ASTM_B_659_-_90_2014.pdf

Designation:B65990(Reapproved 2014)Standard Guide forMeasuring Thickness of Metallic and Inorganic Coatings1This standard is issued under the fixed designation B659;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 guide covers the methods for measuring the thick-ness of many metallic and inorganic coatings includingelectrodeposited,mechanically deposited,vacuum deposited,anodic oxide,and chemical conversion coatings.1.2 This guide is limited to tests considered in ASTMstandards and does not cover certain tests that are employed forspecial applications.1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard.No other units of measurement are included in thisstandard.1.4 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 and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2B244 Test Method for Measurement of Thickness of AnodicCoatings on Aluminum and of Other NonconductiveCoatings on Nonmagnetic Basis Metals with Eddy-Current InstrumentsB487 Test Method for Measurement of Metal and OxideCoating Thickness by Microscopical Examination ofCross SectionB499 Test Method for Measurement of Coating Thicknessesby the Magnetic Method:Nonmagnetic Coatings onMagnetic Basis MetalsB504 Test Method for Measurement of Thickness of Metal-lic Coatings by the Coulometric MethodB530 Test Method for Measurement of Coating Thicknessesby the Magnetic Method:Electrodeposited Nickel Coat-ings on Magnetic and Nonmagnetic SubstratesB567 Test Method for Measurement of Coating Thicknessby the Beta Backscatter MethodB568 Test Method for Measurement of Coating Thicknessby X-Ray SpectrometryB588 Test Method for Measurement of Thickness of Trans-parent or Opaque Coatings by Double-Beam InterferenceMicroscope TechniqueB681 Test Method for Measurement of Thickness of AnodicCoatings onAluminum and of Other Transparent Coatingson Opaque Surfaces Using the Light-Section Microscope(Discontinued 2001)(Withdrawn 2001)3B767 Guide for Determining Mass Per Unit Area of Elec-trodeposited and Related Coatings by Gravimetric andOther Chemical Analysis Procedures2.2 ISO Standards:41463 Metal and Oxide CoatingsMeasurement of Thick-ness by Microscopic Examination of Cross Sections2128 Surface Treatment of MetalsAnodization(AnodicOxidation)ofAluminum and ItsAlloysMeasurement ofthe Thickness of Oxide CoatingsNondestructive Mea-surement by Light Section Microscope2176 Petroleum Products Lubricating Grease Determinationof Dropping Point2177 MetallicCoatingsMeasurementofCoatingThicknessCoulometric Method by Anodic Solution2178 Non-Magnetic Metallic and Vitreous or PorcelainEnamel Coatings on Magnetic Basis Metals,Measurementof Coating Thickness,Magnetic Method2360 Non-Conductive Coatings on Non-Magnetic BasisMetalsMeasurement of Coating ThicknessEddy Cur-rent Method2361 Electrodeposited Nickel Coatings on Magnetic andNon-Magnetic SubstratesMeasurement of CoatingThicknessMagnetic Method3497 MetallicCoatingsMeasurementofCoatingThicknessX-Ray Spectrometric Methods3543 Metallic and Non-Metallic CoatingsMeasurement ofThicknessBeta Backscatter Method1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee B08 on Metallic andInorganic Coatings and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee B08.10 on TestMethods.Current edition approved May 1,2014.Published May 2014.Originallyapproved in 1979.Last previous edition approved in 2008 as B65990(2008)1.DOI:10.1520/B0659-90R14.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3The last approved version of this historical standard is referenced onwww.astm.org.4Available from American National Standards Institute(ANSI),25 W.43rd St.,4th Floor,New York,NY 10036,http:/www.ansi.org.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 3.Significance and Use3.1 Most coating specifications specify the thickness of thecoating because coating thickness is often an important factorin the performance of the coating in service.3.2 The methods included in this guide are suitable foracceptance testing and are to be found in ASTM standards.3.3 Each method has its own limitations with respect to thekind of coating and its thickness.4.Reliability of Methods4.1 All methods covered by this guide are sufficientlyreliable to be used for acceptance testing of many electroplatedand other coatings.That is,each method is capable of yielding