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Module 7 DEFG
Introduction
Like many industrial sectors, the Protective Coatings Industry has standardisation associated
with it
Standardisation is required in order to ensure best practice and a specified level of quality is
achieved
When it comes to the issue of corrosion protection via the use of protective coatings, it is fair
to say that most regions or countries of the world may have their own standardisation &
quality requirements that needs to be adhered to
Where countries don’t have their own, they tend to ‘borrow’ from the more recognised
standards such as those provided by SSPC, NACE, DIN or BS
In addition, some customers, such as those associated with oil & gas, will adopt these
standards and use them as a framework in developing their own ‘internal’ standardisation &
quality requirements
From an IPC point of view, trying to satisfy all the requirements of the many individual,
regional and local standards currently in place is an impossible task, and only makes the
implementation of a global strategy and product range even more complex
It is important that IP as a truly global company should direct its focus on a truly global
coatings standard and by that we mean those standards developed by ISO
The use of ISO standards fits well with IPC global strategy and allows us to put more focus on
adopting and promoting the principles on a truly international stage
ISO standards are available worldwide and in many different languages much like our own
global product range associated literature such as datasheets & brochures etc
This module focuses upon the ISO 12944 international standard which covers ‘corrosion
protection of steel structures by protective paint systems’
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ISO 12944
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ISO 12944 – What is it?
In the mid 1990’s the coatings industry & corrosion experts from all over the world came
together to form a committee to look into the standardisation of corrosion control at new
construction
After years of work, the result was the standard ISO 12944 – “Corrosion Protection of Steel
Structures by Protective Paint Systems”
ISO 12944 comprises of 8 parts which deals with all the aspects that are important in
achieving adequate corrosion protection of steel structures when using protective coatings at
new construction
Utilising ISO 12944 at the new construction stage will help to minimise the need for coating
maintenance which in turn helps to reduce health & safety concerns, environmental impact
and overall structure lifetime costs
Another key benefit of using ISO 12944 is that it can help to standardise the terminology and
definitions used within the coatings industry
This in turn helps to avoid misunderstanding of information which passes between the many
different parties involved in a new construction project
When considering the complex sales chain involved in certain PC projects, the use of ISO
12944 throughout the chain can help to reduce complexity and provide unambiguous and
easily understandable communications in which all parties can relate to
ISO 12944 was released in 1998 and it has rapidly replaced local standards in Europe e.g.
BS5493 and DIN55 928
It has also been adopted where no strong local standards are in place
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ISO 12944
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Within the Americas and Australasia where NACE/SSPC and AS/NZ standards are well
established respectively, the switch to ISO 12944 is less advanced, however it is growing in
popularity in these areas
A large section of our potential customers will not be aware of ISO12944, it is everybody’s
responsibility to take the lead and introduce it
By promoting ISO 12944 within the market, International Protective Coatings can be seen as
global, proactive in the industry, willing to accept impartial standards and taking a responsible
approach to coating specification
In the broadest terms, ISO12944 makes use of 3 parameters when dealing with the corrosion
protection of steel structures at New Construction
Durability - The expected lifetime of a protective coating system prior to the first MAJOR
maintenance. It is assumed that regular coating inspection and minor maintenance will always
be required throughout the structure design life
Corrosivity – The ability of an environment to cause corrosion, (taking into consideration any
special conditions which may affect the performance of a protective coating system)
Coating System Specification – The recommended coating system generic type which will
provide the necessary corrosion protection to meet the both the durability and corrosivity
demands. (this includes surface preparation)
The development of the ISO 12944 standard has had a significant impact on the protective
coatings industry since its release from both the perspective of the customer – be that an
engineer, architect, fabricator, applicator – and the coating manufacturer
Anybody who is involved with the provision of advice within the protective coatings industry
should have a level of understanding of what ISO 12944 is all about
This module summarizes IP’s viewpoint, however, it is not a substitute to actually reviewing
the standard itself.
It is recommended that you read the actual ISO 12944 standard in conjunction with this
module
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ISO 12944
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ISO 12944 – The Parts
As already mentioned, ISO 12944 covers all aspects of protective coatings and consists of 8
parts, these are
Part Description
1 General Introduction
2 Classification of Environments
3 Design Considerations
4 Surface Preparation
5 Protective Paint Systems
6 Laboratory Test Methods
7 Execution / Supervision of Paint Work
8 Development of Specifications
ISO 12944 Part 1 describes the general scope of the entire standard and makes an early
reference to protective functions that are not covered
These are functions such as anti-fouling (e.g. Intersleek), storage of chemicals and ballast
(e.g. Interline, Intershield), and fireprotection (e.g. Chartek & Interchar)
Although not mentioned specifically, the ISO 12944 standard does not cover high heat areas
(e.g. Intertherm)
The specification of coating schemes involving Interline, Chartek, Intersleek & Intertherm
are highly specialised
Therefore they require more detailed information, guidance and testing to ensure successful
use
• This ‘detail’ can be difficult to capture in a standard such as ISO 12944 which covers
such as broad range of corrosion protection issues
The key element of part 1 revolves around the definition of the term ‘Durability’ and the
expected lifetime of a protective coating system
Within ISO 12944, durability is expressed in terms of 3 ranges, Low, Medium & High
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ISO 12944
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An alternative way of describing durability is in terms of ‘coating design life’. Many
engineers, who will use ISO 12944, can better relate to the term design life. In many cases it
is what they are trained to understand
When talking about coating durability or coating design life, there are some important
considerations that must be taken into account. These are :-
• The coating design life is dependent upon the degree of surface preparation. In most
cases it is assumed that a minimum of Sa2½ cleanliness (~SSPC SP6) is achieved
prior to coating application
• The design life of the coating system is generally shorter than the expected design life
of the structure it is protecting. Design life is best described as the level of coating
failure (or breakdown) prior to the first MAJOR coating maintenance work is required
• As such, due consideration must be made to ensure regular coating inspection and
expected minor maintenance is carried out over the specified design life
Coating design life is not a guarantee time; therefore, ISO12944 offers a standard method
of avoiding lengthy and unrealistic “lifetime guarantees” whilst still offering a meaningful
coating design life. This all adds up to helping IPC manage liability from a commercial point of
view
Most IPC customers will focus their attention towards the high durability >15 year
design life. In most cases, customers will require coating systems applied at new
construction to last as long as possible in order to postpone the need for inconvenient major
maintenance work
Durability (or coating design life) only refers to corrosion protection. This should not be
confused with durability in terms of colour & gloss retention of high performance finishes.
There will potentially be the need for aesthetic upgrades
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The use of high performance finishes such as the polysiloxane products (Interfine 878 &
Interfine 979) can help to reduce the number of ‘cosmetic upgrades’ that are required during
the lifetime of a structure. This contributes to lowering overall structure lifetime costs
This was briefly covered in the ‘Environment’ technical module; however, we will go into a
little more detail
The key feature of part 2 is that it provides a way of defining environments in terms of
corrosivity in which steel structures are situated
• These environments are known as Corrosive Categories
This provides a very useful tool when considering an appropriate coating specification – in
other words, it’s a very good starting point
Understanding corrosive categories and environments helps to understand WHY & HOW
certain coating products are used to prevent corrosion
ISO 12944 Part 2 splits the environments into 3 main groups, they are atmospheric,
immersion in water and buried in soil
Atmospheric
The atmospheric environments are classified into 6 corrosive categories defined from weight
loss of metallic (low carbon steel and zinc) specimens over a defined period of 1 year
The table on the next slide defines the corrosive categories in terms of steel mass loss and
gives examples of typical exterior and interior environments
In simplistic terms, as the steel mass loss increases, the corrosion rate increases, therefore
the greater the atmospheric corrosivity
Categories are designated as C1, C2….through to C5-I industrial and C5-M offshore
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Corrosive Mass Loss / thickness Exterior Environment Interior Environment
Category loss Examples Examples
C1, C2 <10-200 g/m2 Rural / dry areas, low Heated / unheated
Very Low, (1.3-25µm) pollution buildings / Neutral
Low atmospheres
C3 200-400 g/m2 Urban & industrial Production rooms with high
Medium (25-50µm) atmospheres, humidity and some air
moderate S02 pollution e.g. food
pollution. Coastal processing plants,
areas with low salinity breweries
C4 400-650g/m2 Industrial areas and Chemical plants, swimming
High (50-80µm) coastal areas with pools, coastal ship and
moderate salinity boatyards.
C5-I 650-1500g/m2 Industrial areas with Buildings or areas with
(Industrial) (80-200µm) high humidity and almost permanent
Very High aggressive condensation / high
atmosphere pollution
C5-M 650-1500g/m2 Coastal and offshore Buildings or areas with
(Marine) (80-200µm) areas almost permanent
Very High condensation / high
pollution
C5-I category refers to atmospheric industrial areas where corrosivity is high due to the
presence of aggressive chemicals and/or airborne pollution (e.g. acids, alkalis, sulphur
dioxide etc) combined with high humidity
C5-M category refers to atmospheric offshore areas where the corrosivity level is similar to
C5-I, however, this is brought about by a combination of high salinity (salt) and humidity
rather than chemical pollution
This difference between C5-I and C5-M is important when considering suitable coating
systems to provide corrosion protection
There are coating systems that are suitable for C5-M but would not be recommended for C5-I
Immersed in Water
ISO 12944 Part 2 splits the immersion in water into 2 categories as shown in the table below.
In this case, steel metal loss can be a difficult thing to measure and therefore to define.
Therefore only typical example environments are given
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Category Environment Examples
Im 1 Fresh Water River installations, hydro-electric power plants
Immersion
Im 2 Sea or Brackish Water Harbour areas with structures like sluice gates, locks,
Immersion jetties, offshore structures
Categories for immersion can be further divided into the following three ‘zones’
These zones are those which we refer to when talking about severe environment. It is the
Interzone product range which are utilised in these areas
Zone Description
Underwater Area permanently immersed in water (Sub-sea)
Intermediate Are subjected to both immersion and atmospheric exposure (also known
as Tidal Zone)
Splashzone Area wetted by wave action. Gives rise to very high corrosion rates
Buried in soil
Similar to the immersion category, steel metal loss can be difficult thing to measure and
therefore to define. So once again, only typical example environments are given
Part 3 focuses upon how the overall shape and design of a given structure can have a
significant influence on its susceptibility to corrosion problems
Ideally part 3 should be reviewed by engineers and architects and all those involved at the
initial design stage and not when the project is up and running
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ISO 12944
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This part can only really be fully implemented at the new construction stage or by major
structural modification later in the structure lifetime
Examples of suitable and unsuitable designs are reviewed looking at areas such as
accessibility, treatment of gaps, water traps, edges, welding imperfections, bolted connections
and stiffeners etc. The careful consideration of structural design will contribute towards
extended coating design life
It is fair to say that this part of ISO 12944 is outside the scope of protective coatings
manufacturers such as IPC
There could be the situation whereby the customer will expect the coating products to
alleviate, or help alleviate, corrosion problems due to design errors
Examples of this are the thick film ‘edge retentive’ coatings where they are relied upon to give
good coverage over sharp edges
Whilst there are many good products out there, there is no real substitute for good ‘rounded’
edges and correct repair of substrate defects prior to coating application
Surface preparation has already been covered in detail in the surface preparation modules
Suffice to say that part 4 gives a very comprehensive guide into the types of surface and the
many aspects of surface preparation and the importance of it
ISO 12944 Part 4 is a very good reference document and provides a very thorough list of ISO
surface preparation standards
A basic way of viewing ISO 12944 as a whole is as a tool for providing the customer with a
solution to their anticipated structural steel corrosion problems
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This means supplying an adequate protective coating system that will meet both the durability
and corrosive category requirements
The basic three steps to doing this at new construction are listed below
1. Use ISO 12944 part 2 to select the appropriate corrosive category (C2,C4,C5-M etc) in
which the steel structure will be located, i.e. the service environment
2. Decide on the design life (durability) requirements of the protective coating system, i.e.
Low, Medium or High – see ISO 12944 Part 1
3. Having done 1 and 2 above, you are now in a position to utilize ISO 12944 Part 5 in
choosing the most effective coating system to meet the needs of corrosive category
and design life
Part 5 provides a comprehensive list of generic coating systems that have proven
performance in the corrosive categories described. These are presented in a series of tables
• Suitable, proven generic coating types are listed against all corrosive categories. For
example, zinc rich primers figure frequently in the more corrosive C4 & C5
environments, whereas they do not in the less corrosive C3
• Coating system design life (or durability) is satisfied via dry film thickness (dft)
• The general rule followed is that for a given coating system, an increase in design life
is satisfied via an incremental increase in dft
However, this does not mean ‘carte blanche’ on film thickness – there are maximum
acceptable limits for each IPC product which must be adhered to
Selecting coating specifications that comply with ISO 12944 part 5 provides the customer
with:-
• Confidence that the corrosion protection will meet the demands of the corrosive
category and intended design life
• An objective approach to coating selection
• A simplified matrix of proven coating systems to chose from
• A meaningful coating design life
• A globally accepted standard
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ISO 12944
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It is good practice for all involved in specifying protective coatings to review part 5 and get an
understanding of the approach used by ISO 12944 with regards to how coating specifications
are put together
The technical considerations within ISO 12944 Part 5 in terms of corrosive category,
durability, individual product dry film thickness range and product compatibility form the basis
of the technical checks contained within Interspec
However, it is important to appreciate that Interspec (and therefore ISO 12944) is not 100%
foolproof
There is still the requirement that the specifier (or user of Interspec) has knowledge of IPC
products
Care should always be taken to ensure that the IPC coating system specified is suitable for
use
What ISO 12944 will not do is protect us from claims due to poor coating specification
The use of part 5 is very much at the heart of what ISO 12944 is all about.
• ISO 12944 is essentially a specifying tool
Primer Definitions
In this case, a zinc rich primer is defined as one which a minimum of 80% zinc dust pigment
content by mass in the dry film
Hopefully, this may help to bring some clarity into the protective coatings industry with regards
to what is considered a ‘zinc rich’ primer
All IPC global Interzinc zinc rich primers meet this definition (e.g. Interzinc 52, 22,22HS,315
etc)
The dft’s quoted in part 5 are in multiples of 40µm, IPC tend to work in multiples of 25µm
(25µm = 1 mil)
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Slight modifications to the way Interspec utilises ISO 12944 have been made to
accommodate this
Recommended maximum dft’s per coat are x3 that specified, this in many cases is too high
and is not necessarily in agreement with IPC philosophy
The maximum dft per coat for a given product should always be verified via the technical
department. A good guide is x2 that specified
The idea behind part 6 is to provide some meaningful laboratory test methods and pass
criteria for those coating systems where there is no realistic proven ‘real-time’ performance
data (or track record) in the specific corrosive category
As such it is intended that the results of the tests are considered as an aid in the selection of
suitable coating systems for the specified corrosive category and design life (durability)
Consider part 6 as being ‘fitness for purpose’ testing (see Product Testing module)
The laboratory tests specified within ISO 12944 Part 6 are only concerned with anti-corrosive
performance
From a customer perspective, if there is no track record, then the next logical step is to for
laboratory test data to back-up the performance claims from the coating manufacturer
Therefore, part 6 becomes a central consideration the customer (be that an owner, engineer
or specifier), must take into account when choosing a suitable ‘new’ protective coating system
where track record is not available
Since the release of the ISO 12944 standard in 1998, Part 6 has been a real focus of
attention due to the divided opinion within the industry (both customers and coating
manufacturers) on whether the test methods described are acceptable
It has been IPC’s position that the test methods as they currently stand are NOT
ACCEPTABLE
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The lack of acceptance of part 6 has revolved around the fact that some coating users,
consider the tests as being out of touch with current industry practices
• In particular, the tests specified within Part 6 do not reflect current industry practices for
the more aggressive C5-M and Im2 corrosive categories.
1. The laboratory performance test requirements for offshore C5-M & Im2 protective
coating systems was revisited and dealt with via a dedicated performance based
standard outside of ISO 12944 part 6, the result was the development of ISO 20340
(see Performance Specifications module)
2. An ISO working group committee was assembled to review and update ISO 12944 part
6 and include cyclic corrosion test methods and product fingerprinting.
3. At the time of writing, this revision of Part 6 is perhaps some way from being formerly
released. It may be that the earliest release will be towards the end of 2006
This part of ISO 12944 deals with the execution and supervision of coating work on steel
structures whether it is in a workshop, a yard or on site
As such, the intended audience for this part are the companies who are contracted with the
actual coating application. (e.g. paint contractors, fabricators, OEM etc)
The objective of part 7 is to ensure that a minimum level of quality is achieved at the coating
application stage
This is very important due to the fact that the ‘owner’ of the steel structure may have a
different view of expected quality compared to that of the coating contractor
By using part 7 as a guideline, all parties involved can agree on the minimum that is required
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Part 7 focuses on 4 key elements
2. Execution of coating work - Areas such as coating condition prior to application, agreed
methods for dry film thickness measurement, stripe coating requirements, application
conditions and methods are covered here
3. Supervision of the coating work - This covers the all important supervision or
inspection of the coating work
4. Coating reference areas - This covers a very useful way of establishing a minimum
level of quality that is to be achieved during a coatings application project. They may
also be used for guarantee purposes
• They should be located in ‘representative areas’ which are typical of the corrosive
categories in which the entire structure is exposed
• All surface preparation and coating application work should be supervised by all
interested parties (including IPC) and reach agreement on the level of quality that
needs to be achieved
• It is intended that the agreed level of quality achieved in the reference areas should be
reproduced over the entire structure being coated
IPC utilise the concept of coating reference areas within some standard guarantees
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Where there is a case of premature coating breakdown on a structure, the coating supplier
may be liable if the breakdown also occurs within the allocated reference areas since this
could indicate a coating problem rather than a surface preparation one
However, if the coating breakdown is not replicated within the reference areas, this could
indicate failure due to a poorly prepared surface or improper application of the coating
system. In such an instance, it is the applicator that may be liable
ISO 12944 Part 7 does provide some guidance on the recommended size and number of
reference areas on a particular structure. Some examples are shown in the table below
Part 8 of ISO 12944 is targeted at the coating specifier, or anyone who has responsibility for
the development of a specification, be that an entire project specification or a more focused
protective coating specification
Part 8 provides a ‘framework’ in which parts 1 to 7 of ISO 12944 are utilised in the
development of a new construction specification
It does so by providing examples of checklists and flowcharts in which all the relevant
parameters are taken into consideration for both new work and maintenance
For the IP salesperson, part 8, as with parts 3 and 7, is a good reference document
The tables within part 8 can provide some of the basic ‘technical’ questions that need to be
asked prior to offering a coating specification to the customer
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