ARC® 

Efficiency & Protective Coatings
for Metals  
‐ Pranav  Purani
Surface Preparation of Metal Substrates
 Why is Surface Preparation Important?
Environmental
Coating Failures 6%

Application
12%
Product 
Selection
Surface  9%
Preparation Coating
70% 3%

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 Surface Preparation

Lifetime
Traditional Coating
ARC Composite

Poor Surface Good Surface

Preparation Preparation

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 Main Purposes of Surface Preparation

To Prevent Coating 
To Prevent Coating Failure

To Prevent Coating Failure
Failure
To Prevent Coating Failure

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 Issues Critical To Application Success
 Product Selection
 Structural Design Conditions
 Welds, Sharp Edges, Angles, Corners
 Surface Contaminants & Removal
 Oxides, Scale, Chlorides, Sulfates, Oil / Grease, Acids / Alkalis
 Surface Roughening
 Blasting, Profile Type / Depth
 Environmental Issues
 Relative Humidity, Surface Temperature, Psychrometrics
 Application / Finishing Methods
 Inspection / Documentation

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Key Objectives of Surface Preparation
 Clean the Surface

 Provide Profile / Roughness

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Product Selection
 Normally responsibility of the Coating Manufacturer or 
Specialist
 Detailed information on the service environment is required ‐
including:
 Temperature (normal, max and min, cycling)
 Chemicals (concentration, frequency and duration of exposure)
 Wear (media type, size, hardness, speed and wear rate of existing 
material)
 Lifetime expected
 Physical restrictions, for example pump tolerances, pipe diameter / 
length
 Previous experience in similar applications
 In depth knowledge of performance limits of available products

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Structural Design Conditions
Weld seams

Sharp edges, Angles, Corners

Structural integrity

Accessibility (Confined space entry)

Tolerances (e.g. Pump volutes)

Recommended Practices, e.g. NACE RP0178
• Fabrication Details, Surface Finish Requirements, and Proper Design Considerations for Tanks 
and Vessels to be Lined for Immersion Service

ISO 12944‐3:1998
• Paints and varnishes ‐ Corrosion protection of steel structures by protective paint systems ‐
Part 3: Design considerations

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Welds, Edges, Surface Imperfections
 ISO 8501‐3:2006
 Preparation of steel substrates before application of paints and 
related products – Visual assessment of surface cleanliness –
 Part 3: Preparation grades of welds, edges and other areas with surface 
imperfections

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Weld Seams

Inadequate finishing can 
lead to holidays and thin 
spot coverage.

Welds are zones of 
preferential corrosion due 
to high carbon rich zones 
at grain boundaries.

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Edges and Angles

Inadequate treatment 
of hard edges leads to 
bleed through of 
coating.

Typically these would 
be radius ground or 
stripe coated to avoid 
bleed through.

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Structural Design Conditions
Edge Liquid applied coatings pull
Effect away from sharp edges
leaving lower film thickness

100% Solids Coatings have the best edge retention properties, however to
ensure sufficient film build on sharp edges two approaches can be taken

Radius edge Or brush

to 3mm apply a
(minimum) stripe coat

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Surface Contaminants ‐ Identification
Visible Invisible
• Rust • Soluble Salts
• Mill Scale • Chlorides ‐ Cl‐
2‐
• Oil / Grease / Waxes * • Sulfates ‐ SO4
• Old Coatings • Acid
• Dirt and dust • Alkali
• * can also be invisible • Sulfides
• Fatty acids
• Silicone oils

History of item to be coated often provides valuable

information on likely contaminants
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Qualitative Testing For Contaminants

 Water break test ‐ Oil / 
Grease Contaminated

Clean

 UV/ Black Light ‐ Oil / 
Grease

 pH paper ‐ acid / alkali  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
contamination 

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 Quantitative Testing for Contaminants
 SCAT KIT ‐ Chlorides, Soluble 
Iron Salts, e.g. Sulfates

 Bresle ‐ Chlorides

 Salt Contamination Meter ‐
(SCM400 From Elcometer)

 Chlor*Test ™‐ Chlorides

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Removal Of Invisible Contaminants
 Acids / Alkalis ‐ Hot water or High Pressure Steam clean, Remove 
Iron Phosphate by Abrasive Blasting
 Neutralize surface ‐ pH of surface should be within one pH unit 
below and two pH units above the pH of the clean rinse water. 
 Sulfides ‐ Abrasive Blast, Water Wash, Corrode, Re‐blast
 Petroleum Oils and Grease ‐ Aqueous Alkaline Degreaser, TP 801 
IMS / 803 IMS II
 Vegetable Oils and Fatty Acids ‐ Aqueous Alkaline Degreaser, TP 
360 Phosphate Free Cleaner 
 Silicone Oils ‐ Solvent cleaning, Identify source

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Contaminants ‐ Acceptance Criteria
Ideally, surface to be coated should be free from all 
contaminants, however, this is not always practical, and 
therefore specific limits have been set for some quantifiable 
contaminants ‐

 Chlorides ‐ 5 µg/cm² maximum
 US NAVY Spec
<3 µg/cm2 for immersion zones
<7 µg/cm2 for non‐immersion zones

 Iron Salts / Ferrous ions ‐ 10 µg/cm² maximum

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Abrasive Blast Cleaning ‐ Doing It Right

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Abrasive Blast Cleaning
 ISO 8504‐2:2000
 Preparation of steel substrates 
before application of paints and 
related products ‐ Surface 
preparation methods ‐ Part 2: 
Abrasive blast‐cleaning
 Pressure or Suction Blasting
 Pressure Pot commonly used on site work, 
Higher pressures and Production rates
 Removes Rust, Scale, Dirt and Other 
Extraneous Material
 Surface Profile and Rate of Cleaning 
partially governed by the characteristics of 
the abrasive used. Including:
 Size
 Hardness Typical Pressure Pot Equipment Set-up
 Density
 Shape
 Toughness
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 Overview of Dry Abrasive Blast 
Cleaning Operations
Purpose:
 Clean and roughen new and 
existing surfaces

Responsibility for Quality:
 Contractor: Control Quality 
(and production)
 Facility Owner: Assure 
Quality

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Quality of Abrasive Blast Cleaning Equipment

Maintain Project Schedule 
(production)
 Compressor Capacity
 Blast Nozzle Wear
 Blast Nozzle Air Pressure
Maintain Quality
 Verify Clean, Dry 
Compressed Air

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Abrasive Blast Cleaning
Abrasive Selection
 Initial Cleaning may use sand or shot
 Profiling must use angular grit
 For Safety Reasons Abrasive should have low free silica content.
Common Abrasives Abrasive Mesh Sizes
Abrasive   Mohs  Dusting 25µm/.001” 50µm/.002” 75µm/.003” 100‐ 125µm
Factor /.004”‐0.005
 Silica Sand  5‐6 High 30/50 16/30 10/20 8/18
 Garnet  7‐8 Moderate 80 40 24 16
 Flint  6.5‐7 Moderate 30/60 16/35 8/25                 6/20
 Boiler Slag  7.0 Moderate 50/100 30/60 16/30              12/20
 Copper Slag  7.5 Moderate 70/100 40/80 30/50              16/30
 Aluminum Oxide   9.0 Low 80 40 24 16
 Silicon Carbide  9.3 Low 100 54 36 30
 Steel Grit               40‐68RC Very Low G‐120 G‐50 G‐25                G‐16

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Abrasive Blast Cleaning

Possible causes of low nozzle pressure

1. Compressor not functioning properly
2. Air hose is of inadequate internal diameter
3. Blast hose is of inadequate internal diameter
4. Internal couplings used within the blast hose
5. Coupling gaskets not in place or in poor condition
6. Water separator filter element contaminated
7. Blast nozzle is worn or its size is not matched to
the compressor output

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Visual Cleanliness Standards
Standards issued by various organizations to describe 
the Visual Cleanliness of Steel Substrates following 
Abrasive Blast Cleaning

3 Most Commonly Used Standards:

 ISO 8501‐1, Sa1, Sa2, Sa2 1/2, Sa3
 NACE Surface Preparation Standard No. 1, 2, 3, 4
 SSPC Vis‐1, SP5, SP6, SP7, SP10

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Visual Cleanliness Standards

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Visual cleanliness grades 

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Comparison Between Blasting Standards
ISO 8501-1 SSPC Vis 1 NACE
Description
Grade Grade Grade

Brush Blast Sa 1 7 4

Commercial Blast Sa 2 6 3

Near White Metal Blast Sa 2 ½ 10 2

Minimum
requirement for
ARC Coatings
White Metal Blast Sa 3 5 1 applications

Surface preparation grades are defined by written

descriptions and representative photos based on the
initial rust grade determined before cleaning
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Profile Test Equipment

Electronic Stylus Profile

Instrument Gauge

Surface
Comparators

Spring Micrometer & Testex Tape

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Environmental Control
Relative Humidity
 % moisture content in the air at a given temperature and pressure compared to the 
maximum that could be contained under the same conditions
 High humidity and low temperature can cause amine blush
 Lower temperatures requires lower humidity (see following slide)
Air and Surface Temperatures
 Requirement is dependent on specific product. Refer to PDS
 Minimum temperature must be maintained through to full cure 
Dew Point
 Temperature at which moisture in the air will condense on to a solid surface
 Calculate dew point temperature at varying atmospheric pressures
 Requires knowledge of depression between dry and wet bulb temperatures  
 Surface temperatures should always be at least 5°F / 3°C above dew point

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 Environmental Monitoring Equipment

Sling Psychrometer
Magnetic Surface Thermometer

Dew Point Calculator

Digital RH, Dew Point, Surface Psychrometric Tables

Temperature Meter
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 Other Inspection Tools

High Voltage Holiday Detection

Dry Film Thickness Gauge

Wet Film Combs / Thickness Gauge

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Inspection

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Inspection Logs

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Inspection Logs

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 Typical Steps in Proper Surface Preparation

 Inspection ‐ Structural Design Conditions
 Surface Contamination ‐ History
 Surface Contamination ‐ Test
 Initial Cleaning / Decontamination
 Re‐Test Surface Contamination ‐ (repeat as required)
 Abrasive Profile Blast – Dust Clean‐down
 Profile Determination / sign off
 Product Application

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Product Data Sheets/Application Instructions
 Provide information critical to application success
 Surface Preparation Requirements
 Mix ratios
 Working Times
 Application Temperatures
 Application Methods
 Wet film / Dry film thickness
 Curing Schedule
 Clean up
 Storage

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