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The Navy performance specification for thermosetting powder coatings. What it covers, how the MIL-C-24712, A and B designations relate, what the QPL actually qualifies, and how to write the callout so a coater can quote it.
MIL-PRF-24712 is a performance specification for thermosetting powder coatings. The current revision, MIL-PRF-24712B, is dated 11 February 2014 and is active. It covers powder for shipboard metallic equipment, furniture, electrical enclosures and miscellaneous metal parts in interior and exterior non-immersion service, applied by electrostatic spray, flocking or fluidized bed.
The preparing activity is the Navy (SEA), with the Army and Air Force as custodians — which is why it appears on ground-equipment drawings too. As a performance specification it states what the cured coating must do rather than dictating a formulation.
Two things follow, and they are what engineers most often get wrong. The specification qualifies the powder, not the shop that sprays it. And a callout is not buyable without a type, a class and a color. Still choosing a finish route? Start with the finish selector or the powder versus liquid comparison.
The revision letters are not interchangeable, and one of the changes is a rename rather than a technical revision.
| Designation | Date | Status | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIL-C-24712 | 21 Feb 1989 | Superseded | The original military specification, “Coatings, Powder”. The C stood for the old coatings designator. |
| MIL-PRF-24712A | 1995, Amendment 1 in 1997 | Superseded | The conversion from a military specification to a performance specification, with a broad type and class structure. |
| MIL-PRF-24712B | 11 Feb 2014 | Active | Current revision. Narrower scope — non-immersion service — and four consolidated coating types. |
| QPL-24712 | Reissued regularly | Active | The Qualified Products List of powders qualified to the specification, maintained by the Navy. |
Common on legacy hardware, and not a problem by itself. In the mid-1990s the Department of Defense converted many “MIL-C-” coating documents to “MIL-PRF-” performance specifications without cancelling the requirement. A drawing citing MIL-C-24712 is calling for the same family; the current issue is MIL-PRF-24712B.
Do not silently substitute. Revision B dropped immersion service and reorganized the types, so a part detailed to MIL-C-24712 or Revision A may rely on something the current issue no longer covers. Have the cognizant engineering activity confirm in writing which revision governs, then flow it down. If you are the supplier and cannot get an answer, coat to the revision cited and record it on the certificate.
The type designates the resin chemistry, the class the service environment. Both changed materially between revisions, so read the classification section of the revision you are held to before ordering.
Twelve types and three classes. Types I through XII ran epoxy, epoxy-polyester hybrid, polyester TGIC, polyester, polyester-urethane hybrid, acrylic, acrylic-polyester hybrid, acrylic-urethane hybrid, urethane, polyurethane, vinyl and nylon. The classes were interior dry service; interior wet spaces and immersion service; and exterior.
Four type families, immersion out of scope. Types I and II are epoxies; the specification’s own intended-use notes say epoxies weather poorly and belong as the primer in a two-coat system, not as an exterior topcoat. Types III and IV are polyester and hybrid chemistries for the topcoat role. Classes remain in use — qualifications have been issued against combinations such as Type IV, Class 2 and Class 3 for exterior systems.
We have not verified the complete class definitions in Revision B and do not reproduce them here. What drives the choice is unchanged: exposure, single coat versus primer and topcoat, color and gloss, and whether the substrate tolerates the cure temperature. Take the classification from the revision your contract cites, then confirm the powder is qualified in that exact type and class.
MIL-PRF-24712 is a Qualified Products List specification. It requires the powder to be a product authorized for listing on the applicable QPL at the time of contract award. The manufacturer submits the formulation for government testing and, if it passes, the product is listed. Any change to the composition invalidates the listing and forces requalification.
There is no equivalent listing for coating shops. A powder coater cannot be “QPL listed to MIL-PRF-24712” — the specification does not qualify applicators. The applicator’s job is to buy a qualified powder in the required type, class and color, apply it to the specification’s preparation and inspection requirements, and document that it did.
The failure mode worth naming: matching an AMS-STD-595 (formerly FED-STD-595) color number is not compliance. A powder sold as “military gray” that was never qualified is not a MIL-PRF-24712 product, and certifying it as one on a government contract is a serious matter. Ask your coater for the powder manufacturer, product number and QPL reference — not a color chip.
So the question to ask a coater is not whether they are listed — nobody is. It is whether they buy qualified powder from a listed manufacturer, run the preparation and cure the specification calls for, and document it. That is what we do. See what we hold.
The figures below are from Revision A, whose full text is publicly available. They are specification requirements, not any shop’s results, and they are indicative rather than a substitute for reading your revision.
Abrasive blast to near-white metal per SSPC-SP 10, residue removed with clean dry air or vacuum. Profile is substrate dependent.
Set by class, with a minimum build measured above the blast profile rather than a nominal reading.
Bounded on time and temperature, with an overbake stability requirement so a longer dwell does not degrade the film.
Cross-hatch tape adhesion to ASTM D3359 Method B, minimum classification 5B — no removal along the cut edges or at the lattice intersections.
ASTM D2794, 4 lb weight, 5/8 in nose. Not less than 160 in-lb direct and 25 in-lb reverse with no holiday under a 67.5 V detector. Nylon is the exception at 125 in-lb.
ASTM B117 on the wet and exterior classes: not less than 500 hours on steel, 250 on aluminum, copper-nickel and bronze. Undercutting limited to 1/4 in from the scribe, with no blistering, wrinkling or loss of adhesion.
Read together, these are a statement about preparation and cure discipline. Profile and film build interact — 2 mils of powder over a 3 mil profile does not meet the requirement — and the cure window separates a passing adhesion panel from a failing one. See blasting, prep and profile control.
MIL-PRF-24712 often shares a drawing with CARC documents and commercial powder standards. They are not alternatives — they answer different questions.
| Document | What kind of document | What it asks for | What is qualified |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIL-PRF-24712 (MIL-C-24712) | Material performance spec, Navy | Thermosetting powder coating for shipboard and general metal equipment, non-immersion service under Rev B | The powder, via QPL-24712 |
| MIL-PRF-32348 | Material performance spec, Army | Camouflage chemical agent resistant powder systems for tactical ground, aviation and support equipment — primer and topcoat types | The powder, via the qualified products database |
| MIL-DTL-53072 | Process spec, Army (Rev G, 3 Aug 2021) | How a CARC system is applied and inspected: cleaning, pretreatment, environmental limits, film thickness, adhesion, documentation | Nothing — it governs the applicator’s process |
| MIL-DTL-64159 | Material spec, Army | Liquid water-dispersible aliphatic polyurethane CARC topcoat. Type I uses silica flattening agents, Type II polymeric. Wet spray, not powder | The coating material |
| AAMA 2603 / 2604 / 2605 | Commercial performance standards | Organic coatings on architectural aluminum, graded by weathering and chalk resistance. No government qualification | Nothing government-listed |
| ASTM D3359, D2794, B117 | Test methods | Adhesion, impact and salt fog procedures cited by the specs above. A drawing citing only these says how to test, not what to apply | Not applicable |
The distinction: MIL-PRF-24712 and MIL-PRF-32348 say what to buy, MIL-DTL-53072 says how the shop runs it. If your drawing pairs a CARC material spec with 53072, start with what CARC requires. For several callouts on one print, use the MIL-spec coating cross reference and the MIL-spec information index.
The specification’s acquisition section requires the buyer to state the title, number and date of the specification, the type and class, and the color. A callout reading only “MIL-PRF-24712” is not quotable — it does not identify a product.
COAT PER MIL-PRF-24712B, TYPE IV, CLASS 3. COLOR PER AMS-STD-595, NO. [xxxxx]. POWDER SHALL BE A PRODUCT LISTED ON QPL-24712 IN THE SPECIFIED TYPE AND CLASS. SURFACE PREPARATION PER SSPC-SP 10. CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMANCE REQUIRED, IDENTIFYING POWDER MANUFACTURER, PRODUCT NUMBER AND QPL REFERENCE.
PRIMER: MIL-PRF-24712B, TYPE I. TOPCOAT: MIL-PRF-24712B, TYPE IV, COLOR PER AMS-STD-595, NO. [xxxxx]. TOTAL DFT [x.x] TO [x.x] MILS. MASK PER DRAWING; NO COATING ON DATUM SURFACES OR THREADED HOLES.
This is the pattern the specification points to for exterior work: epoxy primes, polyester weathers.
NOTE ON PRINT: "POWDER COAT PER MIL-C-24712". SUPPLIER ACTION: COAT PER MIL-PRF-24712B, TYPE [x], CLASS [x], AS APPROVED BY [CAGE / ENGINEERING] ON [DATE]. RECORD REVISION APPLIED ON THE CERTIFICATE.
Add two things to any of these: state the masking requirement rather than leaving it to the shop, and state whether the substrate bounds the cure temperature — heat-treated aluminum, brazed assemblies and anything with an insert or seal usually does. See the design guide and masking.
Gleco Paint & Powder Coating is the coatings division of Gleco Plating, family-owned in Texas since 1979. Powder, liquid paint, Cerakote, blasting, masking and silkscreening run at 5020 Grisham Drive, Rowlett. AS9100D, ISO 9001:2015, ITAR Registered, DFARS compliant.
We source the qualified product in the type, class and color your callout specifies, and record manufacturer, product number, lot and QPL reference. If no qualified powder exists in the color called out, we say so at quote, not after the parts are coated.
Blasting and profile control to the callout, media chosen for the substrate, hold-time discipline between prep and spray. More on prep, blasting and masking.
Threads, bores, bonding surfaces, datum faces and sealing lands masked to print. Send the drawing with the RFQ and we confirm the plan before the first part runs.
Cure to the manufacturer’s schedule inside the specification’s window, film thickness and adhesion checks, and a certificate of conformance stating revision, type, class, color and material identification.
Related: powder coating capability, industrial liquid coating for wet-spray-only callouts, and defense and military coating. Anodizing, plating and passivation are not performed here — those run on the plating side at glecoplating.com.
The requirement still means something, but the document is superseded. MIL-C-24712 dates from 21 February 1989 and was replaced by MIL-PRF-24712A in the 1990s conversion to performance specifications; the active revision is MIL-PRF-24712B, 11 February 2014. Treat the callout as pointing at that family, then have the cognizant engineering activity confirm which revision governs. Revision B narrowed the scope, so the substitution is not automatic.
No, and no coater can be. MIL-PRF-24712 qualifies powder products, not applicators. The powder manufacturer submits the formulation for government testing and the qualified product is listed on QPL-24712. The applicator buys a listed product in the specified type, class and color, applies it to the specification’s requirements, and documents it. Gleco Paint and Powder is not a QPL-listed source and does not claim to be.
Scope and classification. Revision B covers non-immersion service, interior and exterior; Revision A included interior wet spaces and immersion service as a class. Revision A defined twelve resin types across three classes; Revision B consolidates to four type families — Types I and II epoxy, intended as primers because epoxies weather poorly, and Types III and IV polyester and hybrid, intended as topcoats. If a legacy part relied on the immersion class, raise that with engineering.
Yes. A certificate of conformance identifying the specification revision, type, class and color applied, plus the powder manufacturer, product number, lot and the QPL reference the manufacturer supplies. Tell us at RFQ if you need film thickness or adhesion results on the certificate, or a particular format for your flow-down, so it is set up before the first lot.
Not in the current revision. Revision B is written for interior and exterior non-immersion service on shipboard equipment, furniture, electrical enclosures and miscellaneous metal parts. Revision A did include an immersion class. If your part is immersed, confirm the governing revision, and if it is B expect engineering to specify a different system.
No. CARC is chemical agent resistant coating; for powder the material specification is MIL-PRF-32348, with MIL-DTL-53072 governing application and inspection. MIL-PRF-24712 has no chemical agent resistance requirement. They sometimes appear on one drawing for different surfaces. See what CARC coating is.
Abrasive blast to near-white metal per SSPC-SP 10, residue removed with clean dry compressed air or vacuum, and a limited hold time before coating. Revision A sets the profile by substrate — about 1.0 to 1.5 mils on aluminum, copper-nickel and bronze, 2.0 to 3.0 mils on steel — and requires a minimum build above the profile, not a nominal reading. Confirm the numbers against your revision.
No, and it is the most expensive mistake on this specification. AMS-STD-595 (formerly FED-STD-595) is a color standard. A powder matching a 595 number has demonstrated nothing about adhesion, impact, cure or salt fog, and it is not a MIL-PRF-24712 product unless it is qualified. Certifying a color-matched powder as compliant on a government contract is a materially false statement. Ask for the qualification, not the color chip.
We will confirm the revision, type, class and color, tell you what qualified powder is available in it, and flag anything that will not build the way the print expects. Rowlett, Texas. Finish Well.
