The Tile Council of North America organized a group of leaders from the tile industry to review and analyze the ASTM C1027-99 (2004) standard, titled Test Method for Determining Visible Abrasion Resistance of Glazed Ceramic Tile.

The scope of the test method makes the following statements:

• "Certain irregular surfaces may not be evaluated properly by the test method because of wear patterns."
• "The procedure does not make provisions for the apparent difference in abrasion values between light and dark colored glazed tiles."
• "The procedure does not optimally evaluate loss of gloss with abrasion."

While a complete explanation of these qualifiers requires an in-depth understanding of the method, it is sufficient to note that with the evolution of more sophisticated glazes, and the increased durability of such, it has been observed that the test method does not appropriately characterize the real world performance of some glazed tiles.

In an effort to better model and predict the "real life" wear of an installation, TCNA is working to revise current methods or develop new tests that will better determine the suitability of glazed tiles for specific applications.