ASTM_D_4955_-_89_2021.pdf

Designation:D495589(Reapproved 2021)Standard Practice forField Evaluation of Automotive Polish1This standard is issued under the fixed designation D4955;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This practice covers the evaluation of the performanceproperties of automotive polishes.This practice is applicable toproducts that are commonly referred to as car/auto wax,cleaner wax,polish,and the like.This practice is limited to acomparison among test polishes,with a standard polish,orboth,under the conditions of the individual test.The compara-tive results are indicative of absolute performance only insofaras the test conditions are representative of all normal applica-tion and use conditions.1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety,health,and environmental practices and deter-mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.1.3 This international standard was developed in accor-dance with internationally recognized principles on standard-ization established in the Decision on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards,Guides and Recom-mendations issued by the World Trade Organization TechnicalBarriers to Trade(TBT)Committee.2.Terminology2.1 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:2.1.1 automotive polishsubstance which aids in cleaningand improving the appearance of automotive finishes.3.Significance and Use3.1 This practice is intended to define the range of proper-ties to be tested,the apparatus to be used,and the comparisonsof automotive polish performance to be made.Sinceconditions,products,and apparatus vary,considerable discre-tion must exist among formulators and marketers in these areasand on what properties or performance characteristics are mostsignificant for their products.This practice is intended to beflexible enough to honor this fact within the description ofautomotive polish in Section 2.3.2 The test methods are subjective and empirical in order toconform to the basic characteristics of the class of products andto allow flexibility in testing.This also conforms to typicalconsumer experience.3.3 The practice also allows for flexibility in choice ofenvironmental characteristics under which the durability test-ing is done.This allows discretion to be exercised by thosetesting the products in order to provide greatest significance forthe products being tested as they are intended for variousmarketplace needs.4.Apparatus and Materials4.1 Sample of Polish to be tested.4.2 Sample of Control PolishA control polish should beselected for comparison to the test polish.It should berecognized that automotive polishes are formulated to performdifferent functions.The control polish should be selected witha clear justification in mind,such as,test and control polishshould be designed for same function(high durability,ease ofapplication,or other performance features).These factorsshould be taken into account when interpreting results andchoosing the control polish.All results are reported with theclearly identified control comparison.4.3 Test SubstrateSince this test is designed to test auto-motive polish performance under natural and normally occur-ring environmental conditions,the substrate chosen shall beone for which the test polish was intended on a vehicle whichcan be subjected to the chosen environmental conditions in amanner meeting these criteria.The test surface shall be in goodphysical condition,not badly cracked,scratched,or otherwisedamaged so as to interfere with evaluation of polish properties.The test surface for each sample is intended to be one half ofthe surface area of the vehicle to be polished.In no case shouldthe area polished for each product be less than 1290 cm2(200in.2).The surface is divided as described later in the method.(Procedures evaluating more than two polishes per vehicle maybe done as a screening technique;however,results are notsufficiently reproducible to be covered by this method.)NOTE1New vehicle paints(paints with service life less than one year)give properties such as,water beading and high gloss,very similar to thosebeing evaluated for the polish.Therefore,evaluation of appearance anddurability due to the polish formulation are minimized.Some paint types,such as metallic paints,may also give atypical results.1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D21 on Polishesand is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D21.04 on Performance Tests.Current edition approved March 1,2021.Published March 2021.Originallyapproved in 1989.Last previous edition approved in 2016 as D4955 89(2016).DOI:10.1520/D4955-89R21.Copyright A