Kenneth B. Tator, PE, of Pittsburgh, PA had a fatal heart attack on May 7, 2026 while visiting friends in Houston, Texas. His wife, Maureen Tator, passed away 7½ months earlier in September 2025. Ken was 84 years old. Ken, a registered Professional Engineer in multiple states, was an icon in the protective coatings industry.
KTA-Tator, Inc. Mourns Loss of Industry Icon Kenneth B. Tator Read More »
A Practical Guide to Reliable Pinhole and Holiday Detection in Thin Film Coatings Introduction: Why Holiday Detection Matters in Thin Film Linings Thin film linings play a critical role in protecting steel and other substrates from corrosion, chemical attack, and premature deterioration. These coatings are often used in environments where even a minor defect can
How to Detect Pinholes and Holidays Using the PosiTest LPD Holiday Detector Read More »
Before beginning any painting or coating application, environmental conditions must be measured to ensure conformance to coating manufacturer requirements and long-term coating performance. Two of the more critical parameters are relative humidity and dew point temperature, both of which influence condensation and potential coating detachment risk. One of the most widely accepted field methods for
Anode, cathode, metallic pathway, electrolyte – these are the four components of a corrosion circuit. Eliminate one of them, and you will have successfully mitigated corrosion. The most intuitive way to do this is to eliminate the electrolyte or, more accurately, eliminate the interface between the electrolyte and the metal. This is why the coatings
The Fundamentals of Cathodic Protection Read More »
You see it every day. Graffiti, whether lettering or images, is everywhere: fences, overpasses, structures, train cars. What’s the big deal? To the law-abiding taxpayer, money is the big deal: $12 billion in clean-up alone1 annually across the United States. That figure doesn’t include loss of revenue; public transportation and businesses suffer when patrons and
Graffiti Resistant Coatings Read More »
Introduction When it comes to qualifying coating systems for use in real world applications, there are many quality programs and specifications that can be considered. The use of coating systems whose performance has been verified according to these specifications help protect steel structures that are exposed to the atmosphere where corrosion and deterioration are certain.
Whether we choose to recognize it or not, every company has a safety culture that continuously changes, and even rebrands itself from time to time. The concept of a safety culture can be divided into broad and narrow aspects. The broad aspects derive from the definition of a safety culture, while the narrow aspects are
The Rebranding of a Safety Culture Read More »
Background Most of the SSPC surface preparation standards focus on the preparation of steel, either by abrasive blast cleaning (dry and wet), power tool cleaning, or water jetting. Recognizing that galvanizing, non-ferrous metals, and various types of stainless steel also need to be prepared for painting, SSPC published a standard for brush-off blast cleaning of
Test Your Knowledge Series – Surface Preparation Standards for Non-ferrous Metals Read More »
Introduction/Background When applying a coating system to structures such as tanks and pipelines, the primary goal is to apply a continuous film to help prevent corrosion and section loss, and in some cases, to prevent contamination of the contents. Discontinuities in the film can result in undercutting corrosion of the substrate, and the integrity of
Test Your Knowledge Series – Coatings/Coating Application/Holiday/Pinhole Detection Read More »
Introduction/Background Surface profile is defined as a measurement of the maximum peak-to-valley depth created by abrasive impingement against a surface during abrasive blast cleaning operations, or by an impact-type power tool. During abrasive blast cleaning, the mass of the abrasive and the velocity of the abrasive movement created by compressed air generates kinetic energy (the
KTA University “Test Your Knowledge” Series – Surface Profile Measurement Read More »
