A Preliminary Investigation of Specialty Coatings & Paints on Tools and Baseball Bats
David Freehling and David Exline
RJ Lee Group

The occurrence of tools, baseball bats and other instruments are often used in the commission of violent crime. Due to the fact that the specialty coating and paints used on these items differ from those typically encountered in architectural and automotive paints and coatings, the potential exists of determining the type of weapon or to associate a particular instrument to the crime. In addition, the violent nature inherent to crimes using household weapons makes the potential of paint evidence transfer a viable investigative tool. This preliminary investigation will evaluate the types of specialty coatings and paints typically encountered on tools and aluminum baseball bat lettering and design. The ability to discriminate between coatings and manufacturers of this specialty paint will be evaluated by analytical techniques and presented.