure numbers are more attractive than simple and crude. In stone maintenance, it is understandable that we generally pay attention to gloss. However, we still suggest that when judging the stone maintenance effect, in addition to the gloss, it is best to refer to some other measurement scales. This will be better. We can focus on numbers, but we’d better add some measurement angles. Multi-angle observation can get the most correct conclusion.
● Measure the maintenance effect of stone from multiple angles
Back to the point. We also suggest that in addition to looking at gloss, we should comprehensively evaluate the maintenance effect of stone through specific experience. How to evaluate it? We propose to look at it from two aspects.
1. Visual observation
When the stone maintenance is completed, it is recommended to check the overall effect with visual observation first. When observing, we should look at it from three angles.
(1) Vertical angle
The vertical angle can test the clarity of the stone. Test method: turn on the light on the roof and observe the light outline formed on the stone. Where there is no light, turn on the flashlight function in the mobile phone; Or brighten the screen and observe it 20 ~ 30cm away from the stone surface.
The clearer the outline, it means that the light is not scattered, and the polished surface is crystal clear and high definition. On the contrary, after some projects are completed, although the test gloss is not low, it always looks like a circle of halo, and you can’t see the clear outline of the light. It proves that the degree of polishing is not enough, but the surface is polished, but the gloss is not clear.
(2) Sidelight angle
After observing the vertical details, we expanded our observation range. Look at the maintenance effect from the perspective of backlight and smoothing.
① Backlight observation
Look sideways at the angle facing the main light source. This angle can test the brightness of the stone and whether there are chicken claw lines, collapse pits, scratches, and other defects on the surface.
② Smooth observation
Observe sideways from the angle of the main light source. From this point of view, when the light of stone is the strongest, the color and pattern of stone can be tested.
(3) Wide range observation
Next, we will observe the overall effect. Turn on all kinds of lights. Such as opening doors and windows, turning on lights, etc. On a large scale, observe the overall effect from all angles. In this link, you can observe the overall flatness of the stone and the overall feeling that is only meaningful but unspeakable.
2. Gloss measurement
People’s visual feeling is the most real. Sometimes the effect and feel of stone applied to the whole environment can not be completely explained by Gloss – therefore, we suggest that we should also pay attention to the overall visual experience when testing the stone maintenance effect.
Having said the subjective feeling, accurate measurement is also necessary. After all, the color and clarity of stone have a great relationship with the gloss of stone grinding and polishing. Generally speaking, the higher the gloss of the stone, the more delicate the surface will be optimized, the clearer the texture of the stone and the color of the minerals themselves, and the better the decorative effect. But how?
(1) Selection of the light meter
There are many kinds of light meters, including those with a single light metering function and those that can measure multiple items such as gloss and clarity at the same time. The machine with a single metering function is simple, practical, and affordable. It is the most used by everyone. There are also two commonly used photometers: one is adjustable gloss. Adjustable light meters are sometimes not so reliable, because some comrades can’t do high gloss, so they can only adjust gloss to see if they can muddle through. But this idea has no future. We can’t fool users.
The other is the non-adjustable light meter, commonly known as the fool type. This kind of machine can’t do anything, and its accuracy and fairness are quite high. And the operation is extremely simple. Put it on when measuring. When not in use, it will automatically sleep and save power. But there are two things to pay attention to in this fool type light meter:
The first point is that the fool-type light meter should be recalibrated at intervals. There is a gloss board for calibration in the package. We recommend calibration once every 1 ~ 2 months. Calibration is easy anyway.
The second point is that when the fool-type light meter is running out of power, there will be a great deviation in gloss. Therefore, it is best to charge in time and try to ensure sufficient power when using.
(2) Photometry method
① Ground requirements
The glossiness is measured by using the 60-degree reflection of light and calculated by formula. Therefore, there are requirements for the reflection effect of the ground during measurement. Before measurement, the ground must be clean and dry without water, dust, and other pollution.
② Measurement method
After the overall observation, it is recommended to randomly select a rectangular area of 30 ~ 100 square meters and measure five points such as four corners and center points. Add the glossiness and divide by 5 to obtain the overall average glossiness. According to this method, a rough gloss value can be obtained by random sampling several times.
However, when measuring, do not specifically select the worst place for measurement. Because in large-scale projects, even the same kind of stone has differences in composition and density, which are very normal. It is no doubt unfair to pick only the worst place, nor can it represent the whole.
As an important parameter to measure the maintenance quality of the stone, gloss deserves our attention, but it should also be treated more objectively. With the progress of stone care technology in China, our aesthetic level of stone is also improving day by day. For example, some newly developed stone varieties are really difficult to highlight, but the decorative effect is unparalleled. Therefore, to evaluate the maintenance quality of the stone, glass can be used as a measurement factor, but it does not have to be the only standard. To measure from multiple angles, real experience is the most important. This idea is a higher test standard. Well, this article is written here. Welcome to email me for communication at sales@sntstone.com.
