Evaluation of Automotive Varnish as a Coating

SOIL PHSYICS
for Density Measurements of Soil Clods
B. G. de Almeida Saran F-310 resin (Dow Chemical Co, Midland, MI) has been widely used to coat soil
Escola Superior de Agric. Luiz de Queiroz clods for density and size measurements; however, the manufacturer has recently stopped
Dep. de Ciência do Solo producing this resin and supplies are difficult to obtain. Hence, we evaluated the feasibility
Universidade de São Paulo of using Lazzudur 7502 (Sherwin-Williams, Cleveland, OH) automotive varnish to coat soil
Piracicaba-SP, Brazil clods for density measurement. Preliminary evaluations showed that immersion of clods in
and the varnish did not affect clod cohesion and that a single immersion in Lazzudur with 30 min
Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco of post-immersion drying produced density results not significantly (P < 0.05) different to
Dep. de Agronomia those obtained using saran. This technique was tested across seven soils and no significant
Recife-PE, Brazil (P < 0.05) difference was found in the density of the clods measured using the two coating
methods. This work suggests that automotive varnish can be used as an alternative to saran
A. P. da Silva resin for clod density measurements.
Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz
Dep. de Ciência do Solo
Universidade de São Paulo
Piracicaba-SP, Brazil

S.R. Raine*
National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture
Faculty of Engineering and Surveying
Univ. of Southern Queensland
Toowoomba, Australia

G.C. Figueiredo
Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz
Dep. de Ciência do Solo
Universidade de São Paulo
Piracicaba-SP, Brazil

C lod (or aggregate) size and density are important proper-

ties of clay soils and influence both soil physical behavior
and plant growth (De Freitas et al., 1996). Several methods
of determining the size and density of soil clods have been
proposed (e.g., Chepil, 1950; McIntyre and Loveday, 1974;
Benjamin and Cruse, 1985; Sarli et al., 2001; Grossman and
Reinsch, 2002; Krosley et al., 2003; Sander and Gerke, 2007).
One of the most common laboratory methods, however, in-
volves measuring the clod volume by coating the clod with an
impermeable material such as paraffin or resin (Brasher et al.,
1966; Blake and Hartge, 1986). The coated clod is then sub-
merged in water and the volume measured by displacement us-
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 73:449-452
doi:10.2136/sssaj2008.0191
Received 2 June 2008.
*Corresponding author (raine@usq.edu.au).
© Soil Science Society of America
677 S. Segoe Rd. Madison WI 53711 USA
All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained
herein has been obtained by the publisher.
ing Archimedes’ principle. This clod method permits determi-
nation of the density at various soil water contents and enables
the development of relationships between moisture content, clod
density, and linear extensibility (Grossman and Reinsch, 2002).
Paraffin wax (Blake and Hartge, 1986; Empresa Brasileira
de Pesquisa Agropecuária, 1997) and beeswax (Silva et al.,
2003) have been used as a clod coating for determining clod
density; however, the procedure involves maintaining the wax
in a liquid state by heating to 60°C during immersion. This
technique requires access to a heating apparatus and raises con-
cerns for worker safety if the wax is not handled appropriately.
The temperature is also critical, as at higher temperatures the
wax penetrates the clod pores (Department of Infrastructure,
Planning, and Natural Resources, 2003), air trapped within
the clod will expand causing the clod to fracture (Cresswell
and Hamilton, 2002), pin-sized air leaks through the paraffin
seal are more likely (Blake, 1965), and some air gaps may be
left between the clod depressions and the wax coating (Abrol
and Palta, 1968). At lower temperatures, the paraffin may form
an excessively thick coating. Vincent and Chadwick (1994) ob-
served that when the paraffin wax temperature was 60°C, the
coating thickness was approximately 4 mm.
Brasher et al. (1966) proposed the use of Saran F-310 res-
in (Dow Chemical Co, Midland, MI) as a material for coating

SSSAJ: Volume 73: Number 2 • March–April 2009 449

 Table 1. Selected physical and chemical characteristics of the soils. dental floss was obtained separately
Particle Size Analysis and recorded.
Particle Organic
Soil Horizon
density sand (50–2000 µm) silt (2–50 µm) clay (< 2 µm) Carbon
Effect of the Number of
g cm−3 ––––––———————— %————————–––––– Clod Immersions in the
Hardsetting Ultisol Bt 2.60 67 4 29 0.07 Varnish and Drying Time
Non-hardsetting Ultisol Bt 2.60 70 2 28 0.16 Commercially available Lazzudur
Ultisol 1 Ap 2.53 30 27 43 0.71 7502 (Sherwin-Williams, Cleveland,
Ultisol 2 Ap 2.45 29 38 33 0.66 OH) automotive varnish was selected
Oxisol Ap 2.52 44 15 41 1.02 for this study. This varnish is a rapidly
Inceptisol 1 Ap 2.52 43 22 35 0.72 drying polyester-based acrylic resin that
Inceptisol 2 Ap 2.67 35 19 46 0.85 is liquid at room temperature and does
not require dilution or modification
soil clods to determine the clod density. The original coating before use. Preliminary tests were conducted using the paired hardsetting
and measurement procedure has been modified in recent years, and nonhardsetting Ultisol subsoils to evaluate the effect of immersion in
with the Grossman and Reinsch (2002) procedure being used the varnish on clod stability and cohesion.
in several recent studies (e.g., Perfect et al., 2004; Eynard et al., Tests were also conducted to determine the effect on the clod
2006; Agnelli et al., 2007; Blanco-Canqui et al., 2007; Vulava density measurement of the number of clod immersions in the var-
et al., 2007). This technique requires the use of a solvent (i.e., nish and the subsequent varnish drying time. Ten clods of the hardset-
methyl ethyl ketone or acetone) to dilute the resin before use ting Ultisol soil were randomly selected and immersed either one, two,
and repeated immersion of the clod in the resin is required to or three times in the varnish and allowed to dry for 10, 20, or 30 min.
ensure adequate coating. Hence, the technique is time con- Clods were immersed in the varnish for approximately 1 s each time
suming. There are also some safety (e.g., irritation of eyes, nose, and left for 30 s between immersions. Another 10 randomly selected
and throat) concerns associated with the use of the resin, which clods of the same soil were coated with Saran F-310 resin using the
is a volatile solvent. The main problem with this method, how- Grossman and Reinsch (2002) method. These clods were initially
ever, is that the manufacturer has recently stopped manufactur- immersed in a 1:4 saran/acetone solution and allowed to air dry for
ing saran resin and supplies are becoming increasingly difficult 7 min. The clods were subsequently immersed in a 1:7 saran/acetone
to obtain. Therefore, there is a need to identify a more appro- solution, allowed to dry for 12 min, reimmersed in the 1:7 solution,
priate and time-effective coating material that is suitable for and dried for at least 55 min before weighing.
clod density measurements. The clod volume in each case was determined using Archimedes’
The ideal material for clod coating should create a thin, displacement method (Flint and Flint, 2002). This method requires
uniform, water-impermeable film over the clod surface and be the coated clods to be suspended in a beaker of water sitting on a top-
(i) liquid at room temperature, (ii) readily applied without the loading balance. The temperature of the water was recorded and the
use of additional solvents or pretreatments, and (iii) rapidly balance (accurate to 0.001 g) was zeroed when the beaker contained
dried on the clod after application. Grossman and Reinsch only water. The coated clod was then suspended from a fixed support
(2002) also suggested that the coating should be <3% of the and fully immersed in the water. In this case, the balance measures an
weight of the clod after drying. In this study, an automotive increase in mass equivalent to the mass of water displaced by the clod
varnish was evaluated as an alternative to the use of saran resin (including the saran or varnish coating). The mass of displaced water
for clod density measurements. was converted to a displacement volume using the temperature-ad-
justed density for water. The clod volume was calculated by subtract-
MATERIALS AND METHODS ing the volume of the coating (calculated from its mass and density)
Soils from the displacement volume.
Seven soils (Table 1) with a range of cultivation histories and The specific density of saran resin was assumed to be 1.3 g cm−3
structural stabilities were selected for study. These included subsoil (Grossman and Reinsch, 2002). The specific density of the varnish
samples from the diagnostic horizon of a cultivated, hardsetting Ultisol was measured using three “varnish spheres” (approximately 22-mm
(97–127-cm depth) and a nonhardsetting Ultisol (130–172-cm diameter) created by heating (105°C for 24 h) a sample of the varnish
depth) obtained from a nearby forest in northeast Brazil. These paired until it acquired a gelatinous appearance and was easy to hand mold
samples were selected because hardsetting soils often slake when im- into the desired shape. The spheres were then allowed to solidify at
mersed, affecting clod cohesion and the integrity of clod coatings. 23°C and weighed, and the volume was determined by immersion
Topsoil (0–30-cm) samples of five cultivated soils (two Utisols, one in water and measurement of the displacement volume, as described
Oxisol, and two Inceptisols) were also obtained from Piracicaba-São above. The average specific density of the dried varnish was 1.117 ±
Paulo, in southern Brazil. In each case, undisturbed soil blocks (70 by 0.001 g cm−3.
150 by 220 mm) were collected and wet by capillary action at 2-cm Preliminary testing (data not shown) found that 30 min of mi-
suction. Clods were carefully detached from the wetted soil blocks and crowave drying of soil samples at 1000 W was sufficient for a constant
clods that passed a 25.4-mm mesh and were retained on a 19.0-mm mass to be reached and produced soil moisture results that were not
mesh were selected for further study. This size range was selected be- significantly different (P < 0.05) from those obtained when clods were
cause it is most suited to the saran resin method (Brasher et al., 1966). dried in a conventional oven at 105°C for 24 h. Hence, the equivalent
The clods were oven dried at 40°C for 24 h and then air dried at dry clod weight was calculated from measurements of the clod soil
23°C for 4 h, tied with dental floss, and weighed. The mass of the moisture content obtained by drying a subsample of the clod in a

450 SSSAJ: Volume 73: Number 2 • March–April 2009

1000-W microwave oven for 30 min. Clods were broken open after
the volume measurements were taken and a subsample was removed
from the center of the clod. The clod density was determined by di-
viding the equivalent oven-dry weight of the clod soil by the clod
volume measured using the displacement method.

Comparison of Varnish and Saran Coatings for

Determining Clod Density
The density of both the saran and automotive varnish coated
clods were measured using 20 randomly selected clods of the hardset-
ting and nonhardsetting Ultisol subsoils and 10 clods from each of the
other five soils. The saran coating was applied to the clods using the
method outlined above, while the automotive varnish was applied by
a single immersion and allowed to dry for 30 min. The data obtained
from this trial were also used to calculate the mass of the coating rela-
tive to the dry mass of the clods.
Fig. 1. Effect on clod density of the number of clod immersions
Statistical Analysis in automotive varnish and subsequent drying time compared to
the clod density measured using saran resin. Error bars indicate
All data were analyzed using SAS (SAS Institute, 2006). Analyses
95% confidence intervals.
of variance were conducted for all treatments. The effect of the num-
ber of immersions and drying time was evaluated using a protected (F CONCLUSIONS
test, P < 0.05) LSD test. The means of the saran resin and automotive
varnish treatments were compared for each soil using Student’s t-test Lazzudur 7502 automotive varnish has been found to be a
(P < 0.05). suitable coating for clod density assessments requiring the mea-
surement of clod volumes by water displacement. Immersing
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION the clods in the automotive varnish produced no observable
Effect of the Number of Clod Immersions on the difference in clod cohesion or integrity. There was also no
Varnish and Drying Time significant difference in the clod density measured using the
Immersing the clods in the varnish did not affect clod co- Grossman and Reinsch (2002) saran resin method and that
hesion or stability (data not shown). Increasing the number obtained by immersing clods once in the automotive varnish
of clod immersions in the varnish increased the clod density and allowing the clods to dry for 30 min; however, the total
measured while increasing the drying time from 10 to 30 min clod preparation time (including both immersion and drying
reduced the measured clod density (Fig. 1). The increase in the time) was substantially shorter using the automotive varnish.
measured clod density with the number of immersions suggests Limitations associated with using the automotive varnish ap-
that the varnish infiltrated the soil pores and that the amount pear to be similar to those for saran resin. The main concern
infiltrated increased with increasing number of immersions (or is varnish penetration of the clod pores, which may lead to
total period of immersion). This is consistent with the results significant errors when (i) the surface area to volume ratio of
previously found for an increasing number of clod immersions the clods is large (i.e., when using small clods), (ii) the clods
in saran resin (Blake and Hartge, 1986). The reduction in ef- have large open pores, or (iii) the immersion period of the clod
fective clod density with drying time reflects the reduction in in the varnish is long.
varnish moisture content and volume during drying. The procedure recommended for using automotive var-
The average mass of the saran resin coating was 1.73 ± nish for clod density measurements is to immerse a preweighed
0.33% of the dry clod mass, which was less than the 3% value clod in the varnish for approximately 1 s, remove the clod from
suggested by Grossman and Reinsch (2002) as acceptable for the varnish, and then allow the coated clod to dry for at least
clod density studies. The average mass of the automotive var- 30 min before measuring the total mass. The volume of the
nish coating, when applied by a single immersion and allowed coating material should be calculated from the difference in
to dry for 30 min, was 1.09 ± 0.30% of the dry clod mass.
Table 2. Comparison of clod density measured using saran resin and
Comparison of Varnish and Saran Coatings for automotive varnish.
Determining Clod Density Clod density (g cm−3)
Soil n
There were no significant differences (P < 0.05) be- Saran resin Automotive varnish
tween the clod density measured using either the saran resin Hardsetting Ultisol– subsoil 20 1.78 ( ± 0.02)* 1.80 ( ± 0.03)*
or the varnish coatings across all seven soils (Table 2). The Non-hardsetting Ultisol- subsoil 20 1.69 ( ± 0.05) * 1.71 ( ± 0.03)*
variance in the density measures was similar for each coat- Ultisol 1- topsoil 10 1.82 ( ± 0.03)* 1.84 ( ± 0.06)*
ing, confirming that the varnish coating is able to identify Ultisol 2- topsoil 10 1.85 ( ± 0.02)* 1.85 ( ± 0.01)*
significant differences between soil treatments at a level sim- Oxisol- topsoil 10 1.73 ( ± 0.03)* 1.72 ( ± 0.03)*
ilar to the saran. Hence, these data confirm that Lazzudur Inceptisol 1– topsoil 10 1.76 ( ± 0.07)* 1.74 ( ± 0.03)*
varnish is a suitable alternative to the use of saran resin for Inceptisol 2- topsoil 10 1.86 ( ± 0.06)* 1.89 ( ± 0.05)*
measuring clod density. * Indicates no significant (P < 0.05) differences within rows.

SSSAJ: Volume 73: Number 2 • March–April 2009 451

 the pre- and post-immersion masses divided by the specific
density of the dried varnish. The volume of the clod may be
calculated by measuring the water displacement when the coat-
ed clod is immersed and subtracting the calculated volume of
varnish coating. The clod density is calculated by dividing the
clod mass by the volume.
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