Starting from the ‘80 the companies of the wood and furniture sector have realized that it was essential to establish some reference standards in order both to measure the performance of coated surfaces and to share the minimum requirements for such products. This goal was not easy to reach and even after some decades the activities cannot be considered completed.
In some cases we can actually observe a well structured and shared standardization system, while in others some national resistances are still present. Indeed, in few cases, such obstacles to the definition of common references refer also to some specific productive categories which consider standards as a possible obstacle to their autonomy and creativity.
After this short introduction, this article is intended to briefly summarize the current standard situation on coating materials. Obviously, we will primarily analyse the European standards but we will also consider the Italian situation which, as it will be highlighted below, appears very rich on this subject. Three specific sectors will be here considered, namely: wood for outdoor use, furniture surfaces and wood floors.
