Paintability of Latex Sealants: Standard Guide For

Designation: C 1520 – 02
Standard Guide for

Paintability of Latex Sealants1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation C 1520; 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 (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope 4. Summary of Practice

1.1 This guide describes the practical considerations that 4.1 This guide reviews many of the issues concerning the
may be used to determine the compatibility of a paint or compatibility of latex sealants with paint. While the focus of
coating to be applied over a latex sealant or caulk. It evaluates this guide is on latex sealants, the paint or coating may be of
the appearance and not the performance characteristics of the any composition.
coated or painted joint.
1.2 The committee with jurisdiction over this standard is not 5. Significance and Use
aware of any comparable standards published by other orga- 5.1 The intent of this guide is to provide the reader with
nizations. information concerning possible reasons for paint failures
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the where the paint is used over a latex sealant.
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- CONSIDERATIONS
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- 6. Temperature
bility of regulatory requirements prior to use.
6.1 Since standard testing is usually performed at “room
2. Referenced Documents temperature,” about 22°C, this would be considered the ideal
2.1 ASTM Standards: temperature for application and curing. As the temperature
C 717 Terminology of Building Seals and Sealants2 deviates from this ideal, the “science” of drying changes in as
D 1729 Practice for Visual Evaluation of Color Differences much as lower temperature results in slower drying and faster
of Opaque Materials3 drying occurs at elevated temperatures.
D 2244 Test Method for Calculation of Color Differences 7. Percent Relative Humidity
from Instrumentally Measured Color Coordinates3
E 284 Terminology of Appearance3 7.1 In waterborne sealants, the humidity directly affects the
ability of the system to lose water. Standard testing is typically
3. Terminology done at 50 % RH, which allows for an acceptable evaporation
3.1 Definitions—Refer to Terminology C 717 for definitions rate. Temperature and humidity variations in climatic regions
of the following term(s) used in this guide: compatibility, cure, and fluctuations through the application and cure will have
joint, latex sealant. Refer to Terminology E 284 for definitions significant impacts.
of the following term(s) used in this guide: gloss. 8. Type of Paint
3.2 color change—a change in either the observed (see
Practice D 1729) or measured color (see Test Method D 2244) 8.1 The type of paint applied to the sealant has an effect on
of a substance. how well it may handle dimensional changes, adhere to the
3.3 cracking—a failure resulting in a discontinuous film (of sealant or dry during the curing of the sealant. Paints made
paint) or bead (of sealant). from more flexible resins (low Tg) with low pigment volume
content (PVC) (PVC << CPVC) will withstand the most
change while a hard resin (high Tg) at high PVC will be the
least forgiving. Broadly speaking, high gloss, interior paints
1
This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C24 on Building Seals represent the former while interior flat paints represent the
and Sealants and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee C24.20 on General latter.
Sealant Standards.
Current edition approved Jan. 10, 2002. Published April 2002. 9. Type of Sealant
2
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 04.07.
3
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 06.01. 9.1 The sealant will have an effect on adhesion of the paint
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.
1
C 1520 – 02
film, the degree of change in geometry of the paint film and plasticizers, etc., will affect film formation and wetting, and
changes in color and gloss. However, generally speaking, these may induce gloss and color change.
changes are difficult to quantify by the type and quality of
sealant. 14. Type of Construction
14.1 This affects the substrates and amount of movement
10. Cure Time that a paint/sealant system may be subjected to.
10.1 The degree of sealant cure may affect the time to paint,
the compatibility of the applied paint with the sealant, and the 15. Lot to Lot Variation
dry time of the applied paint. An uncured sealant may react 15.1 A number of factors contribute to lot to lot variation in
with the paint ingredients. Cracking of the paint film may occur both sealants and paints. Whenever changing either, it may be
when the sealant is painted before curing of the sealant bead is prudent to test compatibility.
complete due to subsequent shrinkage of the underlying
sealant. Additionally, migration of sealant components to the OBSERVATIONS
bead surface may affect adhesion.
16. Cracking
11. Sealant Geometry/Tooling 16.1 This may be simple cracking of the paint film or may
11.1 Use of a backing material usually helps to decrease manifest itself as a crack in the sealant. The degree and amount
sealant cracking and thereby also usually decrease paint of cracking between the sealant and the paint will affect the
failure. acceptability of this condition. Severe cracking of the sealant
may overwhelm the crack bridging ability of the paint film.
12. Method of Paint Application
12.1 The manner in which the paint is applied, that is, roller, 17. Color Change
brush or sprayer, may affect the thickness of the paint that is 17.1 This may be caused by the leaching of material from
initially applied. Some rollers and brushes, especially low cost either the sealant or substrate into the paint and changing its
applicators, may lose bristles or leave brush strokes or surface appearance. This may also be caused by the paint being more
irregularities in the paint film, which may promote premature susceptible to dirt pick-up, especially in areas where airborne
failures. dirt is prevalent.
13. Substrate Effects 18. Gloss
13.1 The porosity, composition and cleanliness of the sub- 18.1 Plasticizer migration may cause the paint to develop a
strate affect the cure of both sealant and paint. A more porous higher more gloss over time.
substrate will wick away water or solvent and shorten the paint
curing period. A difficult to adhere to substrate, or one that 19. Keywords
consists of material containing low molecular weight oils, 19.1 cracking; latex sealant; paint
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in this standard. Users of this standard are expressly advised that determination of the validity of any such patent rights, and the risk
of infringement of such rights, are entirely their own responsibility.
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if not revised, either reapproved or withdrawn. Your comments are invited either for revision of this standard or for additional standards
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This standard is copyrighted by ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959,
United States. Individual reprints (single or multiple copies) of this standard may be obtained by contacting ASTM at the above
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Designation: C 1520 – 02

Standard Guide for

1. Scope 4. Summary of Practice

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