DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
ICS 87.060.30  
 
© EA C 2023                                                                                                                         Second  Edition 2023 
  DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Floor polish — Specification — Part 1: solvent type (liquid and paste)  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
ii © EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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 DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards ha s been 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 exchanged 
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 Bod ies in 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, academia, 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 fi nalization 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 expected 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 possibil ity 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.  
This second  edition cancels and replaces the first edition (EAS 290 -2:2002), which has been technically 
revised.  
EAS 290 consists of the following parts, under the general title Polishes — Specification:  
Part 1: Floor polish solvent type (liquid and paste)  
Part 2: Floor polish water emulsion buffable type  
 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  1 
 Floor  polish  — Specification ⎯ Part 1: solvent type (liquid and paste)  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for solvent - based 
floor polishes (liquid and paste) intended for use on all wooden an d solvent resis tant surfaces.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content 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.  
ASTM D 217, Standard Test Methods for Cone Penetration of Lubricating Gre ase 
ASTM D3278, Standard Test Methods for Flash Point of Liquids by Small Scale Clo sed-Cup Apparatus  
ASTM E303, Standard Test Method for Measuring Surface Frictional Properties Using the British Pendulum 
Tester  
ISO 2813, Paints and varnishes — Determination of gloss value at 20°, 60° and 85°  
ISO 2884 -1, Paints and varnishes  — Determination of viscosity using rotary viscometers — Part 1: Cone -and-
plate viscometer operated at a high rate of shear  
ISO 3251, Paints, varnishes and plastics —  Determination of non -volatile -matter content  
ISO 4618 , Paints and varnishes — Terms and definitions  
ISO 4625 -1, Binders for paints and varnishes — Determination of softening point — Part 1: Ring -and-ball 
method  
ISO 9117 -3, Paints and varnishes — Drying tests — Part 3: Surface -drying test using ballotini  
ISO 9117 -4, Paints and varnishes — Drying tests — Part 4: Test using a mechanical recorder  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this standard, the terms and definitions given in ISO 4618 shall apply.  
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:  
—    ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
4 Types  
The floor polish shall be of two types:  
a) Type I — buffing type floor polish  DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
2 © EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  
 b) Type II — self shining floor polish -A floor polish that dries to a shine.  
5  Requirements  
5.1  General requirements  
5.1.1   The solvent type floor polish shall have no offensive odour.  
5.1.2  The solvent type floor polish shall not be harmful to the surfaces for which it is recommended.  
5.1.3  The solvent type fl oor polish shall be in the form of paste or liquid. The liquid floor polish shall be of 
free-flowing consistency and shall maintain its flow characteristics between the temperature 15 °C and 40 °C. 
The paste floor polish shall be of smooth consistency, homogenous and semi –solid mass. There shall be no 
evidence of grit and shall not flow at ordinary temperatures.  
5.1.3.1   Liquid polish  
The product shall be of free -flowing consistency and shall maintain its flow characteristics between the 
temperature 15 °C and 40 °C.  
At 25 °C it shall have a viscosity range of 40 centipoise – 50 centipoise (or in centristrokes = 
centipoise/specific gravity).  
5.1.3.2  Paste polish  
The paste polish shall be of smooth consistency, homogenous, semi –solid mass, there shall be no evidence 
of grit. It shall not flow at ordinary temperatures.  
5.1.4  Paste polish hardness  
The penetration of polishes, shall be 40 units – 60 units (tenths of millimetre) at 17 °C and 65 units – 85 units 
at 38 °C.  
5.1.5  Product stability  
5.1.5.1  Liquid polish  
Separation shall be less than 5 % when tested in accordance with Clause A.1.  
5.1.5.2  Paste polish  
There shall be no separation of the solvent from the polishes when tested in accordance with Clause A.2.  
5.2 Specific requirements  
The floor polish shall comply with the specific requirements in Table 1 when tested in accordance with the test 
methods specified therein.  
 
 
 DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 Table 1 — Specific requirements for solvent floor polish  
S/No.  Characteristic  Requirements  Test method  
Liquid  Paste  
1)  Non-volatile matter (solid content), % m/m  7- 17 20 - 35  ISO 3251  
2)  Viscosity at 25°C, cP  40-50 - ISO 2884 -1 
3)  Softening point of non -volatile matter, °C, min  
Initial  
Final   
60 
70 
 
 ISO 4625 -1 
 
4)  Penetration, units Pen(s)  
at 17 °C  
at 38°C   
- 
-  
40 - 60 
65 - 85 ASTM D 217 
5)  Ash of non -volatile matter, % m/m, max.  1.5 
 IS 8541  
6)  Stability  To pass test  
 Annex A  
7)  pH of water extract  6.0 - 9.0 
 Annex B  
8)  Flash point of organic solvent, min. °C  35 
 ASTM D3278  
9)  Hard drying time, minutes  
  
˂3 
  
˂10 
 ISO 9117 -3 
ISO 9117 -4 
10)  Gloss, at 60°, min  
Buffing type floor polish  
Self-shining polishing type  
 
  
32 
45 ISO 2813  
11)  Slip resistance  ˂0.5 ASTM E303  
 
NOTE  Other test methods for the determination of flashpoint e.g. seta flash method can be used a s non -
reference methods.  
5.3 Performance characteristics  
5.3.1  Applicability and polishing characteristics  
When tested in accordance with relevant method, the polish shall be so constituted and prepared that on 
application by means of a clean cloth on a surface previously cleaned and stripped of old wax and soil, it shall 
spread easily and evenly and shall give with minimum buffing (Type 1) a firm and glossy surface free from any 
greasiness or tackiness.  
The polish shall remove the ingrained dirt and gr ease from the polished surface.  DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
4 © EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  
 5.3.2  Tackiness - TZ 
A film of the floor polish (liquid and paste), applied as directed, shall pass the tackiness test.  
5.4 Storage properties  
The product shall not deteriorate in any manner and shall comply with the requirements of this specification 
when stored in its original sealed container for a period of one year form the date of manufacture. It shall also 
show no more than 1 mm shrinkage from edges for paste polish.  
5.5  Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accorda nce with ISO 15528  
6  Packaging  
6.1  The floor polish shall be packaged in corrosion resistant containers, strong enough to with stand 
normal usage, transportation and all kinds of contaminations.  
6.2  The containers shall be fitted with lids which will prevent drying out of materials, and shall be easily 
closed and opened.  
7  Labelling  
Each package shall be legibly and indelibly labelled either in English, Kiswahili or French or a combination, 
with the following information  
a) manufacturer’s name and physical address and/o r registered trademark;  
b) country of origin;  
c) name of product as solvent floor polish;  
d) type;  
e) description of the surface (flooring) on which the polish is to be applied;  
f) description of the product  
g) batch identification;  
h) net weight/volume of material when packed;  
i) any cautionary notices, e.g. storage conditions surfaces not to be polished etc.;  
j) date of manufacture;  
k) best before date; and  
l) instructions for use and safety.  
 
 DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of product stability  
A.1  Liquid polish  
Fill stoppered graduated 100 ml cylinder with a uniform sample and leave undisturbed for 24 hours at 40 °C ± 
1 °C. Then allow the sample to stand on additional 24 hour at 15 °C ± 1 °C and then determine the degree of 
settling separation should be less than 5 %.  
A.2  Paste polish  
Examine the sample of paste polish after standing in a closed container at 40 ± 1°C for 24 hours followed by 
24 hours at 15 °C ± 1 °C.  
A.3  Results  
There shall be not separation of solvent from wax.  DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
6 © EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  
 Annex B 
(normative)  
 
Determination of pH of w ater extract  
Procedure  
Add about 15 g of the polish in 100 mL of distilled water in a beaker. Heat with stirring till all wax has melted. 
Allow to cool to a temperature of 27 °C ± 2 °C. Separate the aqueous layer from the wax cake and determine 
its pH using the meter having a glass electrode.  
 DEAS 290 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  7 
 Bibliography  
EAS 290 -2: 2002, Polishes — Specification ⎯ Part 2: Floor polish solvent type (liquid and paste)  
 DEAS 290 -1: 2023    
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved