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Paint and Coatings Industry Standards
B588 Standard Test Method for Measurement of Thickness of Transparent or Opaque Coatings by Double-Beam Interference Microscope Technique
The thickness of a coating is often critical to its performance. For some coating-substrate combinations, the interference microscope method is a reliable method for measuring coating thickness. This test method is suitable for specification acceptance.
1.1 This test method covers the measurement of the thickness of transparent metal oxide and metallic coatings by utilizing a double-beam interference microscope.
1.2 The test method requires that the specimen surface or surfaces be sufficiently mirrorlike to form recognizable fringes.
1.3 This test method can be used nondestructively to measure 1 to 10µ m thick transparent coatings, such as anodic coatings on aluminum. The test method is used destructively for 0.1 to 10 µm thick opaque coatings by stripping a portion of the coating and measuring the step height between the coating and the exposed substrate. The stripping method can also be used to measure 0.2 to 10 µm thick anodic coatings on aluminum.
1.4 The test method is usable as a reference method for the measurement of the thickness of the anodic film on aluminum or of metallic coatings when the technique includes complete stripping of a portion of the coating without attack of the substrate. For anodic films on aluminum, the thickness must be greater than 0.4 µm; the uncertainty can be as great as 0.2 µm. For metallic coatings, the thickness must be greater than 0.25 µm; the uncertainty can be as great as 0.1 µm.
