National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN ISO 15184:2020. It is identical to ISO 15184:2020. It supersedes BS EN ISO 15184:2012, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee STI/10, Test methods for paints.

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

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of 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 29 February 2020.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 35, Paints and varnishes, Subcommittee SC 9, General test methods for paints and varnishes.

This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 15184:2012), of which it constitutes a minor revision. The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:

— In 5.1 the force of the instrument on the paint surface has been corrected to (7,35 ± 0,15) N;

— In 8.6 the statement in that by agreement, the test may also be carried out to determine the minimum pencil hardness which does not cause a cohesive fracture (the so-called "gouge" hardness) has been deleted top avoid confusion with those standards, where this test method is described;

— The text has been editorially revised and the normative references have been updated.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 6 December 2019.

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, Turkey and United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (EN ISO 15184:2020) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 35 "Paints and varnishes" in collaboration with 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 July 2020, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by July 2020.

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 ISO 15184:2012.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations 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, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Endorsement notice

The text of ISO 15184:2020 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 15184:2020 without any modification.

1 Scope

This document specifies a method for determining the film hardness by pushing pencils of known hardness over the film.

The test can be performed on a single coating of a paint, varnish or related product, or on the upper layer of a multi-coat system.

This rapid test has not been found to be useful in comparing the pencil hardness of different coatings. It is more useful in providing relative ratings for a series of coated panels exhibiting significant differences in pencil hardness.

The method is applicable only to smooth surfaces.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Principle

5 Apparatus

5.1

5.2

5.3

5.4

5.5

6 Sampling

7 Test panels

7.1 Substrate

7.2 Shape and dimensions

7.3 Preparation and coating

7.4 Drying and conditioning

7.5 Thickness of coating

8 Procedure

8.1

8.2

8.3

8.4

8.5

8.6

8.7

9 Types of defect

10 Precision

11 Test report

BS EN ISO 15184:2020

Paints and varnishes. Determination of film hardness by pencil test

Current, Under Review

Published:

29 Feb 2020