ANSI/SDI A250.

10-1998 (R2011)
Revision and Redesignation of
ANSI 224.1-1990

ANSI/SDI A250.10-1998

Test Procedure and Acceptance Criteria for

Prime Painted Steel Surfaces
for Steel Doors and Frames

SPONSOR

Steel Door Institute

Approved November 30, 1998

This page left intentionally blank.

ANSI/SDI
A250.10-1998 (R2011)
Revision and Redesignation of
ANSI 224.1-1990

American National Standard

Test Procedure and Acceptance Criteria for

Prime Painted Steel Surfaces
for Steel Doors and Frames

Secretariat

Steel Door Institute

Approved November 30, 1998

American National Standards Institute, Inc.

This page left intentionally blank.

American
National
Standard

Approval of an American National Standard requires verification by ANSl

that the requirements for due process, consensus, and other criteria for
approval have been met by the standards developer.
Consensus is established when, in the judgement of the ANSl Board of
Standards Review, substantial agreement has been reached by directly
and materially affected interests. Substantial agreement means much more
than a simple majority, but not necessarily unanimity. Consensus requires
that all views and objections be considered, and that a concerted effort
be made toward their resolution.
The use of American National Standards is completely voluntary; their existence does not in any respect preclude anyone, whether they have approved
the standards or not, from manufacturing, marketing, purchasing, or using
products, processes, or procedures not conforming to the standards.
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will in no circumstances give any interpretation of any American National
Standard. Moreover, no person shall have the right or authority to issue
an interpretation of an American National Standard in the name of the
American National Standards Institute. Requests for interpretations should
be addressed to the secretariat or sponsor whose name appears on the
title page of this standard.
CAUTION NOTICE: This American National Standard may be revised or
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or withdraw this standard. Purchasers of American National Standards
may receive current information on all standards by calling or writing the
American National Standards Institute.

Published by

Steel Door Institute

30200 Detroit Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44145-1967

Copyright 2012 by Steel Door Institute

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
form, in an electronic retrieval system or otherwise,
without prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

ANSI/SDI A250.10-1998

Contents

Page

Foreword............................................................................................. ii
1 Scope............................................................................................1
2 Material. . ........................................................................................1
3 Testing...........................................................................................1
3.1 Salt Spray Test.........................................................................1
3.2 Condensation Testing (Humidity).. .............................................1
3.3 Impact Test..............................................................................1
3.4 Film Adhesion Test...................................................................2
4 Acceptance Criteria.. ......................................................................2
4.1 Salt Spray Resistance..............................................................2
4.2 Condensation Resistance.........................................................2
4.3 Impact Test..............................................................................2
4.4 Film Adhesion.. .........................................................................2
5 Report.. ..........................................................................................2
6 General..........................................................................................2
6.1 Testing Laboratory. . ..................................................................2
6.2 Certification. . ............................................................................2
Tables
1 Rust grades...................................................................................3
2 Classification of adhesive test results............................................6
Figures
1 Visual reference for percentage of rust.. .........................................3
2 Blister size #2................................................................................4
3 Blister size #4................................................................................4
4 Blister size #6................................................................................5
5 Blister size #8................................................................................5

Foreword (This Foreword is not part of American National Standard A250.10-1998)

The material contained in this document has been developed under the
auspices of the Technical Committee of the Steel Door Institute.
The original standard was issued on July 28, 1980 and was last revised
in 1990. The current edition is a revision of the 1990 document with the
contents being updated to reflect changes and advances that have taken
place in the steel door and frame industry since that time.
Suggestions for improvement gained in the use of this standard will be
welcome. They should be sent to the Steel Door Institute, 30200 Detroit
Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44145-1967.
The organizations that have approved this standard are as follows:
American Institute of Architects
American Iron and Steel Institute
Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association
Canadian Steel Door Manufacturers Association
Door and Hardware Institute
Factory Mutual Research Corporation
General Services Administration
Hollow Metal Manufacturers Association / Division of National Association
of Architectural Metal Manufacturers
Insulated Steel Door Institute
International Conference of Building Officials
Intertek Testing Services
Manufactured Housing Institute
National Association of Home Builders
Steel Door Institute
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
Window and Door Manufacturers Association

ii

The Accredited Standards Committee A250 TC-1 developed this standard

and had the following personnel at the time of approval:
Robert M. Berhinig, Chairman
J. Jeffery Wherry, Managing Director
Organization Represented
Name of Representative
American Institute of Architects.................................................. Christopher Bushnell
American Iron & Steel Institute.................................................... Robert Wills
Amweld Building Products LLC.................................................. Allan Ashachik
Benchmark Commercial Doors................................................... Randall Barber
Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association.......................... Mike Tierney
Canadian Steel Door Manufacturers Association...................... Bud Bulley
Ceco Door Products.................................................................... Thomas R. Janicak
Curries Company........................................................................ Stan Horsfall
Deansteel Manufacturing Company............................................ Claus Heide
Door and Hardware Institute....................................................... John Geniesse
Factory Mutual Research Corporation........................................ Mark Tyrol
General Services Administration................................................. Stuart Palmer
Hollow Metal Manufacturers Association / Division of
National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers........ Russell Tauscher
Ingersoll-Rand............................................................................. Kurt Roeper
International Conference of Building Officials............................. Paul Armstrong
Insulated Steel Door Institute...................................................... Steve Jasperson
Intertek Testing Services............................................................. Nancy Kokesh
The Kewanee Corporation.......................................................... Fred Pipin
Magnatrax Corporation............................................................... Jason Lisewski
Manufactured Housing Institute.................................................. Mark Nunn
Mesker Door Company............................................................... Mike Torres
National Association of Home Builders....................................... Jeff Inks
Pioneer Industries........................................................................ Mitchell Dorf
Security Metal Products Corporation.......................................... Daniel Buffenbarger
Steel Door Institute...................................................................... J. Jeffery Wherry
Underwriters Laboratories Inc..................................................... Robert Keogh
Window & Door Manufacturers Association.............................. Rick Perry

iii

AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD

ANSI/SDI A250.10-1998

American National Standard

Test Procedure and Acceptance Criteria for

Prime Painted Steel Surfaces
for Steel Doors and Frames
1 Scope

3 Testing

These methods prescribe the procedures to be

followed in the selection of material, chemical
preparation, painting, testing, and evaluation
of prime painted steel surfaces for steel doors
and frames.

3.1 Salt spray test

2 Material

b) Test performance Salt spray testing

shall be conducted as specified in ASTM
B117-03, Standard Practice for Operating
Salt Spray (Fog) Apparatus for a test period
of 120 continuous hours. The test specimen(s)
shall be scribed with an "X" per ASTM D165492(2000) Standard Test Method for Evaluation
of Painted or Coated Specimens Subjected
to Corrosive Environments, sections 4.1 and
5.1.

2.1 The test specimen shall be the exact type

and gauge of steel used in the manufacturing
of the product. It shall be 4" x 10" with a 1/4"
hole at the center of the 4" width, 1/2" in from
the end. When a specimen greater than 10"
in length is used for the coating process, the
bottom 10" of the specimen shall be used for
all subsequent testing.
Permanent identification marks shall be added
to the specimen as required for control purposes.
2.2 The specimen(s) shall be hung using a
method representative of that used in production.
2.3 The specimen(s) shall be cleaned, pretreated and painted in accordance with the
manufacturers normal production method
and procedure. All coating weights used on
test specimens shall be documented and
representative of the individual manufacturers
normal production material.
2.4 A t t h e e n d o f t h e p a i n t c y c l e , t h e
specimen(s) shall be removed from the paint
system with careful handling. The painted surface of the specimen shall not be handled or
come in contact with other objects to prevent
disruption of the painted surface.
2.5 All specimens shall be aged a minimum of
72 hours prior to testing.

a) Apparatus The apparatus used for salt

spray testing shall be of such design as to
conform to ASTM B117-03, Standard Practice
for Operating Salt Spray (Fog) Apparatus.

3.2 Condensation testing (humidity)

a) Apparatus The apparatus used for condensation (humidity) testing shall be of such
design as to conform to ASTM D4585-99,
Standard Practice for Testing Water Resistance of Coatings Using Controlled Condensation.
b) Test performance Condensation (humidity) testing shall be conducted as specified in ASTM D4585-99, Standard Practice for
Testing Water Resistance of Coatings Using
Controlled Condensation, for a test period of
240 continuous hours. Exposure temperatures
shall be maintained at a minimum of 100 Fahrenheit. Actual test temperature shall be noted
in the report.
3.3 Impact test
The paint shall be tested per ASTM D2794-93
(1999)e1 Standard Test Method for Resistance
of Organic Coatings to the Effects of Rapid
Deformation (Impact), with 20 inch pounds

ANSI/SDI A250.10-1998

of direct impact using a Gardner Impact Tester with 1/2" diameter ball or punch at room
temperature of 70 75 Fahrenheit. After
impact is made, apply 3/4" wide #600 Scotch
cellophane tape firmly to the impact area and
pull off sharply.
3.4 Film adhesion test
The coating film adhesion shall be tested in
accordance with method B of ASTM D335902, Standard Test Methods for Measuring Adhesion by Tape Test. A total of (11) parallel
cuts are made with a sharp instrument, 1mm
apart in both a vertical and horizontal direction
forming a grid. One inch wide pressure-sensitive tape is then firmly applied to the scribed
surface and rapidly removed.

4 Acceptance criteria
4.1 Salt spray resistance
The paint film on the unscored surface of the
test specimen shall have a rust grade of no less
than 6 as defined in ASTM D610-01, Standard
Test Method for Evaluating Degree of Rusting
on Painted Steel Surfaces. Table 1 and the
depictions shown on page 5 illustrate the scale
used to evaluate the rust grades. The paint
film at the scored line shall not be undercut
by rust more than 1/8" each side, when tested
in accordance with paragraph 3.1.
4.2 Condensation resistance
The paint film may have any quantity of #8
blisters but, shall have no more than a few
#6 blisters as illustrated in ASTM D714-02,
Standard Test Method for Evaluating Degree
of Blistering of Paints, when tested in accordance with paragraph 3.2. Visual representations of the various degrees of blistering are
shown on pages 6 and 7.
4.3 Impact test
No paint film removal shall occur other than
at an area 1/8" in diameter at the center of the
impact area, when tested in accordance with
paragraph 3.3.

4.4 Film adhesion

There shall be no adhesion loss less than a
grade 3B as defined in ASTM D3359-02. This
grade represents a film removal of between
5 and 15%. Table 2 on page 8 illustrates the
various classifications for adhesion loss.

5 Report
5.1 The report shall cover the date the test was
performed and the issue date of the report.
5.2 Identification of the specimen tested,
source of supply, manufacturer, model or series number, or both, and any other pertinent
information.
5.3 A detailed description of the specimen or
specimens tested shall include the type of
prime paint, the method of paint application,
the procedure used to cure it, and the dry film
thickness.
5.4 A statement that the test or tests were conducted in accordance with the methods and
procedures as specified herein. If deviations
from these methods and procedures were
made, they shall be described in the report.
5.5 When the test is made to check the
conformance of the unit specimen to test requirements of a particular specification, the
identification or description of the specification
shall be included in the report.

6 General
6.1 Testing laboratory
All tests shall be conducted and/or certified
by a nationally recognized, independent testing laboratory.
6.2 Certification
Reference may be made to this specification.
When reference is made, the following statement shall be used: Prime finish has been
tested in conformance with ANSI Standard
A250.10-1998.

ANSI/SDI A250.10-1998

Table 1 Rust grades

Rust Grade

Maximum % of rusted area

10

00.01

00.03

00.10

00.30

01.00

03.00

10.00

16.67

33.33

50.00

100.00

Figure 1 Visual reference for percentage of rust

3

4
MEDIUM

MEDIUM

FEW

FEW

Figure 3 Blister size #4

MEDIUM DENSE

Figure 2 Blister size #2

MEDIUM DENSE

Visual examples illustrating degrees of blistering

DENSE

DENSE

ANSI/SDI A250.10-1998

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

FEW

FEW

Figure 5 Blister size #8

MEDIUM DENSE

Figure 4 Blister size #6

MEDIUM DENSE

Visual examples illustrating degrees of blistering

DENSE

DENSE

ANSI/SDI A250.10-1998

ANSI/SDI A250.10-1998

Table 2 Classification of adhesive test results

Classification

5B

Rate of adhesion

None

The edges of the cuts are

completely smooth; none of
the squares or the lattice are
detached.

4B

Small flakes of coating are

detached at intersections;
less than 5% of the area is
affected.

3B

Small flakes of coating are

detached along edges and
at intersections of cuts. The
area affected is 5 to 15% of
the lattice.

2B

The coating has flaked along

the edges and at parts of the
squares. The affected area is
15 to 35% of the lattice.

1B

The coating has flaked along

the edges of cuts in large ribbons and entire squares have
detached. The area affected
is 35 to 65% of the lattice.

0B

Surface of cross-cut areas from

which listing has occurred. (Example for six parallel cuts.)

Flaking and detachment in excess of 65%.

MEMBERS OF THE
STEEL DOOR INSTITUTE

AVAILABLE PUBLICATIONS
Specifications
ANSI/SDI A250.6 Recommended Practice for Hardware Reinforcings on Standard
Steel Doors and Frames
ANSI/SDI A250.8 SDI 100 Recommended Specifications for Standard Steel Doors &
Frames
SDI-108

Recommended Selection & Usage Guide for Standard Steel Doors

SDI-118

Basic Fire Door, Fire Door Frame, Transom/Sidelight Frame, and

Window Frame Requirements

SDI-128

Guidelines for Acoustical Performance of Standard Steel Doors &

Frames

SDI-129

Hinge & Strike Spacing

Test Procedures
ANSI/SDI A250.3 Test Procedure & Acceptance Criteria for Factory Applied Finish
Coatings for Steel Doors & Frames
ANSI/SDI A250.4 Test Procedure & Acceptance Criteria for Physical Endurance for
Steel Doors, Frames and Frame Anchors
ANSI/SDI A250.10 Test Procedure & Acceptance Criteria for Prime Painted Steel
Surfaces for Steel Doors & Frames
ANSI/SDI A250.13 Testing and Rating of Severe Windstorm Resistant Components
for Swinging Door Assemblies
SDI-113

Standard Practice for Determining the Steady State Thermal

Transmittance of Steel Door & Frame Assemblies

SDI-131

Accelerated Physical Endurance Test Procedure for Steel Doors,

Frames and Frame Anchors

Construction Details
ANSI/SDI A250.11 Recommended Erection Instructions for Steel Frames
SDI-110

Standard Steel Doors & Frames for Modular Masonry Construction

SDI-111

Recommended Details for Standard Details Steel Doors, Frames,

Accessories and Related Components

SDI-122

Installation & Troubleshooting Guide for Standard Steel Doors &

Frames

SDI-132

Drywall Slip-On Frames

Miscellaneous Documents
ANSI/SDI A250.7 Nomenclature for Standard Steel Doors & Steel Frames
SDI-112

Zinc-Coated (Galvanized/Galvannealed) Standard Steel Doors &

Frames

SDI-117

Manufacturing Tolerances for Standard Steel Doors & Frames

SDI-124

Maintenance of Standard Steel Doors & Frames

SDI-127

Industry Alert Series (A-L)

SDI-130

Electrified Hinge Preparations

SDI

What is The SDI?

AUDIO-VISUAL PROGRAMS ON VHS ALSO AVAILABLE

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DOOR COMPONENTS INC.
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Republic
155 Republic Drive
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Security Metal Products Corp.
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www.secmet.com
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