Specifications

submittal reviews

Managing Submittal Reviews

Technical specifications for industrial painting projects frequently require the painting Contractor to submit plans and procedures describing how the surface preparation and coating application work will be performed. These are frequently referred to as “submittals.” The plans and procedures (submittals) are reviewed by the Owner or its representative for compliance with the requirements of the […]

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delamination

Coating System Selection and Determining “Or Equal”

The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) provides a format for preparing specifications that is often adopted for use in the coatings industry. It contains three primary sections, including General, Products and Execution.  The Products section typically contains the specified coating system. There are several ways that a coating system can be specified, one of which is

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surface preparation to primer prep-to-prime

Window of Time – Surface Preparation to Priming

Introduction Coating specifications and contract documents often contain stipulations for the maximum length of time a prepared steel surface can remain uncoated. We’ll refer to this as the “prep-to-prime window.” This brief article highlights common requirements, discusses the purpose of the requirements, presents industry references, questions the variability in the time periods, and explores a

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coating selection

Coating System Selection Based on Performance Evaluations

Independent verification of coating system performance based on laboratory testing and/or field exposure is a critical component to coating system selection. For a given coating system, there may be six or eight manufacturers. It is not safe to assume that all coating systems within a given generic category are created equal. Therefore, careful evaluation of

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surface soluble salts

Surface Soluble Salt Measurement – Conductivity Verses Ion-specific Methods of Analysis

Chemical contaminants on a surface can include chlorides, ferrous ions, sulfates and nitrates, among other types of soluble salts. Chloride may come from deicing materials or marine/coastal environments, ferrous ions are a by-product of corrosion, sulfates can be airborne, particularly in industrial environments (e.g., coal-fired power plants) and nitrates may come from the soil (e.g.,

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lead presence

Determining the Presence of Lead and Who’s Responsible?

Today it’s fairly common knowledge that lead can be found in older industrial, marine, and even some commercial coating systems on existing structures.  But just because the coating system is old doesn’t guarantee that lead is present.  And the opposite holds true as well – just because the coating system is new doesn’t necessarily mean

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blistered coating

Problem Solved: Taking Control of Preexisting Conditions

Specifications for maintenance painting often state that the commencement of cleaning and painting is an acknowledgment that the contractor accepts the existing building conditions as being suitable for painting and, implicitly, suitable for the performance of the paint system. As seen in Durability and Design Summer 2017 Issue This article addresses a requirement in specifications

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pre-construction conference

How to Conduct a Pre-Construction Conference

The goal of any construction project that involves removal and replacement of protective coatings/linings should be to safely deliver a quality project, executed according to contract documents, on time and on budget. However, there will be many obstacles to overcome throughout the duration of any project. One of the most important steps to help overcome

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service environment

Characterizing the Service Environment when Selecting Coatings

One of the tasks for a specifier when selecting coating systems is to properly and thoroughly identify the prevailing service environment for existing structures/facilities, or the anticipated service environment for new structures or facilities.  Stated more simply, once the coating system is installed, what will it be subjected to, under both normal and upset operating

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