Barcol Hardness

Checkline Europe's Technical Support 10 Jul 2026

Barcol is the method of choice when a rigid composite or reinforced plastic needs a quick hardness check that a Shore durometer or a Rockwell press cannot give cleanly. From here, the guide below takes you from confirming Barcol is the right call to choosing the impressor itself.

Its home is the composite shop floor — confirming a laminate has cured before it leaves, or running incoming inspection on glass-reinforced parts where a single number on the QA traveller is enough, taken at the part rather than in a laboratory.

1. Common Measurement Scenarios

You are most likely here if one of these sounds like your situation:

A specification or material datasheet points to Barcol — typically ASTM D2583 for rigid plastics and FRP.
Your work is mainly cure confirmation, incoming inspection or routine QC on composite parts.
The part is too thin, too curved or too brittle to clamp under a benchtop press, or too coarse for a stable Shore D reading.
You need one method that travels with the part — lay-up shop, pultrusion line, inspection bench — without re-fixturing.

2. Available Selection Guides

From here, the guide below takes the decision the rest of the way:

Select a Barcol Hardness Tester — choose the instrument and the reporting level for composite or rigid-plastic work.

3. Supporting Knowledge Resources

If you would rather understand the method before deciding, start here:

Barcol Hardness explains how the method works and where it fits.
Barcol Hardness Testing covers the indenter, the reading and the standard.
Barcol Applications and Quality Control sets out where it is used and how to keep readings reliable.