Abstract
The demand for clean, contamination-free linings in railcars and the Environmental Protection Agency's restrictions on volatile organic compound emissions are but two of several factors that have had a significant impact on the quality and application procedures of railcar coatings and linings. These increased requirements, especially evident in the past ten to fifteen years, have made coating and lining railcars in chemical, food, and plastic service a constant challenge that requires close cooperation and open communication among railcar coating application shops, car owners or coating specifiers and coating manufacturers.
This paper offers several guidelines that a coating specifier may use that will enable him to choose the coating compatible with the intended product, determine the appropriate application procedure and select qualified coating suppliers and applicator shops that will produce a coating or lining to protect his product in the best possible way and with the longest possible service life. The NACE Standard RP-0386-86 "Application of a Coating System to Interior Surfaces of Covered Railroad Hopper Cars in Plastic, Food and Chemical Service" is featured as the primary resource for achieving this goal.
