The following terms are defined for the purposes of this subpart only.
Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or an authorized representative.
Aerosol coating product means a pressurized coating product containing pigments or resins that is dispensed by means of a propellant and is packaged in a disposable container for hand-held application, or for use in specialized equipment for ground traffic/marking applications. For this regulation, applicable aerosol coatings categories are listed in table 1 of this subpart.
Art fixative or sealant means a clear coating, including art varnish, workable art fixative and ceramic coating, which is designed and labeled exclusively for application to paintings, pencil, chalk, or pastel drawings, ceramic art pieces or other closely related art uses, in order to provide a final protective coating or to fix preliminary stages of artwork while providing a workable surface for subsequent revisions.
ASTM means ASTM International.
Autobody primer means an automotive primer or primer surfacer coating designed and labeled exclusively to be applied to a vehicle body substrate for the purposes of corrosion resistance, increased intercoat adhesion, or building a repair area to a condition in which, after drying, it can be sanded to a smooth surface.
Automotive bumper and trim product means a product, including adhesion promoters and chip sealants, designed, and labeled exclusively to repair and refinish automotive bumpers and plastic trim parts.
Aviation or marine primer means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to meet federal specification TT-P-1757.
Aviation propeller coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to provide abrasion resistance and corrosion protection for aircraft propellers.
Clear coating means a coating which is colorless or transparent, containing resins but no pigments except flatting agents, and is designed and labeled to form a transparent or translucent solid film.
Coating means a material applied onto or impregnated into a substrate for protective, decorative, or functional purposes.
Coating solids means the nonvolatile portion of an aerosol coating product, consisting of the film-forming ingredients, including pigments and resins.
Commercial application means the use of aerosol coating products in the production of goods, or the providing of services for profit, including touch-up and repair.
Corrosion resistant brass, bronze, or copper coating means a clear coating designed and labeled exclusively to prevent tarnish and corrosion of uncoated brass, bronze, or copper metal surfaces.
Distributor means any person who purchases or is supplied aerosol coating product for the purposes of resale or distribution in commerce. Retailers who fall within this definition are distributors. Importers are not distributors.
Electrical/electronic/conformal coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to coat electrical or electronic components or devices.
Enamel means a coating which cures by chemical cross-linking of its base resin and is not resoluble in its original solvent.
Engine paint means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to coat engines and their components.
Exact match finish, automotive means a topcoat which meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The product is designed and labeled exclusively to exactly match the color of an original, factory-applied automotive coating during the touch-up of automobile finishes;
(2) The product is labeled with the manufacturer's name for which it is formulated; and
(3) The product is labeled with one of the following:
(i) The original equipment manufacturer's (O.E.M.) color code number;
(ii) The color name; or
(iii) Other designation identifying the specific O.E.M. color to the purchaser.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, automotive clear coatings designed and labeled exclusively for use over automotive exact match finishes to replicate the original factory-applied finish shall be considered to be automotive exact match finishes.
Exact match finish, engine enamel coating means an enamel coating which meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The product is designed and labeled exclusively to exactly match the color of an original, factory-applied engine paint;
(2) The product is labeled with the manufacturer's name for which it is formulated; and
(3) The product is labeled with one of the following:
(i) The O.E.M. color code number;
(ii) The color name; or
(iii) Other designation identifying the specific O.E.M. color to the purchaser.
Exact match finish, industrial means a coating which meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The product is designed and labeled exclusively to exactly match the color of an original, factory-applied industrial coating during the touch-up of manufactured products;
(2) The product is labeled with the manufacturer's name for which it is formulated;
and
(3) The product is labeled with one of the following:
(i) O.E.M. color code number;
(ii) The color name; or
(iii) Other designation identifying the specific O.E.M. color to the purchaser.
Extender means an ingredient added to an “Aerosol Coating Product” to increase coating solids.
Flat coating means a coating which, when fully dry, registers specular gloss less than or equal to 15 on an 85° gloss meter, or less than or equal to 5 on a 60° gloss meter, or which is labeled as a flat coating.
Flatting agent means a compound added to a coating to reduce the gloss of the coating without adding color to the coating.
Flexible coating means a coating including, but not limited to, rubberized, mastic, or asphaltic products designed and labeled exclusively to protect surfaces.
Floral spray means a coating designed and labeled exclusively for use on fresh flowers, dried flowers, or other items in a floral arrangement for the purpose of coloring, preserving, or protecting their appearance.
Fluorescent coating means a coating labeled as such, which converts absorbed incident light energy into emitted light of a different hue.
Formulation data, unless otherwise specified, means the recipe used to formulate or manufacture a coating product in terms of the weight fraction (g compound/g product) of each individual VOC in the product.
General coating means the following aerosol coating products: “Clear Coating,” “Flat Coating,” “Fluorescent Coating,” “Metallic Coating,” “Non-flat Coating,” or “Primer.”
Glass coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively for use on glass or other transparent material to create a soft, translucent light effect, or to create a tinted or darkened color while retaining transparency.
Ground traffic/marking coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to be applied to dirt, gravel, grass, concrete, asphalt, warehouse floors, or parking lots. Such coatings must be in a container equipped with a valve and spray head designed to direct the spray toward the surface when the can is held in an inverted vertical position.
High temperature coating means a coating, excluding engine coating, which is designed and labeled exclusively for use on substrates which will, in normal use, be subjected to temperatures in excess of 400 °F.
Hobby/model/craft coating means a coating which is designed and labeled exclusively for hobby applications and is sold in aerosol containers of 6 ounces by weight or less.
Importer means any person who brings an aerosol coating product that was manufactured, filled, or packaged at a location outside of the United States into the United States for sale or distribution in the United States.
Impurity means an individual chemical compound present in a raw material which is incorporated in the final aerosol coatings formulation, if the compound is present in amounts below the following in the raw material:
(1) For individual compounds that are carcinogens, each compound must be present in an amount less than 0.1 percent by weight;
(2) For all other compounds present in a raw material, a compound must be present in an amount less than 1 percent by weight.
Ingredient means a component of an aerosol coating product.
Label means any written, printed, or graphic matter affixed to, applied to, attached to, blown into, formed, molded into, embossed on, or appearing upon any consumer product or consumer product package, for purposes of branding, identifying, or giving information with respect to the product or to the contents of the package.
Manufacturer means any person who manufactures or processes an aerosol coating product for sale or distribution within the United States. Manufacturers include:
(1) Processors who blend and mix aerosol coatings;
(2) Contract fillers who develop formulas and package these formulations under a distributor's name; and
(3) Contract fillers who manufacture products using formulations provided by a distributor.
Marine spar varnish means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to provide a protective sealant for marine wood products.
Metallic coating means a topcoat which contains at least 0.5 percent by weight metallic pigment in the formulation, including propellant, and is labeled as “metallic,” or with the name of a specific metallic finish such as “gold,” “silver,” or “bronze.”
Mold release coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to be applied to molds to prevent products from sticking to the surfaces of the mold.
Multi-component kit means an aerosol spray paint system that requires the application of more than one component, e.g., foundation coat and topcoat, where both components are sold together in one package.
Non-flat coating means a coating that, when fully dry, registers a specular gloss greater than 15 on an 85° gloss meter or greater than five on a 60° gloss meter.
Ozone means a colorless gas with a pungent odor, having the molecular form O3.
Person means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, State, any agency, department, or instrumentality of the United States, and any officer, agent, or employee thereof.
Photographic coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to be applied to finished photographs to allow corrective retouching, protection of the image, changes in gloss level, or to cover fingerprints.
Pigment means either a natural or synthetic insoluble material added to a coating to provide color, opacity, or corrosion inhibition to a coating film.
Plasticizer means an ingredient added to an aerosol coating product to aid in flexibility.
Pleasure craft means privately owned vessels used for noncommercial purposes.
Pleasure craft finish primer/surfacer/undercoater means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to be applied prior to the application of a pleasure craft topcoat for the purpose of corrosion resistance and adhesion of the topcoat, and which promotes a uniform surface by filling in surface imperfections.
Pleasure craft topcoat means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to be applied to a pleasure craft as a final coat above the waterline, and below the waterline when stored out of water. This category does not include clear coatings.
Polyolefin adhesion promoter means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to be applied to a polyolefin or polyolefin copolymer surface of vehicular body parts, bumpers, or trim parts to provide a bond between the surface and subsequent coats.
Primer means a coating labeled as such, which is designed to be applied to a surface to provide a bond between that surface and subsequent coats.
Product-Weighted Reactivity (PWR) Limit means the maximum allowed “product- weighted reactivity,” as calculated in § 59.505, of an aerosol coating product that is subject to the limits specified in § 59.504 for a specific category, expressed as grams of ozone per gram of product (g O3/g product).
Propellant means a liquefied or compressed gas that is used in whole or in part to expel a liquid or any other material from the same self-pressurized container or from a separate container.
Reactivity Factor (RF) is a measure of the change in mass of ozone formed by adding a gram of a VOC to the ambient atmosphere, expressed to hundredths of a gram of ozone per gram of VOC (g O3/g VOC). The RF values for individual compounds and hydrocarbon solvent mixtures are specified in tables 2A, 2B, and 2C to this subpart.
Resin means a substance that comprises the film-forming ingredients in an aerosol coating product. Examples of resin ingredients include acrylic, alkyd, enamel, epoxy, lacquer, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, shellac, silicone, and polystyrene.
Retailer means any person who sells, supplies, or offers aerosol coating products for sale directly to consumers. Retailers who fall within the definition of “distributor” in this section are distributors.
Retail outlet means any establishment where consumer products are sold, supplied, or offered for sale, directly to consumers.
Rust converter means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to convert rust to an inert material and which contains a minimum acid content of 1.0 percent by weight, and a maximum coating solids content of 6.0 percent by weight.
Shellac sealer means a clear or pigmented coating formulated solely with the resinous secretion of the lac beetle (Laccifer lacca), thinned with alcohol, and formulated to dry by evaporation without a chemical reaction.
Slip-resistant coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively as such, which is formulated with grit and used as a safety coating.
Small quantity manufacturer means a manufacturer whose total VOC by mass included in all aerosol coatings manufactured at all facilities in a given calendar year, in the aggregate, is less than 7,500 kilograms.
Spatter coating/multicolor coating/stucco coating means a coating labeled exclusively as such, wherein spots, globules, or spatters of contrasting colors appear on or within the surface of a contrasting or similar background.
Specialty coating means any aerosol coating product that is not a “General Coating” unless specifically exempted. An aerosol coating that does not meet all the criteria for a specific “Specialty Coating” or an aerosol coating that is not defined in this section is a “General Coating.”
Stain means a coating which is designed and labeled to change the color of a surface but not conceal the surface.
Two-component coating means a coating packaged in an aerosol container with a separate integrated chamber for a hardener or activator.
Uniform finish coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively for application to the area adjacent to a spot repair for the purpose of blending the spot repair's color or clear coating to match the appearance of an adjacent area's existing coating. For the purpose of this rule, “spot repair” means repair of an area of less than 1 square foot (929 square centimeters).
United States means the United States of America, including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Vinyl/fabric/leather/polycarbonate coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to coat vinyl, fabric, leather, or plastic substrates or to coat flexible substrates including rubber or thermoplastic substrates.
Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) means any organic compound as defined in § 51.100(s) of this chapter. As provided in 40 CFR 51.100(s)(7), exemptions from the definition of VOC in 40 CFR 51.100(s) for certain compounds that are used in aerosol coatings are inapplicable for purposes of this subpart.
Webbing/veiling coating means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to provide a stranded or spider webbed appearance when applied.
Weight fraction means the weight of an ingredient divided by the total net weight of the product, expressed to thousandths of a gram of ingredient per gram of product (excluding container and packaging).
Weld-through primer means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to provide a bridging or conducting effect for corrosion protection following welding.
Wood stain means a coating which is designed and labeled exclusively as a wood stain and is used to change the color of a wood surface but not conceal the grain pattern or texture.
Wood touch-up/repair/restoration means a coating designed and labeled exclusively to provide an exact color or sheen match on finished wood products.
Working day means any day from Monday through Friday, inclusive, except for days that are Federal holidays.
[90 FR 5704, Jan. 17, 2025]