scope:

This standard provides guidelines for establishing procedures for coating test panel selection, sutface preparation, coating application, field exposure sites and conditions, and the grading and evaluation of coating test panels. Appendices A, B, and C provide example forms that may be used in conjunction with these recommendations. Appendix D provides a list of standards and other information related to coating panel testing.

While many of these recommendations may be appropriate for testing in other environments (such as accelerated weathering, salt fog, fume chambers, etc.), they are specifically intended for coating test panel evaluation in an atmospheric exposure. These recommendations are not intended to be used for laboratory testing, immersion testing, etc.

Preliminary screening of coating systems may be more efficiently and economically accomplished by laboratory testing. Also, superior petformance of a coating system on a coating test panel in an atmospheric environment does not ensure that equivalent petformance will be attained during actual field application and service.