Significance and Use

Since the exposure of automotive coatings to the various mechanical and chemical stresses encountered in actual operations, is very opportunistic, obtaining statistically significant data from which valid conclusions can be drawn, requires rigorous attention to the experimental designs and conditions of exposure.

1. Scope

1.1 This practice covers the protocol for vehicle service exposure testing of automotive coatings. Such exposure testing is valuable for the verification of the performance of automotive coatings and correlation with laboratory test data. Vehicle service exposure is intended to provide short term (2 to 20 weeks) exposure to the stress factors associated with vehicle operation. Factors included are scratch, mar, impact, stone chipping, insect impact, bird dropping, tree sap and staining, environmental fallout, etc.

Note 1Vehicle service exposure is not intended to provide the conditions that are needed for characterizing the long term effects of weathering or corrosion exposure.

1.2 The exposure conditions are produced by the placement of multiple test panels of automotive finishes on automotive test fleets that traverse a defined road course. Exposure to the operating environment can be 20 h/day, 7 days/week allowing for accumulation of over 100 000 miles in 10 weeks of exposure.

1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information only.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

D523 Test Method for Specular Gloss

D609 Practice for Preparation of Cold-Rolled Steel Panels for Testing Paint, Varnish, Conversion Coatings, and Related Coating Products

D714 Test Method for Evaluating Degree of Blistering of Paints

D823 Practices for Producing Films of Uniform Thickness of Paint, Varnish, and Related Products on Test Panels

D1005 Test Method for Measurement of Dry-Film Thickness of Organic Coatings Using Micrometers

D1186 Test Methods for Nondestructive Measurement of Dry Film Thickness of Nonmagnetic Coatings Applied to a Ferrous Base

D1400 Test Method for Nondestructive Measurement of Dry Film Thickness of Nonconductive Coatings Applied to a Nonferrous Metal Base

D3170 Test Method for Chipping Resistance of Coatings

D3359 Test Methods for Measuring Adhesion by Tape Test

D5767 Test Methods for Instrumental Measurement of Distinctness-of-Image Gloss of Coating Surfaces

U.S. Federal Standard

Keywords

coatings; coatings performance; road hazards; short term exposure; Automotive coatings/paints; Short-term exposure testing;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 87.040 (Paints and varnishes)

DOI: 10.1520/D6486-01R11

ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.

ASTM D6486