DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 1674  
First Edition  
2017 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS 1674 : 2017  
© UNBS 2017   
  
Surface polish  — specification  
 DUS1674 : 2017  
ii © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself confer immunity from legal obligations  
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all necessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its correct applicati on 
© UNBS 2017  
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
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permission from UNB S. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to  
The Executive Director  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards  
P.O. Box 6329  
Kampala  
Uganda  
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Fax: +256 41 4 286 123  
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
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 DUS 1674:2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade , Industry and 
Cooperatives established under Cap 327 , of the Laws of Uganda , as amended .  UNBS is mandated to co -
ordinate the elaboration of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT  Agreement  of the World T rade Organisation (WTO).  
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of key stakeholders 
including government, aca demia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comments before recommendin g the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS /TC 5, Chemical and 
Environment.  
 DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  DUS 1674:2017  
 
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  1 
 Surface  polish  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This draft Uganda standard specifies  requirements, methods of sampling and test for wax based  polish es in 
form of paste  and liquid applicable to polishes intended for us e on plastics, leather, rubber,  finished furniture  
and car interiors like dashboards and lea ther seats.  
This standard does not apply to polishes for floor,  gIass, fibre and fabric surfaces.  
2 Normative references  
The following referenced documents 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.  
DUS 1690 , Standard Test Method for Determination of the Ash Content of adhesives  
DUS ISO  4625 -1, Binders for paints and varnishes  — Determination of softening point  — Part 1: Ring -and-ball 
method  
DUS ISO 3679, Determination of flash no flash and flash point – Rapid equilibrium closed -cup method  
US 576 , Polishes and related materials — Glossary of terms  
US ISO 3251 Paints, varnishes and plastics — Determination of non -volatile matter content  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
3.1 
ambient temperature  
temperature between 2 1 °C and 38  °C 
3.2 
flash Point  
lowest temperature of the test portion, corrected to a barometric pressure of 1 01 3  kPa, at which application 
of a test flame causes the vapour of the test portion to ignite and the flame to propagate across the surface of 
the liquid, under the specified conditions of test . 
 3.3  
lot 
unit of production that, as far as practicable, consists of production units of a single type, class, size and 
composition, manufactured under the same conditions, and at substantially the same time. 
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  DUS 1674: 2017  
2 © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 4 Requirements  
4.1 Description  
4.1.1 Paste  
The polish shall consist essentially o f waxes and s olvents in suitable proportions.  
4.1.2 Liquid  
The polish  shall consist of natural or synthetic waxes or a mixture of both, volatile aliphatic solvent, polishing 
oils, either emulsified in water or wax -solvent mixture to form a stable, free flo wing liquid that can be readily 
dispersed upon shaking.  
4.2 Consistency  
4.2.1  Paste  
The polis h shall be of smooth , homogenous, semi -solid mass and free from gritty material. It shall not flow at 
ambient temperature and shall not show appreciable shrinkage at the edges. It shall have no tendency for 
separation of solvents or crystallization of ingredients when tested in accordance with Annex A. 
4.2.2  Liquid  
The material shall b e easily pourable, free flowing and homogenous, free from any grit and sedimentati on. It 
shall have no tendency of separation or crystallization of the constituent material when tested in accordance 
with Annex A . 
4.3 Odour  
The polish shall not have any objectionable  odour. Also it shall not leave any bad odour after application . 
4.4 Colour 
The product shall not impart any colour of its own to the polished finish.  
4.5 Applica bility  and polishing property  
4.5.1  The polish shal l not crumble or dry rapidly. It shall  give gloss which shall be free from greasiness or 
tackiness.  
4.5.2 The polis h shall remove ingrained dirt and grease from the surface.  
4.5.3 The polished surface shall neither be slippery nor show any resistance to easy application.  
4.5.4 The polished surface shall not take more than 10 min utes to dry.  
4.6 Stability in storage  
The product shall not deteriorate in any manner and shall comply with the requirements of this specification 
when stored in its original sealed conta iner for a period of one year f rom the date  of manufacture.  DUS 1674 : 2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  3 
 4.7 Toxicity  
The polish  shall have no adverse effe cts on the human health and environment  when it is used for its intended 
purpose . 
4.8 Specific quality  requirements  
The polish  shall also comply with the requirements given in Table 1  
Table 1— Requirements for polish  
Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
paste  Liquid  
Non-volatile matter, percent by mass  20 - 35 7 - 17 US ISO 3251  
Ash of non -volatile matter percent by mass , Max . 1.5 1.5 DUS 1690  
pH of water extract  6.5 - 9.5 6.5 - 9.5 Annex B  
Flash point  of organic solvent, °C min . 30  30  DUS ISO 3679 
Softening point of non volatile matter , °C min . 60  N/A DUS ISO  4625 -1 
5 Pack aging and labelling  
5.1 pack aging 
The container (including the closure) in which the polish is packaged shall not interact chemically or physically 
with the polish and shall  be strong enough to protect the polish  adequately during normal handling, 
transportation and storage.  
5.2 Labeling  
Each container and each bulk package shall bear in prominent, legible, and indelible marking the information 
required in terms of the Weight s and Measures Act, and the following additional information:  
a) manufacturer's name and physical address;  
b) name of the product;  
c)  net ma ss of the material when packed;  
d) type of the polish; 
e) instructions for use;  
f) country of origin ; and 
g) month and year of manufactu re and expiry . 
6 Sampling  
For the purpose of ascertaining the conformity of the polishes  to this specification, representative samples 
shall be drawn as prescribed in Annex C   DUS 1674: 2017  
4 © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of consistency  
A.1 Paste 
A.1.1  Maintain an or iginal unopened container of polish at 10 °C ± 2 °C for two hours. Open the lid  and 
examine as given in A.1.1 .1 and A.1. 1.2. 
A.1.1 .1 No liquid shall separate from the semisolid mass . 
A.1.1.2 The polish shall be soft and smooth to touch and capable of being  taken up readily with a brush 
or cloth without crumbling.  
A.1.2  Repeat the above series of examinations on another container maintained at a temperature of 45°C ± 
2°C for two hours.  The polish shall pass the test  in accordance with  A.1.2.1 and A.1. 2.2. 
A.1.2.1  The material shall not flow or run if the contain er is tilted . 
A.1.2.2 The separation of a few drops of the solvent shall not be considered a failure to meet this test, if 
they are re -absorbed when the paste is brought to ordinary temperature.  
A.2 liquid  
A.2.1  Maintain an original unopened container of polish at 10 °C ± 1 °C for two hours. Open the lid  and 
examine as given in A.2.1.1 and A. 2.1.2 
A.2.1 .1 No liquid shall separate from the homogenous liquid mass.  
A.2.1.2 The polish shall easily be pourab le and applicable . 
A.2.2  Repeat the above series of examinations on another container maintained at a temperature of 45°C ± 
1°C for two hours . 
No solid shall separate from homogeneous liquid.  DUS 1674 : 2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex B  
(normative )  
 
Determination of pH   
B.1 Paste 
Procedure  
Add about 15 g of the material to 100 ml of water in a beaker. Heat with stirring till all the 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 a  pH meter with a glass el ectrode.  
B.2 liquid  
Determine the pH on the undiluted sample by a suitable p H meter, using gIass electrode.  DUS 1674: 2017  
6 © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 Annex C  
(normative ) 
 
Sampling  
C.1 General  
In drawing, preparing, storing and handling test samples, the following precautions and directions shall b e 
observed.  
C.1.1 Samples shall be taken in a protected place not exposed to damp air, dust or soot.  
C.1.2 The sampling instrument shall be clean and dry when us ed. 
C.1.3 Precautions shall be taken to protect the samples, the material being sampled, the sa mpling 
instrument and the containers for samples from adventitious contamination.  
C.1.4 The samples shall be placed in clean, dry and air -tight glass or other suitable containers, on which the 
material has no action.  
C.1.5 The sample containers shall be of  such a size that they are almost completely filled by the sample.  
C.1.6 Each sample container shall be sealed air -tight after filling and marked with full details of sampling, 
the date of sampling and the month and year of manufacture of the material.  
C.1.7 Samples shall be stored in such a manner that the temperature of the material does not vary unduly 
from the normal temperature.  
C.2 Scale of sampling  
C.2.1 Samples, to determine the conformit y of a consignment of polish  to this specification, shall be s elected 
so as to be representative of the consignment and for this purpose the consignment should be made up of 
homogeneous lots.  
C.2.2 Lot — all the containers in a single consignment of the material drawn from the same batch of 
manufacture and belonging  to the same size shall constitute a lot. If a consignment is declared or known to 
consist of different batches of manufacture or of different sizes of containers, the containers belonging to the 
same batch and size shall be grouped together and each such group shall constitute a separate lot.  
C.2.3 Samples shall be tested for each lot for ascertaining the conformity of the material to the requirements 
of this specification.  
C.2.4 The number (n) of containers to be chosen from the lot shall depend upon th e size of the lot and shall 
be in accordance with Table C.2. DUS 1674 : 2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  7 
  
Table C.2 — Numbers of containers to be selected for sampling  
Lot size  (N) Number of containers to be chosen  (n) 
Up to 500  10 
501 to 1000  15 
1000 and above  20 
 
C.2.5 These containers shall be chosen at random from the lot; in order to ensure the randomness of 
selection . 
C.3 Preparation of composite test samples  
C.3.1 liquid  
Shake well each of the containers selected as in C.2.5. Pour out a quantity of polish such that the total 
quantity obta ined from all the containers provides material sufficient for all the tests ( about 500 g) .Thoroughly 
mix the material drawn from all the selected containers so as to form the composite sample.  
C.3.2 paste  
C.3.2.1 Draw with a cork borer of approximately 2 c m diameter whole vertical sections of the material 
from different points on a surface from the containers selected according to  C.2.5. The total quantity of 
material drawn from each container shall be the same and shall not exceed 80 g.  
C.3.2.2 Thoroughly mix all the portions of the material drawn from different containers by means of a 
mechanical stirrer taking care not to keep the temperature of the mixture below 45  °C, so as to form a 
composite sample weighing not less than 700 g.  
C.4 Number of tests and  criterion for conformity  
C.4.1  Test for consistency shall be done on the original containers from which no sample has been drawn.  
C.4.2 Tests for all characteristics shall be done on  the composite sample.  
C.4.3 The sample  shall be declared as conforming t o this specification if the test results satisfy the 
corresponding requirement . DUS 1674: 2017  
8 © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1] IS 1746, Shoe polish, paste — specification  
[2] IS 5480, Specification for Automobile polish, — Paste  
[3] IS 7982 , Automobile polish, liquid — Specification . 
[4] IS 8171,  Glossary of terms relating to polishes and related materials  
[5] IS 12010,  Shoe polish, liquid — Specification  
[6] US 575  Polish, paste for floor and wooden furniture — Specification  
  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  9 
 Certification marking  
Products that conform to Uganda stand ards may be marked with Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
(UNBS) Certification Mark shown in the figure below.  
The use of the UNBS Certification Mark is governed by the Standards Act, and the Regulations made 
thereunder. This mark can be used only by th ose licensed under the certification mark scheme operated by 
the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and in conjunction with the relevant Uganda Standard. The 
presence of this mark on a product or in relation to a product is an assurance that the goods com ply with the 
requirements of that standard under a system of supervision, control and testing in accordance with the 
certification mark scheme of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards. UNBS marked products are 
continually checked by UNBS for conformity t o that standard.  
Further particulars of the terms and conditions of licensing may be obtained from the Director, Uganda 
National Bureau of Standards.  
 
 DUS 1674: 2017    
 
ICS 70.100.40  
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