DEAS 1055 :2021 
ICS 87.040  
 
 
© EA C 2021                                                                                                                             First Edition 2021 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Water based undercoat — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS …. :2021  
ii © EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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 DEAS 1055 :2021  
© EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has bee n necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are excha nged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies i n Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, acad emia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finaliz ation of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expec ted to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 070, Paints, varnishes and 
related products.   
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1055 :2021 
 
© EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  1 
 Water based undercoat — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African Standard specifies require ments, sampling and test methods for water 
based  unde rcoat used on buildings after surface preparation and priming wherever necess ary. 
2 Normative references  
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their conte nt constitutes 
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
ISO 1524 , Paints, varnishes and printing ink — Determination of fineness of grind  
ISO 2812 -1, Paints and varnishes — Determination of resistance to liquids — Part 1: Immersion in liquids 
other than water  
ISO 2884 -2, Paints and varnishes — Determination of viscosity using rotary viscometers — Part 2: Disc or ball 
viscometer operated at a specified speed  
ISO 3251, Paints varnishes and plastics — Determination of non - volatile matter content  
ISO 3856 -6, Paints and varnishes — Determination of "soluble" metal content — Part 6: Determination of total 
chromium c ontent of the liquid portion of the paint — Flame atomic absorption spectrometric method  
ISO 4618, Paints and varnishes — Terms and definitions  
ISO 6503 Paints and varnishes -- Determination of total lead — Flame atomic absorption spectrometric 
method  
ISO 6504 -3, Paints and varnishes — Determination of hiding power — Part 3: Determination of contrast ratio 
of light coloured paints at a fixed spreading rate  
ISO 9 117-1, Paints and varnishes — Drying tests — Part 1: Determination of through -dry state and through -
dry time  
ISO 9117 -3, Paints and varnishes — Drying t ests — Part 3: Surface -drying test using ballotini  
ISO 11890 -1, Paints and varnishes — Determination of volatile organic compound (VOC) content — Part 1: 
Difference method  
ISO 15528 , Paints, varnishes and raw materials for paints and varnishes — Sampling  
ISO 19396 -1, Paints and varnishes — Determination of pH value — Part 1: pH electrodes with glass 
membrane  
ISO 21546,  Paints and varnishes — Determination of the resistance to rubbing using a linear abrasion tester 
(crockmeter)  DEAS 1055 :2021 
2 © EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  
 3 Terms and definitions  
For th e purposes of this document , the definitions given in ISO 4618 and  the following  apply:  
3.1 
water based undercoat  
a paint coat whose medium consists of any stable synthetic polymer emulsions in water pigment as suitable 
ingredients  
3.2 
volatile organic com pound content  
the mass of the volatile organic c ompounds present in a coating material, as determined under specified 
conditions  
3.3 
volatile organic compound (VOC)  
fundamentally, any organic liquid and/or solid that evaporates spontaneously at the prevail ing temperature 
and pressure of the atmosphere with which it is in contact  
3.5 
ready for use  
the state of a product when it is mixed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions in the correct 
proportions and thinned if required using the correct thi nners so that it is ready for app lication by the approved 
method  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1  Compositi on 
The water based undercoat shall be a medium consisting of any stable synthetic polymer emulsion in  water 
containing  pigments and a su itable ingredient as may be necessary to produce an undercoat so as to satisfy 
the requirements of this specification.  
4.1.2  Odour  
The odour of the water based undercoat  in the container, during and after application shall not be abnormally 
pungent, offens ive or disagreeable.  
4.1.3 Settling  
The water based undercoat  shall be free from settling. Settling if any, shall be easily incorporated by stirring.  
4.1.4 Foaming 
When the water based undercoat is suita bly thinned with distilled  water not exceeding  15 % (v/v), it shall mix 
readily with a minimum amount of foaming to a smooth and homogeneo us state. 
4.1.5 Application properties  
The water base d undercoat shall be suitable for application by brush or roller when  thinned in accordance with 
manufactures instruct ion. The resulting film shall not show pigment flocculation and coarseness.  DEAS 1055 :2021  
© EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  3 
 4.2 Specific requirements  
The water based undercoat shall comply  with the requirements given in the Table 1.  
Table 1 — Requirements for the water based undercoat  
 
4.3 Quantity of material  
The quanti ty of material s hall not be less than the declared volume at 25 °C + 2 °C when tested in accordance 
with Annex B. 
4.4 Temperature s tability  
The water based undercoat shall Meet all the requirements  in the standard after a period of not  less than one 
year under storage condition of 40 °C ± 2 °C. 
5 Packaging and marking  
5.1 Packaging  
The paint shall be packed in suitable containers that prevents it from deterioration during storage, 
transportation and normal handling  S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i.  Total l ead content,  ppm, max . 90 ISO 6503  
ii.  Solids content, %,m/m, min.  50 ISO 3251  
iii.  pH, 25 °C ± 2  7-9 ISO 19396 -1 
iv.  Resistance to wet abrasion, 
cycles, minimum  1500  ISO 21546  
v.  Skin formation  Shall show no skin formation  Annex A 
vi.  Viscosity,  pa.s, min 1 ISO 2884 -2 
vii.  Resistance to liquids other than 
water  No discoloration, bliste ring, softe ning, 
swelling,  loss of adhe sion ISO 2812 -1 
viii.  Volatile organic compound,  g/L 50 ISO 11890-1 
ix.  Hiding p ower, %, min . 80 ISO 6504 -3 
x.  Fineness o f dispersion,  
/Fineness of grind Hegman -
Type Gage,  µm, max. 30 ISO 1524  
xi.  Drying time at 
25 ˚C ± 2 ˚C, 
h, max. Hard drying  2 ISO 9117 -1 
Surface drying  1 ISO 9117 -3 
xii.  Chromium, ppm in dried paints, 
max. 5 ISO 3856 -6 DEAS 1055 :2021 
4 © EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  
 5.2 Marking  
5.2.1  Marking on the container  
5.2.1.1  The marking shall be either in English, Kiswahili or French or in combination as agreed between the 
manufacturer and the supplier. Any other language shall be optional  
5.2.1.2  Each container shall be marked legibly and indelibly with the following : 
a) name of the product  as “Water based undercoat ”; 
b) manufactu rer’s name and physical address;  
NOTE  The name, physical address of the distributor/supplier and trademark may be added as required . 
c) net content , in L;  
d) date of manufacture;  
e) spreading capacity, in m2/L; and 
f) instructions for use.  
5.2.2  Marking on the label of the container  
Each label of the container shall be marked legibly and indelibly with the following:  
a) date of manufacture;  
b) instructions for use  storage and handling ; 
c) shelf life;  
d) colour;  and 
e) batch n umber.  
6 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 15528.  DEAS 1055 :2021  
© EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Examination of skin formation  
A.1 Apparat us 
The following apparatus  are required: 
A.1.1  Container, one metal  container of 250 ml with a tight fitting lid. 
A.1.2  Spatula 
A.2 Test conditions  
The test shall be carried out at a temperature of 23 ºC ± 2 ºC and a relative  humidity  of 65 ± 2 per cent. 
A.3 Procedure 
The procedure shall be as follows: 
A.3.1  Stir and pour 125 ml to 130 ml of the paint into the container, place the lid on tightly and 
momen tarily invert the container  to seal the lid. 
A.3.2  Allow the container to stand upright for 7 days. 
A.3.2  Open the container and test the surface of the paint with a spatula f or any skin formatio n. 
Exami ne the walls and the lid for the presence of the skin. DEAS 1055 :2021 
6 © EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  
 Annex B 
(normative)  
 
Determination of the quantity of material  
B.1 Apparatus  
B.1.1 Graduated measuring cylinder  
B.1.2 Empty container  
B.2 Procedure  
Measure out the volume of the paint by pouring it into the measuring cylinder  and emptying the paint into an 
empty container. Measure out until all the paint is finished and record the total volume of the paint by adding 
up the volume.  
B.3 Calculation  
The measured volume shall be expressed as follows:  
% of volume measured is =   
100
V1VV  
where  
V1 is the total measured volume;  and 
V is the declared volume.  DEAS 1055 :2021  
© EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  7 
 Bibliography  
[1] KS 1823:200 7, Water -based undercoat — Specification  
[2] FTZS 2019 , Water based undercoat — Specification  
 DEAS 1055 :2021   
 
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved