Hot-dip galvanizing, as the name suggests, consists of dipping pieces of steel into a molten zinc bath. The molten zinc reacts metallurgically with the steel and forms four distinct layers growing outward from the steel surface. The layers consist of various alloyed combinations of zinc and iron beginning at the steel interface with a layer […]
Problems with Galvanizing Read More »
The exterior coating system on six propane tanks was delaminating after only one year of being stored under cover in Mexico. Could the system be repaired? Or was it a total loss? A gas transmission company had all six of the propane tanks fabricated and coated in Mexico for a U.S. facility. The specified surface
The Case of the Compromised Propane Tank Coating Read More »
While it’s hard to put an exact price tag on what concrete-floor coating failures cost building owners, contractors and retailers each year, two things are clear. First, these failures, nearly all of them avoidable, happen a lot. Second, if it happens to you, it costs too much. Concrete is a complex material and many issues
Why New Coatings Fail on Old Concrete Floors Read More »
A consultant follows the facts to discover why perfectly good, recently applied paint fell from a new steel ceiling and to find the source of the coating failure. It wasn’t like the sky was falling, but when large pieces of paint dropped from the roof deck onto machinery being installed in a newly built manufacturing
Clues to a Coating Failure Read More »
A variety of coating system choices can be applied to metal roofing, including acrylic, epoxy/polyurethane, and fluoropolymer systems. Specifications frequently call for fluoropolymer coatings, which are considered to offer the best performance in long-term weathering resistance. Roof panels are fabricated from sheet-metal substrates such as steel, galvanized steel, aluminum, and other metals. Galvanized steel (a
Failure Analysis: When Metal Roof Coatings Fail Read More »
In this month’s Cases from the F-Files, rust spots became evident on the interior roof deck of a newly constructed, unoccupied warehouse. Were the rust spots a result of what was going on inside or outside of the warehouse? Background of the Project As a large warehouse building in the north-east U.S. that was being constructed
The Case of October Showers Bring November Rust Spots Read More »