One of the attributes of an object used to describe the visual appearance of that object is specular gloss. This is the reflective quality of the object in a mirror-like direction. Of course, gloss is affected by the surface texture, the angle that light hits the object, and by the inherent reflectiveness of the material the object is made of. ASTM standards have long been used to measure this property, and the oldest of them, the ASTM D523, is now updated with the release of the 2014 Edition. This document, titled “Standard Test Method for Specular Gloss,” has been in use since 1939.
Originally, the standard measured the specular gloss of non-metallic materials at the 60 degree measurement only. Now it provides you with information on glossmeter geometries of 60, 20 and 85 degrees. The two additional angles cover specimens that have either a higher than 70 or less than 10 value at the 60 degree gloss angle.
Your ASTM D523 standard provides you with information on glossmeters themselves, as well as preparation and selection of the test specimens, calibration of the machine, procedures, reports and precision. Even information on diffuse correction is included. And there’s a final section on references that includes 14 additional resources.
Changes in the new 2014 Edition include repositioning of the tables, the addition of 3 resources, and other corrections. This is the first update of the standard since 2008, which means that any previous editions you may have been working with are now obsolete (withdrawn). If you do need a definitive copy with clear notation of the changes, you’ll purchase the redline edition of the standard from Document Center. This will give you a clean copy of the new 2014 revision, plus a marked up copy of the 2008 edition with all changes clearly noted.
And you may also be interested in the following standards on measuring gloss for particular applications:
- TAPPI T480, Specular Gloss of Paper and Paperboard at 75 Degrees
- ISO 2813, Paints and Varnishes – Determination of Specular Gloss of Non-Metallic Paint Films at 20 Degrees, 60 Degrees and 85 Degrees
Since Document Center Inc. has been a licensed dealer of ASTM standards since the 1980’s, we have an extensive collection of obsolete revisions as well as the complete collection of current ASTM documents. You can order using our webstore, at www.document-center.com. Or you can contact our sales staff by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). We’re able to assist you with procuring the standards you need, and maintaining the standards you have. Make us your Standards Experts!
