Inspection

calibration verification

Calibration, Verification of Accuracy and Adjustment… Synonyms or Differences in Terminology?

“Do I have to maintain inspection gage calibration and certification?  Why don’t they retain their calibration over time? Do I need to verify gage accuracy on a regular basis? How often? What is the difference between calibration and verification of accuracy?” These are common questions in the coatings industry.  A simple answer is that without […]

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vapor blasting

New SSPC/NACE Wet Abrasive Blast Cleaning Standards

New SSPC/NACE wet abrasive blast cleaning (WAB) standards were approved in August 2015.  The standards define five degrees of cleaning that are created using a mixture of abrasive and water.  The mixture is created in one of three ways:  water is injected into the dry abrasive blast stream, abrasive is injected into a pressurized water

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coating failure analysis

Coating Failure Analysis Learning Series – Part 1 of 6

Welcome to the KTA Coating Failure Analysis Video Learning Series! This is a six-part video series that demonstrates the field and laboratory methods that were used to determine why a new coating system applied to a previously painted concrete floor had failed. Each part is standalone, addressing a different aspect of the evaluation, but when viewed

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Rilem Tube

Mitigating Moisture in Concrete and Masonry Walls

In commercial buildings, the uncontrolled intrusion of moisture into concrete and masonry walls may have costly consequences. Moisture supports the growth of mold, and causes wall coatings to blister and peel. It also saturates insulation, reducing energy efficiency. In extreme cases, moisture intrusion leads to spalling and could even necessitate wall replacement. Coatings and water

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sspc visual guide surface cleaning

Surface Cleanliness – Knowing When It’s Clean Enough to Coat

Using project specs and standards to achieve surface cleanliness before coating application is the focus of the newest installment in the PaintSquare Video Learning Center series. “Surface Cleaning” is one of 19 videos in the original instructional series, which explores multiple aspects of protective coatings work. “Surface Cleaning,” part of the PaintSquare Video Learning Center

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Spot Assessments of Ongoing Cleaning and Painting Projects

An ounce of inspection may be worth a pound of do-over. Cleaning and painting commercial buildings comes with extensive challenges. The paint does not always perform as expected. In some cases, poor performance is caused by problems with the building itself. In others, it is caused by a failure to comply with the specification and

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MnDOT’s Approach to Improving Bridge Maintenance Painting Operations

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) conducted a one-day seminar on bridge maintenance painting strategy and project design in May of 2013. One outcome of that seminar was the realization that MnDOT needed a more uniform method to rate the condition of coatings statewide during biennial bridge safety (in conjunction with the new AASHTO Manual

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SSPC Coating Specs

SSPC Commercial Coatings Progress Update

The establishment of SSPC’s five commercial coating committees marks a second major expansion of the scope of the Society. Founded in 1950, mainly through the efforts of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), SSPC took as its scope the technology of cleaning and painting steel in industrial and public works environments. Indeed, until the mid 1980s, persons of prominence

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