Meaning and Purpose
4.1 Indentation hardness measurement has been shown to be useful for assessing the resistance of coatings on rigid substrates to mechanical damage, such as damage caused by striking, gouging and scraping. These measurements do not necessarily characterize the resistance of the coating to mechanical abuse, which needs to remain intact when deformed.

Scope of
1.1 These test methods include the determination of indentation hardness of organic materials, such as dry lacquer, varnish and varnish coatings, when applied to acceptable flat rigid surfaces, such as metal or glass.

1.2 Covers the following two methods:

Part of

Method A — Knoop indentation hardness 6-12

Method B – Pfund indentation hardness 13-19

1.3 Method A has higher precision and provides hardness values in the form of Knoop hardness values (KHN). Method B provides hardness based on Pfund hardness value (PHN). Although these methods differ in the range of hardness values, they are consistent in their ranking of coating hardness.

ASTM D1474-2018 Indentation Hardness of Organic Coatings

1.4 Test Method A of these test methods is similar in content (but not technically equivalent) to ISO 6441-1 and ISO 6441-2.

1.5 Values expressed in SI units or inch-pound units shall be considered standards, respectively. The values specified in each system may not be exactly the same; Therefore, each system should be used independently. Combining the values of both systems may lead to non-compliance with the criteria.

1.6 This standard is not intended to address the safety issues, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of users of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health and environmental practices and to determine the applicability of regulatory restrictions prior to use.

1.7 This international Standard has been developed in accordance with the internationally accepted standardization principles established in the decisions of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee of the World Trade Organization on the Formulation of International standards, guidelines and recommended principles.