7 Coating failures Objective When you have gone through this chapter you should be able to recognize the most common coating failures be able to explain conditions that may cause defects in a coating know which corrective actions to be take to improve coating conditions, e.g. during application Introduction In connection with large as well as small coating jobs, failures or damage in the coating may occur. Some of the failures can be difficult to avoid even for skilled painters, other failures can easily be avoided. Many failures indirectly occur in connection with surface preparation. Insuffi- cient cleaning of steel surfaces is most likely often the cause for many coating failures. It may also be due to poor control of the presence of oil or due to humidity on the newly blasted surfaces. In general, rounding of sharp corners and edges of structures furthermore poses a major problem. Also problems in connection with recoating of welding seams recur. If alkaline welding electrodes have been used alkali residues will remain on the surface and must be removed prior to paint appli- cation. Such alkali residues may cause blistering. To a large extent, the end result depends on how skilled the painter is. If the coating system is to meet specified requirements, it is important that the painter has a good application technique. Factors that will influence the end result are correct choice of nozzle, spray angel and distance. It is also important that the painter observes the dry film thicknesses specified and recoating intervals. In some cases we have to realise that the coating does not meet the requirements. The reasons may obviously be manufacturing faults, but more often the coating has not been applied according to specifications. Maybe a wrong or too much thinner has been used, or in the case of two-component paints that the two components have been insufficiently mixed, etc. Any coated items must be handled carefully. This is especially the case in con- nection with organic coatings, which may be sensitive until they are well cured. In case of scratches or other damage to the coating, they must be made good as quickly as possible. Therefore, it is important to know which corrective actions to take to improve the condition. Early breakdown of a coating system, e.g. after an exposure time of half a year or a year, will mean considerable expenses in relation to repairs. In this case it is especially important that pretreatment and paint appli- 210 Corrosion PROTECTIONcation have been sufficiently supervised. Forms filled in during pretreatment and application and other documentation we may have access to could help us finding the reason or reasons for the damaged areas. We will now discuss some of the most important types of failures in anticorrosive coatings, the causes for failures and how these can be avoided or repaired. Loss of adhesion Peeling Loss of adhesion is often due to the fact that one or more coatings of the cured system are easily removed from another coat previously applied or from the metal surface. In the case of peeling, the coating comes off in large or small flakes. Oxygen Moisture 3 5 Contamination, =— Topcoat Primer coat ee Topcoat Loss of adhesion Figure 7.1 Contamination between the coatings may cause loss of adhesion Causes Loss of adhesion may occur due to insufficient surface preparation of the steel. If we for example recoat old rust layers, the coating does not adhere sufficiently to the steel. If in this case the result is loss of adhesion, the flakes can be removed and in most cases remnants of rust or similar are often found on the back of the paint flakes. Another cause may be that too long time has elapsed from application of one or coat to another. Peeling often occurs if remnants of dirt, dust or salt have not been carefully removed between applications of coats. Contamination between the coat- ings may mean that the coating wil] not obtain the required adhesion to the paint coating beneath. If paint flakes are examined more closely we may see remnants of contamination on the back of the paint flakes. [1]. In some cases, loss of adhesion may occur if old, but smooth coatings are recoated, for example old, hard oxidatively curing or chemically cured coatings. If the relative humidity has been too high during curing of epoxy coatings, the 7 Coarine ranures 2114surface may appear sticky, viscous or somewhat discoloured. This may derive from amine exudation, Amine exudation may occur if too much carbon dioxide is present on the surface (from combusted fuels or from heating). It is important that areas with exudation are removed by fresh water or with a suitable thinner before recoating. Otherwise flaking may occur. Repair If the coating system detaches it must be removed down to the coat which has sufficient adhesion to the steel or if necessary all the way down to the bare metal. In some cases it will be sufficient just to grind the surface, however, if large areas appear with flaking it may be necessary to reblast the area completely. In connection with checking the adhesion of the coating system, it is important to realize that it may take days or weeks before full adhesion is obtained. If the adhesion test is carried out a couple of days after the paint has been applied, pull- off test values may be lower than after a couple of weeks. This is due to the fact that curing takes time. Saponification In case a coating system, which is not suited for the environment or the substrate in question is applied the result may be loss of adhesion. If overcoating zinc-rich coatings or metallic zinc coatings, the coating applied ‘on top may peel off despite the fact that the surface has been carefully prepared prior to coating. The problem applies to oil and alkyd coatings. This type of loss of adhesion is the result of what is called saponification. Water Oxygen Zinc-rich coating Loss of adhesion due to formation of zine soap a Ati coating =— Zinorich coating YUWVVVWCWW=ZZWTTOIIP~ rorasive biasi-cleanes ste! Detached coating film S- Aliyd coating Zine-rich coating QWYVWZCZWWWWCCHHIP~ borasve blastcleaned stee\ Figure 7.2 Saponification of alkyd 212 Corrosion protectionIn the case of light shades, yellow brownish discoloration is sometimes seen after saponification, Despite the term saponification is widely known and used, still many hot-dipped galvanized lamp-posts, balconies and similar are coated with alkyd coat- ings. The result is still the same. After a couple of years, the applied coating system starts to peel off or flake. Causes Recoating a zinc substrate with pure oil or alkyd coatings will eventually result in an alkaline reaction of the zinc due to sunlight and humidity. The result is that the binder in the coating saponifies. The result is the formation of a water-soluble layer of soap between the zinc surface and the coating film, causing the coating to flake off from the zinc surface. On the back of a paint flake of an oil or alkyd coating, a whitish product from this reaction is found. Therefore, if alkyd coatings are to be used on zinc, it is important to provide a “buffer” between the two layers. Repair Oil and alkyd coatings must be removed by for example high pressure hosing. Subsequentiy, the coating system must be build up with non-saponifying coatings. Use of oil and alkyd coatings should generally be avoided on surfaces that are prone to saponification. This is especially the case with recoating of zinc-rich substrates (metallic coatings and linings). Furthermore, alkyd coatings must not be applied to concrete or cement-based fire retardant coatings. If oil or alkyd coatings have been specified, the surfaces must be sealed off with anon-saponifying coating. Liftings Liftings of “fresh” oxidatively curing coatings can occur if a coating is recoated with another coating with stronger solvents. The first coating will start to wrinkle. After some time, large areas may loose adhesion to the substrate. Especially in connection with maintenance, we must be careful with application of paint onto coated surfaces. If we have no information on the coating systems previously applied, we must take our precautions. A suitable method is to make it a practice to apply the paint in a small area first then wait for a while and see what happens. Subsequently a rag is soaked with strong a solvent, for example methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and the rag is kept onto the coated surface for some minutes. Any liftings will occur immediately. Old oxidatively drying coatings can generally be recoated with epoxy mastic coatings after light grinding of the surface. Damage due to spillage of strong solvents onto a coating will generally not be too extensive as solvents evaporate at a rapid rate. 7 Coatinc ranures 213=~ Wet coating with strong solvents = Dry oxidatively curing coating YUWOWWWWY=W!!OUV > "sesve biast-cleaned stee! Loss of adhesion ~— Coating with strong solvents Oxidatively curing coating pp Mbrasive blastcleaned steel Figure 7.3 Recoating of oxidatively curing coatings with a coating containing strong solvents, may result in liftings Causes Liftings can be the result if recoating oxidatively curing coating with coatings con- taining strong solvents. The strong solvents will cause lifting or swelling of the underlying coat. The solvents penetrate the coating and “stretch” out the network formed between the binder molecules during the curing process. Other reasons for liftings may be wax on the surface, insufficient drying of the underlying coat or poor adhesion between the coats. For some coatings a time interval may be specified in which the risk of liftings is high in the case of recoating. Repair If liftings or swelling occur in the previous coating film application must be stopped immediately. Liftings may be an indication that the underlying coat is an oxida- tively curing coating. The coating is not resistant to the solvents in the coating that is being applied on top of it. In the case we do not know if the old coating is an alkyd coating or oil coating this must be checked. This is done by wetting a rag with a strong solvent, for example ketone, and subsequently leave the rag on the surface for some minutes. If wrinkling occurs the coating is most likely an oxidatively curing coating. Any coat- ing on areas with liftings should be removed. Defects in the surface From time to time various defects may appear in the surface. A major part of these defects have their own names. 214 Corrosion PROTECTIONVacuoles/voids and blistering Blistering in coatings is often divided into two categories: 1, Blisters appearing when applying the paint or immediately after 2. Blisters appearing after a period of outdoor exposure Voids in coatings may be due to entrapped solvents or air in the coating film. With time such voids may attract moisture, causing blistering in the coating system. Due to reduced dry film thickness of areas with voids corrosion protection of such an area will become weaker. If a coating has been applied in a too high dry film thick- ness, a large number of voids can be found in the coating, however, voids may also relate to the formulation of the paint. In some cases, the cause of the problem may be entrapped air in the paint if the paint has been just stirred. Vacuoles/voids Figure 7.4 Vacuoles/voids in a coating If blisters occur in the coating over time, the result is loss of adhesion and the coating film will lift itself from the underlying coat or metal. The size of the blisters may vary from tiny blisters, which are only visible with the help of a magnifying glass to large blisters visible to the naked eye. The shape of the blisters is often spherical. The blisters may be either dry or filled with a liquid substance. The size of the blisters depends on the adhesion to the | substfate. The internal pressure in the blisters will expand the blisters to a point where the pressure will balance the adhesion of the coating to the underlying coat or metal. If the size of blisters increases it is often an indication of further loss of adhesion. | Water-soluble contaminants fp Ve High amount of moisture Ablister Ue Figure 7.5 A blister in the coating 7 Coanne Fanures 215‘Causes Entrapped gas or solvents often cause voids in coatings. Blisters may be caused by, porous areas in the substrate (small air pockets) or by water penetrating the coating due to osmosis. Entrapped solvents may be caused by skin drying of the coating or too early recoating. The solvents are unable to evaporate sufficiently and will consequently remain in the coating. Water Oxygen Air bubbles Soe Serta SS 7o> | Water Oxygen Corrosion product 7},— rorasive blast-cieaned steel ,- Abrasive blast-cleaned stee! Abrasive blast-cleaned steel Figure 7.6 Blisters and voids in the coating will provide insufficient protection of the steel When a coating has been applied and has become dry, the amount of water in the coating will begin to counterbalance the amount of water in the air. When humidity migrates through a paint or other types of coatings, it is called osmosis. This means that water is transported from a solution with a lower concentration to another solution with a higher concentration. Contamination in the form of sea salts is common in a marine atmosphere. If surfaces contaminated with sea salts are recoated and later immersed, humidity will penetrate the paint film to the contaminants. At first, the contaminant attracts humidity, resulting in a strong saline solution. In order to thin the solution more humidity will penetrate the coating until equilibrium has been reached. Blistering will occur in these areas. If the coating has been applied to a carefully cleaned substrate, the humidity absorbed will not cause any particular damage. The substrate might as well be 216 Corrosion protectionattacked by aggressive solutions as hydrochloric acid, ammonia and the like. If humidity has accumulated beneath a coating due to osmosis, the result will be a corrosion product. When the substrate starts to corrode, the coating will begin to rupture, causing further breakdown. Figure 7.7 Vacuoles/voids in a topcoat Repair Incase entrapped gases or solvents are found in the paint during application, appli- cation must be stopped immediately and the reason for the entrapped gases or sol- vents found. If the reason cannot be established, the paint manufacturer should be contacted. Any coating in the affected area must be removed and a new coating system must be applied. In case of heavy blistering, the entire coating system must be removed and a new system applied. If blistering is due to salts on the substrate, the surface must be cleaned with high pressure fresh water hosing after the coating has been removed. In most cases, blistering can be avoided by selecting a suitable coating, ensuring proper pretreatment of the surface, applying the paint in thin coats, ensuring long drying times, etc. | Craters or popping Coating failures as small cup-shaped hollows in the coating film are generally called craters or solvent pops. Sometimes, a glassy film around the craters can be seen. 7 Coarinc Fanures 217Solvents and air escaping the coating film — Wet coating film <— Porous zinc etry silicate Yj, «— Aorasive blast-cleaned steel Solvents and air escaping the coating film <— Semicry coating film ; <— Zinc ethyl silicate Y]}, <— Horasive biastcleaned steel Craters x ‘NS <— Dry coating film <— Zinc ethy silicate Yj, <— Horasive blastcleaned ste! Figure 7.8 Craters may occur if the coating surface has started to dry before solvents have evaporated Causes In general, popping occurs in connection with solvents or air escaping the wet coating film. When these solvents or air reach the coating surface, the amount of solvents already evaporated is so high that the coating is no longer able to form a coherent film. The solvents or the air bubbles will break, causing craters in the coating. See Figure 7.9. Until the mid 90’s zinc ethyl silicate was the most predominant primer used within the offshore industry. This coating provided excellent corrosion protection, however, it was also very porous. Application in a dry film thickness of 100 mi- crons or higher directly on top of the zinc silicate primer caused extensive forma- tion of craters in the coating. This could be avoided by applying a thin coat, a tie coat. In general, a tie coat is a coating containing a high amount of solvents to drive out air in the porous zinc silicate coating. If the tie coat has been applied in a too high dry film thickness, or the painting area was too draughty, craters could never- theless occur. Repair It may be required to lightly sand areas with such coating failures and apply a new coat. 218 CorROSION PROTECTIONFigure 7.9 Craters and pinholes in one of the plates Fisheyes Fisheyes are characterized by small areas with insufficient wetting of the steel or the underlying coat during paint application. This type of coating failure is often mistaken for cratering or popping. Causes The most common reason for fisheyes is oil from compressed air or silicone con- tamination from for example grease, hand cream or polishing wax on the surface. The coating failure generally appears as a small spot that remains on the surface in the centre of the failure. The spot contains paint and silicone contamination while paint has been drawn away from the surrounding area. The coating is unable to wet the surface or previous coat Repair If this type of failure appears while the coating is still wet, the wet paint of the affected areas should be removed and possibly wiped off with a rag soaked in solvents. Prior to continue spraying, the reason for failure should be established in order to avoid the failure to reoccur. The most common reason for fisheyes is a faulty compressor, which may lead to oil contamination in the compressed air. The white rag test can be performed to establish if this is the reason. A white rag is held approx. 60 centimetres from the blasting hose, the supply of abrasives is tumed off and air is run through the blasting hose towards the rag. If oil is present in the compressed air, small black spots will appear on the white rag. If oil is not present in the compressed air, the contamination is most likely to be found on the steel and consequently careful washing with solvents must be carried out. An improvised 7 Coatine FALURES §219solution may be to add a special additive to the paint. An anti-fisheye additive may prevent this type of coating failure. In case the failure is found after the coating has cured, areas with fisheyes should be ground. The coating system is subsequently to be built up again. However, it may be difficult to eliminate the problem entirely despite grinding as some paint dust will always remain on the surface. Some of the dust may contain silicone particles. Silicone contamination a — wet costing tim <— Primer = 1 WUUOOOWOW!W000- Blast-cleaned stee! <— Wet coating film =— Primer Seen from above Figure 7.10 Fisheye Pinholes Small craters, holes or pits in the coating film are often called pinholes, Areas with pinholes are easy to see by the naked eye. Such areas are weak points in the coating system. Causes Pinholes often occur due to air or solvents, escaping from the coating while the coating has not yet dried out and formed a coherent film. Pinholes may be caused by spraying paint onto a hot substrate, incomplete atomization of the paint or en- trapped solvents. In the case of recoating zinc-rich coatings, a thin coat, a flash coat, to drive air out from the zinc coating should be applied first. Direct application of a thick coat often causes pinholes in the next coat. 220 Corrosion PROTECTIONThis type of failure often occurs in connection with craters or popping. How- ever, pinholes go directly down through the coating film and lack the edges that are found with craters. However, combinations of these types of failures also occur. Air and solvent escaping the coating <— Wet intermediate coat { Drying Crater Pinhole i | <— Dry intermediate coat <— Primer coat Uf}, «— Biastcleaned steel Figure 7.11 Pinholes in a coating Repair It is almost impossible to avoid new pinholes just by applying the next paint coat by airless spray. To avoid pinholes the paint must be worked into the surface with a brush. To avoid similar failures at a later stage, we could attempt to adjust the viscos- ity and atomization of the paint. Solvents that evaporate more slowly and that are recommended by the paint manufacturer can also be used. Cracking Checking Checking means that the coating breaks down due to cracking in the surface. The appearance of the checking pattern may vary. These kinds of fissures are of a less serious nature than is cracking where the fissures are deeper and go through at least ‘one coat. 7 Coane Farures 221i | | Causes One of the causes for checking may be that the coating becomes harder and more brittle, Coatings applied in a too high film thickness also have a tendency to crack. Furthermore, hard coatings applied on top of soft coatings are prone to checking. = Topcoat = Intermediate coat S Primer coat Figure 7.12 Fissures in the coating surface In general, this type of failure cannot be ascribed to wrong formulation of paint or wrong painting specification. Repair In many cases, checking is not found out until a later stage. It can be found in different levels in the topcoat. In some cases, it is right in the top of the coating whereas in other cases it goes down deeper in the topcoat. If deemed necessary it may be relevant to remove the coating that has fissures in the surface and then apply another coat that is more in line with the underlying coating, Cracking Cracking is fissures that are more heavy and deeper than checking. Cracking is generally divided into two main types: The one type is caused by a higher flexibility or softness of the underlying coat compared with the topcoat (cracking). Cracking may go all the way down to the metal and the cracking pattern is often found in hard coatings applied on top of soft coatings. The other type occurs when spraying zinc ethyl silicate in too thick coats (mud cracking). Cracking may go all the way down to the metal. Causes The causes for cracking may be that the coating cures and shrinks to a higher extent that that of the underlying coating. This is often the case with application of an oxidative or chemically curing paint to a more soft type of paint, for example a physically drying paint. ‘Some coatings may crack due to outdoor exposure. Especially coal tar epoxies are prone to cracking if exposed to sunlight. The surface of the coal tar epoxy 222 —CorRosION PROTECTIONcoating becomes hard whereas the coating is soft farther down. Cracking may also occur if surfaces applied with oxidative and chemically curing coatings are ex- posed to great fluctuations of temperatures. Furthermore, chlorinated rubber topcoats on top of chlorinated rubber coatings may cause cracking the reason being that the plasticiser in the topcoat is lost. Zinc ethy| silicate is a special type of coating having a high tendency to cracking if applied in too thick coats. The recommended dry film thickness is around 75 microns varying from product to product. Zinc ethy! silicate applied in a higher dry film thickness than 100 microns may cause mud cracking of the product in ques- tion The term mud cracking is used since the coating looks like a hardened, solid mass of mud. ~<— Topcoat —<— Primer coat Y;, ~<— Biastcleaned steel! Seen from above [— <—Zinc ethy! silicate WH, a—vioss.cieaned steel Figure 7.13 Cracking of zinc ethyl silicate igure 7.14 Photo of cracking of zinc ethyl silicate 7 Coarnine FaLuRES 223Repair Repair depends on how deep the cracking pattern goes down. Sometimes, cracking must be accepted whereas other times the coating can be removed down to the underlying coat. If a soft coating is to be recoated, coatings which are harder than the underlying coat should not be used. In the case of coating zinc ethyl silicates, all the coating should be removed followed by application of a new and thinner coat and the coating should be al- lowed to cure in a relatively high humidity. Cosmetic defects Wrinkling Small wrinkles can occur in a paint film, fully or partly through the entire thickness of the paint film. The defect occurs more or less as steady waves in the paint film. <— Wet coating, which is too thick Wrinkiing, oe =< Dry paint film 7, <— Abrasive blastcleaned steel Figure 7.15. Wrinkling Causes Wrinkling is for example found in connection with alkyd coatings, which dry from the surface and inward because oxygen is absorbed. Wrinkling appears in the coat- ing if the paint has been applied in too thick coats and/or has been applied at too high or too low temperatures. 224 Corrosion PROTECTIONRepair If wrinkling appears in the coating, the coating will not dry completely. The coating must be scraped off and a new and thinner coat applied. Bleeding Bleeding may develop in connection with application of black coatings as bitumen, asphalt or coatings containing coal tar. In the case of recoating a coal tar epoxy with for example a white alkyd coating, a chlorinated rubber coating or an epoxy coating, the topcoat will become discoloured. The colour of the topcoat will change from white to more yellowish/orownish. Bleeding often occurs in connection with coatings based on bitumen, tar or asphalt. Bleeding also appears in cases where the pigment in the underlying coat (often red pigments) has not been completely ground together with solvent and binder, ‘— Light colour coating Coating containing coal tar — Abrasive blastcleaned stee! { Discolouration of topcoat Bi — Coating containing coal tar —— Abrasive blastcleaned ste! £- Discolouration of topcoat White coating becomes yellowish/brownish Figure 7.16 Bleeding or discolouration of topcoat Causes | A diffusion of a coloured substance takes place through the coating film from the i underlying coat or from the substrate. This diffusion causes the next coat and/or | coatings to become discoloured, which is not desirable. Small remnants of bitumen | ortar may result in bleeding even after abrasive blast cleaning. | 1 | Repair Itis difficult to avoid this coating defect once it has occurred. If a light-coloured topcoat is applied it will tum yellowish or brownish. If a coat of aluminium-pigmented epoxy mastic paint is applied, bleeding can be avoided in most cases, but not en- tirely. If the topcoat is white, the end product will most likely tum off-white. Yellow topcoats turns brownish. 7 Coarine Faiwures 225Blushing Blushing is seen as a flattening white discoloration of the surface after the coating has dried or cured. Blushing or milky discolouration often occurs in connection with amine-cured epoxy coatings, coal tar epoxy coatings or polyurethane coat- ings. Causes The reason for a coating to become flat or matt can be that solvents evaporate too rapidly, resulting in incomplete compatibility or too high humidity or too much water being present on the surface while the coating dries or after the coating has dried out. When the solvents evaporate from the coating, the temperature of the coating drops. This can lead to humidity, condensating on the surface, causing a flattened film. Repair Blushing can be avoided in most cases if the coating is applied under more favour- able conditions. In most product data sheets for coatings an upper limit of humidity allowed during application and drying has been specified. If itis early in the morning, it can be recommended to postpone painting until later in the day provided the application conditions are expected to improve. | High relative humidity <— Wet coating <— Primer coat WOOO, <— rwrasive blastcleaned steel <— Dry coating <— Primer coat Y]}j, <— Porosive blastcleaned stee! Blushing <— Dry coating film + Primer coat <— Abrasive blastcleaned stee! Figure 7.17 Blushing of coatings 226 Corrosion PROTECTIONWater stains When commencing painting we may be so unfortunate as to find areas with con- densation or water present on the surface, or it may start to rain while the coating i: still freshly applied. This may cause defects in the coating film. If water stain occur in a coating system, the appearance depends on when the water came ir contact with the surface. Causes If condensation or water is present on the surface prior to coating. this may appea- as small indentations or pinholes when the water starts to evaporate through th coating film. If the coating system has just been applied and it starts to rain or in the case 07 condensation on the surface, large or small craters will in most cases develop wh water drops will accumulate. Within these areas, the coating in the craters may ais look more flat compared to the rest of the surface. Repair Generally, water stains only occurs in connection with small areas and therefore :: is not always necessary to do anything about it. If the damage is to be repaired. th: area must be finely ground with fine sandpaper and a new coat applied. High relative humidity Condensation or water droplets | “4 <— Wet coating <— Primer coat YY <— Abrasive blastcleaned steel Water stains Ld <— Dry coating <— Primer coat <— Abrasive blastcleaned steel Water stains, craters -+— Dry coating film <— Primer coat '<— Abrasive blastcleaned ste! Figure 7.18 a Water stains caused by rain 7 Coatins Fay aaaCondensation between coats —_A— _ <— Wet coating eA <— Primer coat GOPOOTWOOOOOOOO, —_Posasive blastcleaned stee! — Dry coating <— Primer coat Yj, +— Norasive blastcleaned ste! Pores caused by condensation oO Figure 7.18 b Water stains caused by condensation Chalking Whether a coating is chalking can be established by rubbing the finger across the coating surface. If the coating is chalking, its loose surface will come off on the finger. Chalking leaves a fine powder on the surface. The powder may resemble the dust generated when writing with chalk, hence the name. Additives and pigments in the coatings are no longer tightly bound together by the binder. Causes Chalking is caused by decomposition of the binder after some time due to the at- mospheric conditions. The tendency to chalking also varies with the type of coating used. Exterior coatings, which have been formulated to be recoated with coatings more tolerant to sunlight, may have a higher tendency to chalking. Both epoxy coatings and coal tar epoxy coatings are liable to chalking. This is one of the rea- sons why epoxy systems should be recoated with a topcoat of for example poly- urethane. Repair Only relatively small areas are generally broken down by chalking. Therefore, it is only in a few cases that the coating must be removed completely and a new coat applied. In most cases, it is sufficient to clean the surface by rubbing and brushing carefully prior to recoating the surface. Some two-component paints further re- 228 —CorROSION PROTECTIONquire the surface to be roughened prior to recoating. This will enhance the adhesion of the new coating to the old coating. To avoid chalking, it is important to use a paint, which does not have a strong tendency to chalk, as a topcoat. As a topcoat in epoxy systems, polyurethane or acrylic modified epoxy coatings are generally used. ‘Sunlight =— Epoxy topcoat TOTO =~ Epoxy topcoat ~~ Primer coat Uji Morasive biast-cleaned stee! Chalking of epoxy Epoxy topcoat Primer coat Abrasive blast-cleaned steel Figure 7.19 Breakdown of binder in the paint film causes the coating to chalk Application defects Dry spray/overspray Dry spray/overspray often causes the coated surface to become rough and often porous. The coating will appear almost like a piece of sandpaper. Spray dust “=— Primer coat QUWHOCTCW!W=™”?”™RPNW"v-— ®ve Waa scleanes steel Figure 7.20 After dry spraying/overspray, spray dust will be deposited on the surface Causes A too long spraying distance will often result in dry spray. In the case the spraying distance is too long, too much of the solvents will evaporate on the way from the spray gun to the object. Consequently, the paint will be more or less dry when it hits 7 Coane Faures 229the surface. As too much of the solvent has evaporated, the film forming properties of the coating will be insufficient, resulting in a rough surface. [2] ‘The problem may also occur in connection with spray application under too hot conditions. Then the solvents in the coating will evaporate too rapidly. It may espe- cially be difficult to avoid dry spray when spraying zinc ethyl silicate coatings. Figure 7.21 Dry spray on a coating Repair Repair depends on the type of coating, being applied. Damage of physically drying coatings can be made good by applying carefully a suitable thinner to the object or by applying a new thin coat. As these coatings are soluble, dust will dissolve into the rest of the coating. Itis more difficult to repair oxidatively and chemically curing coatings this way, as these coatings are not soluble. Therefore, any dust must initially be removed from the surface followed by flattening by sandpapering and recoating with a new topcoat. Itis difficult to make good the damage without grinding. The result is not satis- factory and the appearance of the coating may remind of orange peel Orange peel This type of coating defect reminds of orange peel and is often a result of insuffi- cient film formation. This will lead to a somewhat uneven and rough coating sur- face. 230 Corrosion PROTECTIONSeen from above Orange peel £ — Topcoat Intermediate coat YU Primer coat Abrasive blast-cleaned steel Figure 7.22 Orange peel Causes Orange peel may be due to insufficient atomization of the coating caused by low pressure or incorrect viscosity of the paint. Orange peel may also be a result of too fast evaporation of the solvents in the coating. The coating has not spread out properly on the surface. Such fast drying will leave a pattern in the coating while it is still wet. [3] : The reasons may also be a combination of these conditions, One example is dry spraying with a too long spraying distance. Recoating at a later stage may cause an appearance like orange peel. To some extent, correct spraying distance and spray angle will reduce the amount of over-spray. Repair In the case requirements to the appearance are high, the damage can be repaired by grinding or by abrasive blast cleaning of the surface prior to application of a new coat. Sags and curtains Sags and curtains are the result of applying a too heavy coat on a surface. When applying paint on a surface, the paint will at some point no longer hang onto the vertical surface and will start to run or sag. Sags and curtains may easily occur when apply coatings that have a low solids volume. Causes Paint applied to old, but smooth and glossy surfaces, may result in sagging. Also a thick, wet coating film may begin to sag. When thinning paint it is important to follow the recommendations provided by the paint supplier. : If a coating is applied under cold conditions, the solvents will evaporate at a slow rate. In addition with inadequate ventilation this may result in an atmosphere saturated with solvents, adding to the sagging. 7 Coane Faures 234Y Y hk ~ Front view of eefet Figure 7.23 Sags Repair Ifcurtaining occurs during paint application the best aesthetic result is obtained by brushing over immediately the area in question with a small brush. If the cause for this type of failure is due to too high film thickness of the coating itis obvious that also entrapped solvents may begin to cause sagging. This is some- times acceptable, however, if it is to be eliminated, the coating may be ground and anew, thin coat must be applied. Coatings remaining soft Sometimes the coating film may continue to remain soft despite the curing time has elapsed (according to the data sheet). Causes Coatings can become soft in the case the coating has been applied in a too high dry film thickness. The reason may also bee too low temperatures during paint applica- tion, which will impede curing, or the ventilation may have been inadequate, not allowing evaporation of the solvents. Repair If the cause for insufficient curing is due to a too thick coating, this can be estab- lished by making a cut in the coating to check the extent of cavities. If the extent of cavities is considerable, we should assess whether the coating should be removed 232 —CorROSION PROTECTIONand a new coat applied in the specified film thickness. In the case no cavities are found in the coating and continuous curing of the coating is still possible, the best possible curing conditions must be provided. <— Wet coating, which has been applied too thick Zi Lia —— Soft coating film Zi LZ Vdd Figure 7.24 Coating remains soft Rough surface areas or contamination in the surface Any painting work requires that the steel has been welll prepared and that the qual- ity of the surface preparation is satisfactory. It is easy to spot rough surfaces with small or large particles, sticking up from the coating. Residues of abrasives <— Wet coating 3, =<— Abrasive blast-cleaned steel Li } Abrasives sticking up from the coating 7 Coane raures 233Causes Such failures may be due to weld spatters, dirt or abrasives present on the surface prior to coating. The cause is therefore often insufficient cleaning. Also large amounts of dust and abrasives on the surface prior to coating may result in poor adhesion. Repair Such areas should be ground or treated in a similar reasonable way. Remaining loose dust is removed by compressed air. Degradation of coating Despite proper surface preparation and proper paint application under favourable conditions, the lifetime of a coating will be limited. The atmospheric conditions determine the rate of the breakdown. By atmospheric conditions are meant condi- tions such as air, wind, sun and rain and furthermore contamination caused by humans. The following conditions are especially important in connection with degrada- tion of the coating: Air, especially oxygen and ozone are active Air contamination such as sour gasses of sulphur oxides and nitric oxides Sunlight, especially ultraviolet rays Water such as rain, snow, hails, splashes of seawater, fog and water vapours Temperatures, especially high temperatures and rapid variations in temperature Some of these conditions mean little to the underlying material, for example sun- light while others will contribute strongly to breakdown of a coating. Organic binders, which are present in most coatings, will degrade by reactions caused by ultraviolet light. These reactions may only take place in the outer layer of the coating. This causes the binder to break down and washed away, laying bare pigment'and additive particles in the coating surface. This will leave a flattened coating film and maybe the coating will begin to chalk or fade. Epoxy coatings, which have otherwise good resistance properties, are weak in this respect. In other cases, the reactions may cause changes in the entire coating. This causes the coating to become more brittle with the years. Especially alkyd coatings are prone to this phenomenon. Substances, which are washed out of the coating, may cause the internal ten- sions in the coating film to increase and the coating starts to crack. Variations in exposure to humidity will cause the coating film to take up water for a period, resulting in swelling of the coating. In the next phase, the coating dries out and shrinks accordingly. Consequently, the internal tensions will fluctuate con- tinuously. Also constant fluctuations of temperatures during the day cause changes of the mechanical properties in the coating. These different types of exposures should be considered normal in the atmos- pheric conditions the coatings are exposed to. Combined they will cause ageing of the coating. The ability to resist the ageing process changes with the type of binder. 234 —CorRosion proTECTION