National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 13300:2022. It supersedes BS EN 13300:2001, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee STI/28, Paint systems for non-metallic substrates.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 December 2022.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 16 October 2022.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (EN 13300:2022) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 139 “Paints and varnishes”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by May 2023, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by May 2023.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes EN 13300:2001.

In comparison with the previous edition, the following technical modifications have been made:

Revision of normative references
Revision of terms and definitions
Changes in classification by specular gloss
Changes in classification by granularity
Introduction of uncertainty principle in wet scrub resistance classes
Introduction of uncertainty principle in hiding power classes
Introduction of cleanability

Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

Introduction

This document identifies criteria that need to be considered when assessing the suitability of a coating material for a particular end use and provides a framework for communicating this information between manufacturer and user. This should assist in the removal of technical barriers to trade. It is in the responsibility of the manufacturer of a coating material to designate the appropriate categories for end use and appearance.

The coating materials are assessed independently of the substrate to which the material is intended to be applied. Properties such as adhesion and texture that are dependent on the substrate have, therefore, not been included. Nevertheless, it is essential that the coating system adheres properly to its appropriately prepared substrate. It needs to maintain adhesion under normal conditions during its specified lifetime.

Where applicable, the characteristics of the complete coating system, including combination of materials, sequence and thickness of layers, method(s) of application, colour and opacity, should preferably be agreed between supplier, specifier, applicator and customer. Requirements for substrate preparation should also be specified and observed.

Coating thickness and texture are subject to the manufacturer's recommendations and are affected by the method of application, the properties of the substrate and the formulation. These factors affect many important properties of the coating system such as soiling resistance and general appearance.

Care shall be taken to apply the coating materials under suitable temperature and humidity conditions and to observe recommended drying times and overcoating intervals.

The coating should be recoatable at least by the same coating material. Full information should be provided in supplier's data sheets.

The classes defined in this document are not intended to represent a quality scale but shall enable a qualified choice of the suitable coating material for an individual purpose.

1 Scope

This document specifies a general system for the classification of paints and varnishes, for interior walls and ceilings, for the decoration of new and old, coated and uncoated surfaces.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Classification

4.1 General

4.2 Classification by end use

4.3 Classification by chemical type of binder

4.4 Gloss

4.5 Largest grain size (granularity)

4.6 Wet scrub resistance

4.7 Hiding power for white or light-coloured opaque paints

4.8 Cleanability

Bibliography

BS EN 13300:2022

Paints and varnishes. Paints and varnishes for interior walls and ceilings. Classification

Current

Published:

31 Jul 2025