Abstract
Over the past decade, coating manufacturers have made significant strides in the formulation of new products, utilizing new polymers and enhanced pigments that produce improvements in weatherability, corrosion protection, and ease of application, while improving compatibility with existing coatings, and offering enhanced physical, and thermal resistance.
However, coating product data sheets typically portray anticipated coating performance under favorable laboratory conditions that may not reflect actual field conditions during surface cleaning and application operations. The following factors can become important considerations in selecting a coating system operating in a compromised environment:
inability to achieve a high degree of cleaning of the work surfaces
limited accessibility to the work surfaces
abnormal environmental conditions during installation
the necessity of a short cure time for placing the equipment back into service
limited life span of the recoated equipment
the relative cost of the coating installation over the life of the protected equipment
The purpose of this paper is to identify generic coating systems and surface cleaning techniques that can be utilized under adverse conditions while providing an acceptable level of corrosion protection.
The range of coating systems surveyed includes a contemporary array of hot applied polymers, liquid polymer coatings, polymer-based wraps, thermally sprayed metal alloy and metal/ceramic coatings, and non-metallic cladding.
The information provided will allow the reader to recognize intolerant conditions that can shorten coating life, and suggest cost-effective combinations of surface preparation and coating materials with the potential to mitigate adverse conditions and meet service life expectations.
