Protective Coatings Application

Maintenance Painting Operations

© Copyright 2016 Fitz-Coatings Ltd

 Maintenance Painting Operations

Objective
This training unit will review the elements of maintenance painting.

The unit specifically relates to external onshore steel structures.

Maintenance Painting
Maintenance painting is generally defined as partial or full removal
of existing coatings and touching up, fully overcoating existing
coatings or recoating in order to maintain a structure.

There is no single method of maintenance painting and the

process varies from client to client.

Options available include:

Spot repair coating breakdown and touch up locally

Spot repair coating breakdown touch up locally and fully
overcoat
Fully remove coating i.e. Isolated locations and fully coat i.e.
Tank external on a site or partial pipe rack.

The chosen process is usually based on the maintenance

philosophy and budgets etc.

Maintenance Painting
Maintenance painting can also be conducted during repairs or
shutdowns.

Examples:

1. A tank internal inspection is necessary so the tank is emptied

and inspected. Minor touch up may be considered if time
permits.
2. Insulation on a valve has to be removed for bi-annual
inspection. Preparation and coating may be conducted on the
valve prior to re-insulating.

The above examples may be classified as emergency repairs,

however, it is still maintenance and does illustrate the complexity
of conducting maintenance painting.

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 Maintenance Painting
In an ideal world, a structure is fully prepared and coated at new
build to give a designed life i.e. 25 years.

The structure should be maintained locally before the coating

breakdown is too large, say below 5% of the surface area. Overall
coatings may be applied also.

In a mildly corrosive environment, minor maintenance may be

conducted at say 7, 15 and 20 years to achieve a 25 year life prior
to full maintenance.

We are not, however in an ideal world and maintenance may be

dictated by economics, insurance company, profits, oil prices,
access availability and client knowledge or ignorance.

No two sites will be the same.

Reference documents; SSPC PA1 Shop, Field, and Maintenance

Painting of Steel

and

SSPC PA Guide 5 procedures for developing a maintenance

coating program for steel structures.

Economics
Maintenance painting is more economical than total refurbishment
which would consist of total removal by abrasive blast cleaning,
water jetting etc. and application of the coating system by spray
type methods.

Maintenance painting can be done on a localised basis and spot

repairs can generally be conducted while the plant is in service.

Monitoring coating breakdown and conducting repairs before

overall refurbishment could entail annual costs, however, the
budgets over 5, 10 and 20 years will be considerably lower than
ad-hoc refurbishment.

Touch up repairs can be also conducted after hand preparation

methods.

Whole Life Cost

The whole life cost of the structure must be considered when
conducting maintenance painting.

The process must be calculated over the design life i.e. 25 years.

Maintenance may be conducted, say every 5 years or so and

therefore 3 maintenance programmes will be carried out.

The initial steel condition and type of coating system are important
factors in maintenance painting.

Other considerations for calculating whole life costs include:

The environment or service condition

Labour, material and access costs
Maintenance intervals
Methods of surface preparation
How long the coatings or repair will last
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 Coating Specifications
A specific maintenance painting specification should be
developed.

The specifications should consider how the coating is repaired and

re-painted.

Too many specifications are developed for new build and do not
really consider the long-term maintenance.

A maintenance painting specification would be used to ‘track’ the

coating systems used and ensure compatibility of coating
systems.

If existing coating systems are unknown then compatibility trials

would be necessary. Coating compatibility trials, including
adhesion tests, should be supervised by an experienced and
suitably qualified Coating Inspector.

The coating supplier should be involved with any compatibility

tests and produce technical reports etc.

Adhesion
It is extremely important to achieve good adhesion with the new
coatings used in maintenance painting, especially with overall
coats.

Some existing coatings could be hard and have an impervious

surface.

A number of options to ensure good adhesion is achieved include:

Solvent clean (wipe)

Abrade by abrasive paper or light abrasive blast cleaning
Using specially developed tie-coat

Some specifications require that the maintenance coating is brush

applied to ensure the coating wets the surface which will assist in
coating adhesion.

Coatings Survey
A coatings survey should precede a planned maintenance
programme.

The coatings survey will ensure that spot repairs, touch up, overall
coats etc. can be conducted on the existing coating.

The survey will include:

Location
Substrate material
Coating type (if known)
Adhesion (specify adhesion test)
The extent of coating breakdown
Blistering
Flaking and general adhesion failure
Corrosion
Chalking
General Coating Defects

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 The extent of coating breakdown should be detailed as scattered
or localised.

Coating Survey (cont)

The coating survey should detail any contamination such as
grease, oil etc. that will require to be removed prior to any form of
surface preparation being conducted.

Removal of such contamination could be achieved by:

Solvent cleaning
Degreasing, alkali, emulsion, cleaning agents
High-pressure water jetting
Steam cleaning

Removal of heavily contaminated surfaces may reveal unidentified

coating breakdown or corrosion.

Scope of Maintenance
Although a maintenance painting specification may exist, a
coating survey can be used to define the scope of work for the
painting contractor.

It is important that all parties are aware of the extent of the work
so there will be less risk of potential disputes between contractors
and plant or equipment owner about the extent of repairs etc.

Because of the aforementioned, any coating survey should be

specific with regards to scattered or localised coating breakdown.

Pre-Job Conference
A pre-job conference between all interested parties is essential for
a successful coating project where the specification is reviewed
and to ensure that all members of the project team understand the
requirements.

Specifications for maintenance painting can vary from job to job

depending on:

The condition of the surface to be repaired

Extent of repairs
Methods of surface preparation
Plant shutdown
Effect on plant personnel at the site
Budget constraints
Use of in-house or contract labour
Accessibility
Client requirements

A site visit may be beneficial to review points in the specification

where interpretation and agreement are required.

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 Surface Preparation
Surface preparation can be more difficult compared to a full
refurbishment or new build project.

There is a possibility of widespread contaminants such as:

Grease
Oil
Chemical salts
Corrosion products etc.

These must be removed prior to conducting any form of surface

preparation.

A trial removal process is always recommended.

Maintenance Painting
There will be an element of pre-surface preparation required for the
existing coating which may be established with the paint
compatibility trials.

Apart from grease and oil etc there maybe soluble salts on the
surface. Chalking may also be present. The degree of chalking will
depend upon the type of coatings previously used ie epoxy and
the amount of sunlight. Chalking is a white powder substance that
must be removed, however, it is not always clearly visible
especially on light coatings.

All forms of surface contaminants must be removed before

applying new coatings.

Although some coatings are called "surface tolerant" it is essential

to have a clean surface and achieve good adhesion otherwise you
will get premature coating failure.

Coating Systems
There is no single source maintenance coating system. Variables
include the types and methods of preparation, temperature,
location, environmental conditions, existing coating system etc.

Coating suppliers have developed surface tolerant coatings that

can be applied onto mechanically prepared surfaces, old coatings
etc.

Examples include:

High build epoxy with or without aluminium to about 200

microns in one or two coats followed by the application of a
urethane acrylic or polyurethane.
Specialist solvent-free surface tolerant coatings that can also
tolerate some moisture
Moisture-cured coating systems

If the surface can be abrasive blast cleaned zinc primers are an

option, however, this is not recommended for spot repairs due to
overlap issues.

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 Containment
Containment is usually a requirement when conducting surface
preparation and coating activities. The containment will stop used
abrasive and dust escaping from the workplace while allowing
controlled conditions around the workplace.

The containment will also contain any overspray etc.

There are various types of containment from basic monoflex

sheeting to heat shrink type which is more robust.

Reference Documents; SSPC-GUIDE 6, GUIDE FOR

CONTAINING SURFACE PREPARATION DEBRIS GENERATED
DURING PAINT REMOVAL OPERATIONS

Operation of Plant and Equipment

In many instances, the plant and equipment will be in operation
and live.

Any maintenance painting must be strictly conducted in

accordance with the Health and Safety rules. Permits to work may
be required.

All personnel must be aware of the potential hazards with the

particular environment.

Prior to conducting any form of surface preparation, removal or

protection of sensitive items may be required against possible
damage.

Masking certain items such as gauges and dial faces may be a

requirement. The scope of works or specification should detail the
requirements of equipment protection or removal.

Forms of Surface Preparation

There are various forms of surface preparation used for
maintenance painting and the two most commonly used are
mechanical preparation and abrasive blast cleaning.

Mechanical tool Preparation - Wire brushing, discing, sanding and

grinding are the most common form of mechanical surface
preparation.

The process of mechanical preparation can be labour intensive and

slow but is capable of preparing individual spots of coating
breakdown back to bare steel.

The sanders and certain grinders are also used to feather edge the
existing coatings.

The operator should ensure that the spot repairs do not polish the
surface increasing any risk of reduced adhesion for the coating
system.

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 Mechanical Preparation
Mechanical preparation is often used as a method of surface
preparation. If the prepared area is ground to a very shiny surface
there could be potential paint related adhesion problems.

The surface should not be polished as illustrated.

A slight roughening will help with the adhesion of the coating.

Feather Coating
It is important to the integrity of the full coating system that the
existing coating is feathered at the periphery of the repair areas.

This photograph demonstrates the feathering of a coating system

on a spot repair.

All the existing coating should be visible around the circumference

of the spot repair.

There should be no lip or edges on the existing coating.

Spot repair coatings should overlap the existing coating by 50mm

(2 inches)

Maintenance - Spot Repairs

When conducting spot repairs it is important to feather edge the
existing coating to a firm edge.

Orbital sanders are ideal for this process as they are quick and
efficient.

Hand sanding is also an option.

Don't use to rough of a sandpaper as you can damage the existing

coating.

The coating overlap should be around 50 mm (2 inches)

Forms of Surface Preparation (cont)

Abrasive Blast Cleaning
Abrasive blast cleaning may be used for spot repairs. The surface
preparation and surface profile will be better than that produced by
mechanical tool preparation, however, there is a danger of damage
to adjacent coatings.

The impact of the abrasive could crack the existing adjacent

coating which may result in loss of adhesion at a later date.

If abrasive blast cleaning is conducted for spot repairs the following

is recommended:

Use lower pressures

Use the correct type of blast nozzle such as a straight bore
type
Select abrasive to suit the process

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 For thick coatings, an additional mechanical or hand feathering
process may be required.

Spot Repair - Abrasive Blast Cleaning

This video demonstrates the use of a low-pressure abrasive blast
cleaning being conducted on a weld location.

Garnet abrasives are used as the blast media on this project

which is good for surface cleaning.

The surface produced by abrasive blast cleaning is considerably

better than mechanically prepared surfaces and will give an
extended coating life.

Compatibility between Coats

Maintenance painting is often conducted on old and aged
coatings.

Newly applied coatings can be incompatible with part or all of the

existing coatings.

If there is an incompatibility issue, curling could occur. Curling is a

term used to describe the lifting and softening of a coating due to
a reaction with the repair coating.

The process may be visible instantly or take a number of days or

weeks to develop.

A deformation of the coating occurs and removal is the only

option.

Trial Location
A full preparation and coating trial is recommended when
conducting maintenance painting.

All parties should be fully aware of the level of pre-cleaning, the

extent of surface preparation and coating application required.

The trial would also identify any technical issues with the surface
preparation or coating systems.

The trial should be marked up and used as a quality standard and

reference area if a dispute arises about the quality of
workmanship.

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 Ambient Conditions
The surface preparation and coating activities must be conducted
in accordance with the coating manufacturer recommendations.

As most of the work will probably be exposed to the elements and

subject to change, the use of surface or moisture tolerant fast
drying coatings may be necessary.

It is not always practical to cover the location while conducting

hand preparation and coating, however, if abrasive blast cleaning
was to be adopted full containment would be necessary and the
environment could be controlled allowing the use of most
maintenance products.

Inspection Activities
There are the inspection activities that should be detailed in the
inspection plan:

Pre-surface preparation
Post-surface preparation
The surface condition for coatings application
Coating application
Post-coating application
Post-curing of coating
Final inspection

The coating inspector may assist with the coatings survey and
review the scope of work.

The coating inspector should be available for the pre-job

conference between owner and painting contractor.

Summary
Within this training unit, we have reviewed maintenance painting
operations.

We reviewed the options for maintenance painting and the

problems associated with contamination, overcoating,
compatibility problems etc.

We also discussed the methods of surface preparation and

coating systems.

© Copyright 2016 Fitz-Coatings Ltd Page 9