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Surface Preparation

coating edges

Challenges Encountered with In-Process Cleaning and Painting of Buildings

Commercial, Concrete, Instruments, Surface Preparation / By

There are many challenges associated with cleaning and painting commercial buildings. Questions often arise regarding surface preparation, application and final thickness or appearance. Three of the many questions our consultancy group has encountered during the cleaning and painting of buildings are addressed in this article. The questions should be familiar situations to those in the …

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sspc visual guides

How to Use SSPC Vis Guides in Practice

Coating Standards, Surface Preparation / By

SSPC has published four visual guides that depict the different degrees of cleaning for dry and wet abrasive blast cleaning, water jetting, and hand/power tool cleaning.  Two of the four were prepared jointly with NACE International (Figure 1). The guides are: SSPC-VIS 1, Guide and Reference Photographs for Steel Surfaces Prepared by Dry Abrasive Blast …

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sspc vis 3

Surface Preparation by Power Tool Cleaning… What to Specify When

7 Comments / Maintenance Painting, Specifications, Surface Preparation / By

One of the key components to the success of any coatings maintenance project is the degree of surface preparation both specified and performed. For the purposes of this discussion we are going to assume that due diligence has been done and that power tool cleaning is a viable option for maintenance painting work.  Now the …

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abrasive cleanliness

The Importance of Monitoring Abrasive Cleanliness

8 Comments / Inspection, Surface Preparation / By

Proper surface preparation is one of the most critical steps towards maximizing the life of a coating system. If coatings are applied to improperly prepared surfaces, the system is much more likely to fail prematurely. Abrasive blast cleaning is the most common and productive form of surface preparation. Abrasive selection is a key component to …

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vapor blasting

New SSPC/NACE Wet Abrasive Blast Cleaning Standards

4 Comments / Coating Standards, Inspection, Instruments, Surface Preparation / By

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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prepare galvanizing for painting

How to Prepare Galvanizing for Painting

2 Comments / Coatings, Steel, Surface Preparation / By

Galvanizing presents many challenges to painting operations. While the zinc coating can add substantial life to steel surfaces, its surface chemistry and electrochemical activity can result in conditions leading to adhesion failures of applied organic coatings. The key to successful painting lies in recognizing the many surface conditions presented by new and weathered galvanizing and …

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pinpoint rusting

The Case of Improperly Cleaned Surfaces: Failures in Preparation or Specification?

2 Comments / Coating Failure, Specifications, Surface Preparation / By

What happens if coatings are applied to an improperly cleaned surface? The simple answer might be to expect premature coating failure, but what exactly is an “improperly cleaned” surface? Was a contaminant left on the surface? Was cleaning not otherwise sufficient to meet the specified standard? Or was the specified coating not appropriate for the …

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concrete wall coatings

Treating Exterior Concrete Walls with Coatings

Buildings, Coatings, Commercial, Concrete Walls, Moisture, Surface Preparation / By

Concrete is widely used in commercial building construction and is present in a number of forms: poured concrete, tilt-up concrete and concrete masonry units (CMU). CMU also comes in a number of different forms: standard block, split-face block and scored block. Because of the dull gray appearance of concrete, however, coatings are usually applied in …

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sspc visual guide surface cleaning

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

Coatings, Inspection, Surface Preparation, Surface Profile, Video / By

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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