HEMPEL

DFT-RULES

R 17a

WHY:
How to control that specification is met?
How many measurements should be taken?
How to decide after having taken the measurements?
What is max. DFT?

VERY
RELEVANT
QUESTIONS

The customer buys a certain dry film thickness according to the specification.
Ideally he should not get less.
In practice we know that a job is never perfect, but on the other hand
insufficiencies should not be too large neither in quantity (Area) nor
in quality (DFT).
Here decision rules come in e.g. the so-called "80-20", "90-10" or
similar rules.

HOW DO THEY WORK?

"80 - 20"
Quality
(DFT)
dft must not be less than
80% of the specified

Quantity
(Readings)
A maximum of 20% of the readings
may be below specified dft.

Many other combinations of figures for the rule can be used and the sum
does not necessarily have to be 100.
When employed, the usual figures for various segments and areas are:
"80-20"

Shipbuilding including tank coatings with Resistance

Guides. Offshore and Onshore constructions.

"90-10"

Containers.

The Rules are good for general surfaces, - but it is always recommendable
to check areas difficult to paint e.g. rear sides of bulb-profiles etc. separately.

HOW MANY MEASUREMENTS TO TAKE?

The accuracy of making the correct decision is invariably linked to taking
a certain amount of readings at random.
Guidelines to how many readings to take are indicated on page R17b.

HOW TO DECIDE:
Example by the "80-20"-Rule:
80-:
No reading may be below 80% of that specified
without repair being undertaken.
-20:
Not more than 20% of the measurements may be in the
range from 80 - 100% of that specified without repair
being undertaken.

INSPR17a ed2

VALIDITY SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION

/02/03 EMi

HEMPEL
DFT-RULES

R 17b

HOW MANY MEASUREMENTS TO TAKE?

Several international as well as local standards are now paying
interest to statistical methods, when checking dft.
Today both ISO and SSPC has issued standards.
Below is quoted the sampling plan described in ISO 19840.
For details please refer to the standard.
Area/length of
inspection area
m or m

Minimum number
of measurements

Maximum number of
measurements allowed
to be repeated

up to 1
above 1 to 3
above 3 to 10
above 10 to 30
above 30 to 100
above 100*

5
1
10
2
15
3
20
4
30
6
20% of the minimum
add 10 for every
additional 100 m or number of measurements
100 m or part
thereof
Area above 1000 m or m should be divided into smaller areas

Please further refer to the standards acceptance and rejection criteria.

as well as the standards special correction values for steel surface
roughness.
Containers
Checking container-dft is very important because of
the general low dft specified for these and the intense
manufacturing procedures.
Therefore very frequent checks, many measurements and the use
of the "90 - 10" Rule are necessary.
A different measurement procedure - taking full advantage of
modern electronic equipment - is used as a part of an integrated
reporting system.
Chemically Resistant Tank Coatings
Also here correct dry film thickness is very important.
1 reading pr every 2 sqm is recommended.
Other important standards
SSPC-PA 2 should be noted. When specified, please refer to the
standards specific text for procedures and decision rules.
INSPR17b, ed4

VALIDITY SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION

17/05/05 EMi

HEMPEL

Code of Practice

Code of
Practice
HEMPEL'S
Code of Practice No. 0209-1

Dry film thickness measurements

What to use when:
Dry film thickness pr coat and in
total for the coating system specified
are essential parts of the painting
specification.
They have influence on the protective
lifetime of the coating, but also have
a significant influence on how much
paint is needed and thus the cost of
the coating system.
Measurement of dry film thickness
(DFT) is normally non-destructive
and easy to carry out with magnetic
or electromagnetic gauges. Together
with the visual appearance of the
applied coating DFT is the primary
check of compliance with the
painting specification.
The most modern types of gauges
can hold a lot of measurements, and
they can be adjusted in various ways.
This has led to several opinions even national and international
standards - about how to adjust
them: On smooth plate? or on the
rough, abrasive blasted surface?, and
how?

HEMPELS Painting Specifications

are based on practical experience
and
assume
that
check
of
DFT-compliance
follows
the
procedures stated in this Code of
Practice.
However if customers specifications
state one of the references given
below, requirements in this reference
must be observed.
How to adjust the dft-gauge:
A plate of smooth, clean metallic
substrate of the same kind as the
construction is to be used for
adjustment. Ordinary steel, high
strength ordinary steel and low
alloyed steel are considered the
same substrate.
The size of the plate should be
minimum 30 x 30 x 3 mm, except
for constructions of lower thickness
than 3 mm. In this case the
thickness of the adjustment plate
should be the same as for the
construction within 0.2 mm.

Before carrying out dry film thickness measurements, it is therefore

imperative that the directions as
stated in the specification are fully
understood and followed.

The temperature during adjustment

should be at or near to that
prevailing during the taking of the
readings/ measurements.

z How shall the dft-gauge be

adjusted?
z How many measurements to take,
and where?
z How to interpretate the measurements and how to decide?

References:
Various international references are
available. Some of these are:

These issues must have been

clarified
before
the
practical
inspection is initiated.

16/12/2002 ed.1 EMi

EN ISO 2808:1999, Paints and

varnishes - Determination of film
thickness.
prEN ISO 19840:2002, Measurement
and acceptance criteria for, the dry film
thickness on rough surfaces.
SSPC-PA 2: Measurement of Dry Paint
Thickness with Magnetic Gages.
-1-

Code of Practice

Code of Practice

HEMPEL

Code of Practice No. 0209-1

DRY FILM THICKNESS MEASUREMENTS
The recommendations given below are HEMPEL recommendations.
Other recommendations exist, see References overleaf .
What is a reading/measurement:
A reading/measurement is the value displayed when the probe is placed on the
coated substrate.

How to take the measurements:

The surface roughness of the substrate must have been checked using an ISO 8503-1
or similar comparator and recorded/reported prior to the measurements.
The coat/coating to be measured must be sufficiently hard dry to resist the
indentation of gauges probe.

Table 1: Possible situations

Condition of
substrate

Specified
film
thickness

How to take the

measurement

Comments

Roughness
within interval
specified in the
HEMPEL
Painting
Specification.

Dry film
thickness
30 micron
or above.

Place the probe on the

coated surface and take
the reading/
measurement

Compensation for
roughness has already been
done in the HEMPEL
Painting Specification.

Roughness
within interval
specified in the
HEMPEL
Painting
Specification

Dry film
thickness
below
30 micron

A separate smooth panel

must be coated together
with the object.
Take the reading
/measurement on this
panel.

Mainly used for prefabrication/ shopprimers .

Measured values to be
compared to specified DFT
(rough surface) multiplied
by factor indicated in table
2 below.

Roughness
more coarse
than specified
in the HEMPEL
Painting
Specification

Dry film
thickness
30 micron
or above

Place the probe on the

coated surface and take
the reading/
measurement..

Measured values to be
compared to specified DFT
after adding to the latter
the figure indicated in table
3 below..

Table 2:
Relative adjustment
factor for dfts below 30 micron:

Table 3:
Relative adjustment figure for
deviation in roughness:

Surface
roughness

Surface
roughness

Factor

Rz = 75 Rz = 40 Smooth
micron micron
1,66

1,33

add micron

Specified: Actual: Specified: Actual:

Fine
Medium Medium Coarse
10

15

Where, and how many measurements to take, and how to decide?:

If a sampling plan is specified in the painting specification, follow this. Otherwise as
judged necessary in order to make a proper recommendation.
Measurements taken should be noted down and reported. As a minimum: Number of
measurements, average value and minimum and maximum reading.

16/12/2002 ed.1 EMi

-2-

Code of Practice