HUNTSVILLE, AL – AR500 Armor^®, manufacturer of ballistic and body armor, is using PAXCON by LINE-X to deliver elevated protection for its clients. Protective coatings manufacturer LINE-X applies its scientifically advanced compound to all AR500 steel armor plates to help redirect the spall and fragmentation when a round strikes the surface of the plate. These small fragments, if not contained by PAXCON by LINE-X, can cause serious injuries to the person wearing the plate. Phoenix-based AR500 Armor has been spraying its plates with PAXCON by LINE-X since 2013 after extensive testing in labs and on live-fire ranges.

“LINE-X is trusted with helping to protect numerous locations of importance from blasts, including the Pentagon. So when we started looking for a protective coatings manufacturing partner, PAXCON by LINE-X stood out as the most advanced, effective material to help minimize damage in the field,” said Tyler O’Neal, co-founder of AR500 Armor. “We’re proud to use PAXCON by LINE-X on our all of our body armor products and are confident that this collaboration is preventing injury and saving lives for military and law enforcement personnel across the nation and across the globe.”

Before selecting LINE-X as their spray-on protective coatings partner, AR500 conducted exhaustive research on several different products that would potentially enhance the protective qualities of their products. AR500 Armor currently provides two levels of protection, a basecoat and a build-up coat. The basecoat is a thin layer of PAXCON by LINE-X applied to all steel AR500 Body Armor to redirect spalling away from the user. A build-up coat makes the plate slightly thicker and heavier, but adds significantly better fragmentation and spall protection than just the basecoat. Both coats are applied at the AR500 Armor manufacturing facility in Phoenix.

AR500 Armor conducts batch testing and sends plates to third-party reviewers and ballistic laboratories to ensure the quality of their products. LINE-X undergoes laboratory tests to ensure all of its products contain unmatched levels of impact resistance under just about any severe-use condition.

The same PAXCON by LINE-X product has been used in several different military defense applications for impact protection and blast mitigation. Parts of the Department Of Defense’s Pentagon were treated with PAXCON by LINE-X following the attacks on September 11, 2001.  

There are no solvents or VOCs associated with any LINE-X products, which means there are no air pollutants or harmful environmental contaminates.

“All of us here at LINE-X are thrilled to see how AR500 Armor is using PAXCON to help protect the lives of law enforcement and military personnel. We are extremely impressed with their application and testing methods, and the feedback we’ve received from their product development team has been fantastic,” said Dennis Weese, president of LINE-X. “AR500 is one of our leading industrial partners, and what they are doing with LINE-X is a testament to how our products can be used in so many unique ways to provide added protection from countless hazards and the most extreme conditions.”