Ministry of Defence

Defence Standard 03-32 (Part 2)

Issue 4 Publication Date 8 July 2005

Pre-treatment and Painting of

Vehicles, Engineering
Equipment and Components

Part 2: Systems for Ferrous

Armour
DEF STAN 03-32 Part 2 Issue 4

Contents

Foreword .................................................................................................................................................................... iii

Introduction................................................................................................................................................................ iv
1 Scope .............................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 Warning .......................................................................................................................................................... 1
3 Normative References................................................................................................................................... 1
4 Treatment of Material Prior to Painting ....................................................................................................... 2
5 Paint Systems ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Tables

Table 1 — Treatment of Material Prior to Painting .................................................................................................. 2

Table 2 — Paint System 2.6 - Internal Epoxide (Two Pack), VOC Compliant ....................................................... 3
Table 3 — Paint System 2.8 - External IRR Matt (Multi-Pack) Polyurethane, VOC Compliant,
Chemical Agent Resistant ............................................................................................................................ 3
Table 4 — Paint System 2.9 - External High Gloss (Multi-Pack) Polyurethane, VOC
Compliant, Chemical Agent Resistant......................................................................................................... 4

ii
 DEF STAN 03-32 Part 2 Issue 4

Foreword
AMENDMENT RECORD

Amd Date Text Affected Signature and Date

No

REVISION NOTE

This Part of the Defence Standard has been reviewed and revised to align with the latest (Land HQ)
policy on the painting of Vehicles, Engineer Equipment and Components and the use of VOC and CAR
paint systems. Some paint systems listed in earlier issues have been withdrawn or declared obsolescent
– these are listed in Part 1, Table 2

HISTORICAL RECORD

This standard supersedes the following:

DREE10A
DGFVE 2012
MVEE 666 dated April 1983
Def Stan 03-32 (Part 2) / Issue 1 dated July 1993
Def Stan 03-32 (Part 2) / Issue 2 dated 14 May 1999
Def Stan 03-32 (Part 2) / Issue 3 dated 24 May 2002

a) This standard provides requirements for Systems for Ferrous Armour for the Pretreatment and
Painting of Vehicles, Engineer Equipment and Components.

b) This standard has been produced on behalf of the Defence Material Standardization Committee
(DMSC) by the Corrosion Prevention and Metallic Materials Standards Production Group (E3).

c) This standard has been agreed by the authorities concerned with its use and is intended to be used
whenever relevant in all future designs, contracts, orders etc. and whenever practicable by
amendment to those already in existence. If any difficulty arises which prevents application of the
Defence Standard, the Directorate of Standardization (DStan) shall be informed so that a remedy
may be sought.

d) Any enquiries regarding this standard in relation to an invitation to tender or a contract in which it is
incorporated are to be addressed to the responsible technical or supervising authority named in the
invitation to tender or contract.

e) Compliance with this Defence Standard shall not in itself relieve any person from any legal
obligations imposed upon them.

f) This standard has been devised solely for the use of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and its
contractors in the execution of contracts for the MOD. To the extent permitted by law, the MOD
hereby excludes all liability whatsoever and howsoever arising (including, but without limitation,
liability resulting from negligence) for any loss or damage however caused when the standard is
used for any other purpose.

iii
DEF STAN 03-32 Part 2 Issue 4

Introduction
This Defence Standard comprises self-contained parts which are based on the substrate to be treated.
They include pretreatment process, for example, methods of cleaning, metal coating, passivation and
preservation. The form of presentation was adopted to assist the user by detailing each major paint system,
for each major paint substrate, as a complete section. However, the range of requirements covered is wide,
and some cross references are necessary. This form of presentation also enables the major painting
requirements to be specified in terms of the sections in the document.

Equipment treated in accordance with the appropriate requirements of this Standard will be expected to
meet the Service Department requirements for operational use. The paint system required for any particular
equipment or component shall be stated in either the relevant order or drawings/ equipment specification
issued by the Design Authority.

This Standard has been compiled in accordance with the general requirements of Def Stan 03-30
“Treatments for the Protection of Metal Parts of Service Stores and Equipment against Corrosion”.

Def Stan 03-32 Part 1, dealing with general requirements, shall be read together with any subsequent part
specified.

The Defence Standard is arranged as follows

Part 1 - General Requirements

Part 2 - Systems for Ferrous Armour
Part 3 - Systems for Aluminium Armour for Armour and Structural Applications
Part 4 - Systems for Ferrous Metal, Excluding Armour
Part 5 - Systems for Non-Ferrous Metals Excluding Aluminium Alloy for Armour
and Structural Applications
Part 6 - Systems for Specialised Vehicles, Components and Substrates, including
Distinctive Colours

iv
 DEF STAN 03-32 Part 2 Issue 4

Pretreatment and Painting of Vehicles, Engineer Equipment

and Components. Part 2: Systems for Ferrous Armour

1 Scope
This Part of the Defence Standard details painting systems for application to ferrous armour surfaces. The
conditions and requirements of Part 1 of this Defence Standard shall be read with and applied to this Part
of the Defence Standard.

2 Warning
The Ministry of Defence (MOD), like its contractors, is subject to both United Kingdom and European
laws regarding Health and Safety at Work, without exemption. All Defence Standards either directly or
indirectly invoke the use of processes and procedures that could be injurious to health if adequate
precautions are not taken. Defence Standards or their use in no way absolves users from complying with
statutory and legal requirements relating to Health and Safety at Work.

3 Normative References
The publications shown below are referred to in the text of this standard. Publications are grouped and
listed in alpha-numeric order.

Designation Title

BS ISO 6344-1 Coated Abrasives – Grain Size Analysis. Grain Size Distribution Test
BS 381C Specification for Colours for Identification, Coding and Special Purposes
Def Stan 03-2 Cleaning and Preparation of Metal Surfaces
Def Stan 80-161 Paint, Spraying, Epoxy, Two-Pack.Types: High Gloss, Semi-Gloss, Egg Shell,
Matt
Def Stan 80-206 Paint, Priming, Zinc Phosphate, Two-Pack Epoxy, Non-Aircraft Use, Low VOC
Def Stan 80-208 Paint, Finishing, Polyurethane Multi-Pack, Matt, IRR, Chemical Agent Resistant,
Non-Aircraft Use, Low VOC
Def Stan 80-209 Paint, Finishing, Polyurethane Multi-Pack, Gloss, Chemical Agent Resistant, Non-
Aircraft Use, Low VOC

1
DEF STAN 03-32 Part 2 Issue 4

4 Treatment of Material Prior to Painting

All items shall be degreased and cleaned immediately prior to painting in accordance with the following
elements of Def Stan 03-2:

Table 1 — Treatment of Material Prior to Painting

Degreasing Cleaning

Preferred Alternative Preferred Alternative

A1 A2 (Note) D1 D2

NOTE Def Stan 03-2 Method A2 to be used only for large items where Def Stan 03-2 Method A1 is impractical

5 Paint Systems
The paint systems suitable for use on Ferrous Armour are detailed in Tables 2 - 4.

NOTE Some paint systems have been withdrawn since Issue 1 of this Defence Standard. They are listed in
Part 1, Table 2 with their system numbers because of the large number of drawings and specifications in service use
that refer to the old system number. However, the details of these withdrawn and obsolescent paint systems are no
longer referred to in Parts 2 - 6 inclusive

2
 DEF STAN 03-32 Part 2 Issue 4

Table 2 — Paint System 2.6 - Internal Epoxide (Two Pack), VOC Compliant

Coating Air Drying Colour Air Drying Air Drying Dry Film
Specifications BS 381C Colour System System Thickness
(Note 1) No. Minimum Maximum (µm)
Recoat Time Recoat Time (Note 2)
(hours) (hours)

Primer Def Stan 80-206 627 6 72 45 ± 5

(1 coat) Two Pack Light Aircraft (Note 3)
Zinc Phosphate Grey
Primer

Finish Def Stan 80-161 White Refer to Refer to paint 55 ± 5

(2 coats) Two Pack (Note 4) paint supplier supplier (2 coats)
Epoxy Finish (Note 3) (Note 5)
Glossy

NOTE 1 The paints may be forced-dried (see Part 1, 10.3).

NOTE 2 The minimum total dry film thickness of the paint system shall be not less than 90 µm.

NOTE 3 If in exceptional circumstances the paint film has been allowed to dry for more than theMaximum recoat period,
the surface shall be lightly rubbed down with abrasive paper grade A320 complying with BS ISO 6344-1 before the next coat is
applied. Prior to further application the abraded surface shall be Degreased (Def Stan 03-2 Method A2). Alternatively, the
primer coating may be refreshed before overcoating (see Part 1, 10.1, NOTE 2)

NOTE 4 Other colours and gloss levels may be specified by drawing, contract or order.

NOTE 5 This may consist of two coats or one high build coat at 55 ± 5 µm.

Table 3 — Paint System 2.8 - External IRR Matt (Multi-Pack) Polyurethane, VOC Compliant,
Chemical Agent Resistant

Coating Air Drying Colour Air Drying Air Drying Dry Film
Specifications BS 381C Systems System Thickness (µm)

3
DEF STAN 03-32 Part 2 Issue 4

(Note 1) Colour No. Minimum Maximum (Note 3)

Recoat Time Recoat Time
(hours) (hours)
(Note 2)

Primer Def Stan 80-206 627 6 72 45 ±5

(1 coat) Two Pack Light Aircraft (Note 4)
Zinc Phosphate Grey
Primer
Finish Def Stan 80-208 285 6 72 40 ± 5
(1 coat) Multi-pack, NATO Green (Note 4)
IRR Matt, (Note 5)
Polyurethane
Finish

NOTE 1 The paints may be forced-dried (see Part 1, 9.3).

NOTE 2 To allow for additional coats of the same or different colours i.e. disruptive patterns

NOTE 3 The minimum total dry film thickness of the paint system shall be not less than 75 µm.

NOTE 4 If in exceptional circumstances the paint film has been allowed to dry for more than 72 hours, the surfaces shall
be lightly rubbed down with abrasive paper grade A320 complying with BS ISO 6344-1 before the next coat is applied. Prior to
further application the abraded surface shall be degreased (Def Stan 03-2 Method A2). Alternatively, the primer coating may be
refreshed before over coating (see Part 1, 10.1 NOTE 2)

NOTE 5 Other colours and Infra-Red Reflectance requirements may be specified by drawing, contract or order.

Table 4 — Paint System 2.9 - External High Gloss (Multi-Pack) Polyurethane, VOC Compliant,
Chemical Agent Resistant

Coating Air Drying Colour Air Drying Air Drying Dry Film
Specifications BS 381C Systems System Thickness

4
 DEF STAN 03-32 Part 2 Issue 4

(Note 1) Colour No. Minimum Maximum (µm)

Recoat Time Recoat Time (Note 3)
(hours) (hours)
(Note 2)

Primer Def Stan 80-206 627 6 72 45 ± 5

(1 coat) Two Pack Light Aircraft (Note 4)
Zinc Phosphate Grey
Primer

Finish Def Stan 80-209 (Note 5) 6 72 40 ± 5

(1 coat) Multi-pack, (Note 4)
Gloss,
Polyurethane
Finish

NOTE 1 The paints may be forced-dried (see Part 1, 10.3).

NOTE 2 To allow for additional coats of the same or different colours i.e. disruptive patterns

NOTE 3 The minimum total dry film thickness of the paint system shall be not less than 75 µm.

NOTE 4 If in exceptional circumstances the paint film has been allowed to dry for more than 72 hours, the surfaces shall be
lightly rubbed down with abrasive paper grade A320 complying with BS ISO 6344-1 before the next coat is applied. Prior to
further application the abraded surface shall be degreased (Def Stan 03-2 Method A2). Alternatively, the primer coating may be
refreshed before over coating (see Part 1, 10.1 NOTE 2)

NOTE 5 Colour as specified by drawing, contract or order.

5
 © Crown Copyright 2005
Copying Only as Agreed with DStan

Defence Standards are Published by and Obtainable from:

Defence Procurement Agency

An Executive Agency of The Ministry of Defence
Directorate of Standardization
Kentigern House
65 Brown Street
GLASGOW G2 8EX

DStan Helpdesk

Tel 0141 224 2531/2

Fax 0141 224 2503
Internet e-mail enquiries@dstan.mod.uk

File Reference

The DStan file reference relating to work on this standard is D/DStan/23/32/2

Contract Requirements

When Defence Standards are incorporated into contracts users are responsible for their correct
application and for complying with contractual and statutory requirements. Compliance with
a Defence Standard does not in itself confer immunity from legal obligations.

Revision of Defence Standards

Defence Standards are revised as necessary by up issue or amendment. It is important that

users of Defence Standards should ascertain that they are in possession of the latest issue or
amendment. Information on all Defence Standards is contained in Def Stan 00-00 Standards
for Defence Part 3 , Index of Standards for Defence Procurement Section 4 ‘Index of Defence
Standards and Defence Specifications’ published annually and supplemented regularly by
Standards in Defence News (SID News). Any person who, when making use of a Defence
Standard encounters an inaccuracy or ambiguity is requested to notify the Directorate of
Standardization (DStan) without delay in order that the matter may be investigated and
appropriate action taken.