The “Best of” ISO standards for paints and varnishes

The International Standards Organisation (ISO) has just published the new edition of a collection of more than 225 ISO standards providing state-of-the-art requirements for the multi-billion dollar industry for paints and varnishes, which are used by almost every sector of business and technology.

Paints and varnishes offer protection, decoration, safety signalling and other properties, thus adding value to products as diverse as construction (steel, concrete and wood), pipelines, toys and food packaging.

The collection, Paints and varnishes, published by ISO in collaboration with its national member for the Netherlands, NEN, distils the knowledge of experts from 29 countries participating in the development of International Standards within ISO technical committee ISO/TC 35, Paints and varnishes, with another 35 countries contributing as observers.

The protection afforded by paint and varnish coatings not only saves billions of dollars a year, but also answers current environmental concerns over conservation and energy saving.

The collection comprises four books: Vol 1 General test methods, Part 1; Vol 1 General test methods, Part 2; Vol 2 Raw materials and Vol 3 Preparation and protection of steel substrates.

It includes standards covering the best methods for performance of paints and varnishes, as well as the main raw materials used in their manufacture. It also includes standards on terminology and on the preparation and protection of steel substrates.

Jan van der Meulen, Managing Director of the European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists’ Colours Industry (CEPE), which contributes to ISO/TC 35 as a liaison organization, declares: “This collection reflects the efforts of standard developing experts around the world over the years. These experts implement their state-of-the-art knowledge into standards. The ever increasing knowledge and experience, leading to innovation, will continue its consolidation in International Standards. In turn, these standards provide the basis for a further increase in quality and innovative concepts.”