This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles

for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

Designation: D3023 − 98 (Reapproved 2017)

Standard Practice for

Determination of Resistance of Factory-Applied Coatings on
Wood Products to Stains and Reagents1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D3023; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope 3.2 This practice applies only to coatings applied in suffi-

1.1 This practice covers evaluation of clear factory-applied cient quantity to form a continuous film. It is recommended
coating systems on wood substrates. that the dry film thickness of the coating under test be reported.
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the 3.3 Results from stain tests conducted in accordance with
standard. The values given in parentheses are for information this practice distinguish differences between coatings.
only.
4. Reagents
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the 4.1 Code for Applicability of Reagents—V = Vertical, any
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- surface that may be vertical as on a dresser front. H =
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- Horizontal, any surface that may be horizontal as on a table
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use. top. L = Laboratory, any surface that may be used for
1.4 This international standard was developed in accor- laboratory furniture (Section 9).
dance with internationally recognized principles on standard- 4.2 Water:
ization established in the Decision on Principles for the 4.2.1 Tap Water, V, H, L
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom- 4.2.2 Boiling Water (test in accordance with the Boiling
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Water Resistance section of Guide D2571): H, L
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
4.3 Alcohol:
2. Referenced Documents 4.3.1 Ethyl Alcohol (test in accordance with the Alcohol
Resistance section of Guide D2571): V, H, L
2.1 ASTM Standards:2
D235 Specification for Mineral Spirits (Petroleum Spirits) 4.4 Aliphatic:
(Hydrocarbon Dry Cleaning Solvent) 4.4.1 Mineral Spirits: L (Specification, Type III)
D333 Guide for Clear and Pigmented Lacquers 4.4.2 Perchloroethylene: V, H, L
D2571 Guide for Testing Wood Furniture Lacquers (With- 4.5 Ketone:
drawn 2003)3 4.5.1 Methyl Ethyl Ketone: L
3. Significance and Use 4.6 Acetate:
3.1 When used in conjunction with Guide D333, this 4.6.1 Amyl Acetate: H, L
practice will provide a comprehensive evaluation of resistance 4.7 Inorganic Acid:
to stains caused by chemical reagents and household chemi- 4.7.1 Hydrochloric Acid (3 N)—Dilute 258 mL of 12 N
cals. (36 %) HCl to 1 L: L
4.8 Organic Acid:
1
This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D01 on Paint and 4.8.1 Acetic Acid (3 N)—Dilute 172 mL of 99 % acetic acid
Related Coatings, Materials, and Applications and is the direct responsibility of
Subcommittee D01.52 on Factory Coated Wood Products.
to 1 L: V, H, L
Current edition approved July 1, 2017. Published July 2017. Originally approved 4.8.2 Grape Juice (unsweetened): V, H
in 1972. Last previous edition approved in 2011 as D3023 – 98 (2011). DOI: 4.8.3 Lactic Acid (5 % solution): V, H
10.1520/D3023-98R17.
2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or 4.9 Bases:
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM 4.9.1 Unscented Mild Soap (saturated solution): V, H, L
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
4.9.2 Potassium Tripolyphosphate (saturated solution con-
the ASTM website.
3
The last approved version of this historical standard is referenced on taining 0.5 % sodium N-methyl-N-oleyl laurate (Igepon T-73):
www.astm.org. V, H, L

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States

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 D3023 − 98 (2017)
4.9.3 Ammonium Hydroxide (3 % solution): L 8. Procedure
4.9.4 Trisodium Phosphate (saturated solution): V, H, L 8.1 Conduct the test with panel surfaces horizontal at room
4.9.5 Urea (6.6 % solution): V, H, L temperature unless a different temperature is specified.
4.10 Disinfectant: 8.2 Place 0.5 mL (0.017 oz) of each staining agent on the
4.10.1 Cresols (5 % solution): V, H, L finish surface and allow to stand uncovered for 18 h (or a time
4.11 Ink: agreeable to the producer and the user) except for staining
4.11.1 Washable Ink: V, H, L agents 4.3 to 4.6. On these put a 25-mm (1-in.) square of
4.11.2 Permanent Ink: V, H, L double-acid-washed quantitative filter paper. The purpose of
4.11.3 Ball-Point Ink: V, H, L the filter paper is to maintain a longer wet contact of volatile
4.12 Dye: reagents with the surface of the finish.
4.12.1 Coffee (test in accordance with the Coffee Stain 8.3 After 18 h exposure, or other time period agreed to by
Resistance section of Guide D2571): V, H the producer and the user, wash the surface with water, rinse
4.13 Wax: with ethanol (1 + 1), or other reagent as agreed upon between
4.13.1 Wax Crayons, Red, Blue, and Yellow: V, H the producer and user, and dry with a paper towel. Place the
4.13.2 Lipstick (test in accordance with the Cosmetic Stain panel in a vertical position with a diffuse light source and view
section of Guide D2571): V, H (Note 1) from a distance of 0.6 to 0.9 m (2 to 3 ft). Examine the
surface for graying, spotting, wrinkling, discoloration, or other
4.14 Shoe Polish: film defects and report.
4.14.1 Liquid Shoe Polish, tan: V, H
NOTE 1—This method of viewing panels gives the best correlation of
4.15 Oil: staining damage between laboratories. However, the following informa-
4.15.1 Corn Oil or equivalent: V, H tion should be noted: (1) When viewing panels across the grain at a low
4.15.2 Hair Oil: V, H angle that is being varied, many more stains will appear visible than would
appear visible perpendicular to the surface. These additional stains are
4.16 Miscellaneous: superficial stains only. (2) When viewing with and against the grain, there
4.16.1 Mustard: V, H appears to be an even greater number of superficial stains than would
4.16.2 Tincture of Merthiolate (1 + 1000): V, H (see Section appear when viewing perpendicular to the surface or across the grain.
5) 9. Interpretation of Results
4.16.3 Sodium Hypochlorite (6 % solution): V, H, L
4.16.4 Tincture of Iodine—Wet 50 g of potassium iodide 9.1 Each product finish differs greatly in stain resistance
(KI) with water, weigh into the wet KI 70 g of iodine, let stand requirements. The key, in general, is that the resistance to
1 h to dissolve the iodine, and make up to 1 L with alcohol: V, staining must be adequate for that finish’s end use when first
H, L used in place and throughout the expected life span of the
specific product.
4.17 Staining Solutions, unless otherwise specified, are
water solutions. 9.2 The end use choice of resistance to staining should be
agreed upon between the producer and the user.
5. Selection of Staining Agents for Testing Stain
Resistance of Coatings 10. Report
5.1 The producer and the user shall select staining agents 10.1 Report the following information:
from the reagents in Section 4. Selection of staining agents 10.1.1 Reagents and concentrations used,
should depend on end use, such as wall, ceiling, horizontal 10.1.2 Substrate tested,
surface, or floor. 10.1.3 Coating tested,
10.1.4 Rinsing reagent,
5.2 In the absence of agreement between the producer and 10.1.5 Film thickness of coating and thickness method, and
the user, the suggested staining reagents for each intended use 10.1.6 Stain or film defect observations.
are indicated in Section 4 by V, H and L.
5.3 It is not necessary that all finishes pass all tests. 11. Precision and Bias
11.1 Precision—Agreement between laboratories by visual
6. Test Specimen comparison varied according to how samples were viewed.
6.1 Test panels shall be of regular production finish. 11.1.1 Stains viewed perpendicular with a diffused light
6.2 If regular production finished panels are not available, source at a distance of 0.6 to 0.9 m (2 to 3 ft) for graying,
the producer and the user shall agree upon the following spotting, wrinkling, discoloration, or other film defects gave
variables: face veneer or wood surface, filler or filler stain, complete agreement between laboratories.
primer coat, topcoat, and dry film thickness for each coating 11.1.2 The same test stains viewed both with and across the
material. grain at a low angle resulted in many more superficial stains
being evident, depending upon the eyesight and judgment of
7. Panel Conditioning the observer.
7.1 Before testing, panels must be aged for a time and by a 11.2 Bias—Bias cannot be determined since there is no
method agreed upon between the producer and the user. accepted reference material.

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 D3023 − 98 (2017)
12. Keywords
12.1 coating, factory-applied; coating, wood; household
chemicals; stain tests

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