Motor Oil

Colour is a key indicator of quality in motor oils and developing a colour range is an important part of the refinement process for monitoring contamination and quality control. Consumers rely on colour for acceptability, and HunterLab provides just the right colour measurement solutions to meet the quality standards of visual perception.

How to Measure the Colour of Motor Oil

When producing motor oil, colour ensures your product is ready for customer use. Because the human eye can be subjective and impacted by variables like light, a spectrophotometer can help accurately and reliably determine colour.

Spectrophotometers can function with opaque and translucent solids and liquids, making them great for oil products that come in various colours. Depending on the sample properties, the spectrophotometer measures reflection or transmission. If the oil is opaque, it will determine the colour by measuring how much light reflects back. For translucent oil samples, it will calculate colour by measuring how much light shines through them.

Spectrophotometers translate colour into a numerical value, making them incredibly accurate and reliable pieces of equipment. They help produce more consistent goods because you can measure standards in numbers, making quality control easier to establish.

02-Why-measure-motor-oil-colour.jpg

Why Measure Motor Oil Colour?

Colour management is an essential step in motor oil production. It offers several benefits to manufacturers, including:

  • Meeting customer expectations: Colour measurement and management can help you meet customer expectations, so they remain satisfied with your products. Colour often indicates quality, and having consistent visual elements implies your product is safe to use and will deliver the best results.
  • Controlling quality: Discoloration or colour changes can indicate your product is contaminated or has changed properties. You can provide your customers with the best quality by colour testing as a form of quality control.
  • Monitoring production processes: Oil products undergo intensive refining processes to produce the right properties and composition for a specific application. Colour testing and management can help you understand your processes and what it takes for your products to reach their final stage.
  • Strengthening your brand: Colour can be a key marketing tool, helping customers associate products with your brand. While oil products often have quality and industry standards determining colour, they can also support your branding.

Solution | Vista Spectrophotometer

HunterLab's Vista Spectrophotometer measures colour and haze of solid and liquid samples, allowing you to receive accurate and reliable colour management results for your motor oil. Some features of the Vista include:

  • Meeting industry standards: The Vista complies with industry standards by measuring for specific colour charts. These charts help you match your colour samples to predetermined values from respected organizations, including APHA, Gardner, Saybolt, and ASTM D1500. With the Vista, you can measure colour and report results in your desired path length, and flow through cells available for continuous colour and haze measurements.
  • Verifying product and process integrity: The Vista simultaneously measures transmission colour and haze in a single measurement for quick, comprehensive results.
  • Offering all the tools you need: The Vista comes embedded with HunterLab's EasyMatch Essentials quality control (QC) software — no PC required. The software solutions help you store and recall data, so you can compile strong colour management reports and analyses. The Vista is also compatible with USB and Ethernet cables for increased data sharing possibilities.
  • Simplifying testing operations: The Vista is operator friendly with its one-touch standardization — no accessories required. The touchscreen makes it easy to use and set up, so you can quickly move through your motor oil colour management.
  • New & Improved Colour Software, Essentials 2.0: Take precise and reliable colour measurements in seconds with next-gen user-friendliness and seamlessly analyze multiple tristimulus and spectral data sets. It’s that powerful.

Solution | UltraScan VIS Spectrophotometer

HunterLab's UltraScan VIS can measure opaque, translucent and transparent solids and liquids. The UltraScan VIS uses a dual-beam spectrophotometer and has a spectral range of 360-780 nanometers, so it's perfect for measuring the colour of motor oil. Other features of the UltraScan VIS include:

  • Reliable construction: With a sleek exterior, the UltraScan VIS is built on a rigid ½-inch optical platform that ensures years of reliable use. The construction also includes aircraft-grade stainless fasteners and robust electronic subassemblies.
  • Versatile applications: The UltraScan VIS comes with many available sample measurement accessories so you can measure motor oil in a variety of samples. This versatility means measurements can be more accurate and repeatable.
  • High performance: The sealed double-beam optics of the UltraScan VIS allows for simultaneous sample measurement. Plus, it contains a long-life Xenon lamp for high-energy illumination that can produce results in less than two seconds.

03-Manage-your-motor-oil-colour-with-HunterLab.jpg

Manage Your Motor Oil Colour With HunterLab

When you need precision and reliability in your equipment, HunterLab can offer you the best colour measurement tools in the industry. With over 70 years of experience, we understand how to conduct colour management across several sectors.

Contact HunterLab today and discover how our tools can assist your motor oil production processes.

prefooter_product_detail

Proud to power the world’s leading brands with Color Confidence

Master Your Color Quality with
HunterLab

Schedule a consultation with our experts