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Accelerated Life testing for outdoor fixtures

We are an LED landscape lighting manufacturer. We make our landscape lights out of a variety of different metals, with a variety of different coatings. We have just completed the tooling for one of our outdoor fixtures and want to test it to see how it will hold up in outdoor environments. Two tests that we are considering are a salt fog test and a UV test; Are there any standards for outdoor lighting that we should know about? There are many different types of salt fog and UV testing, which ones would be the best for our situation? What coatings would be the best to use so that our product has the longest lifespan possible?

Andy Repking
Product designer - San Diego, California, USA
December 9, 2009

If the articles you produce are steel and zinc plated then I would recommend salt spray. If the articles are nickel and chrome plated then I would recommend CASS testing.
Can you give me some more information on the finishing process.

Joe Fox
- Painesville, Ohio
January 24, 2010

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