The Elcometer 3080 Pencil Hardness Tester (part number K0003080M203) is a set of hardness testing pencils for evaluating the hardness of coatings by the pencil, or Wolff-Wilborn, method. Coating hardness shows how well a film has cured, and a coating that fails to cure properly is prone to flaws, poor adhesion and early failure. The pencil test gives a quick, low cost reading of that hardness using pencils of known, graded lead.

The set contains 14 pencils running from 6B (soft) through to 6H (hard). In use, the lead is prepared with the supplied special sharpener and 400 grade abrasive paper to give a flat, clean cross-section, then held at a 45 degree angle and pushed across the sample under uniform pressure. The hardness is read as the grade of pencil that first scratches or cuts the coating, so the harder the pencil the coating can resist, the harder the film.

The set is supplied complete with a storage stand, two pencil sharpeners and an abrasive paper block, measures 330 by 280 by 330mm and weighs 1kg. It can be used in accordance with ISO 15184, ASTM D 3363, EN 13523-4, BS 3900-E19, ECCA T4 and JIS K 5600-5-4, the standards that define the pencil hardness method for paints and coatings.

Used in coatings quality control and laboratories, the Elcometer 3080 is supplied in South Africa by BAMR, the country's authorised distributor.