There are many methods for surface preparation in the coating industry, including abrasive blasting, power tools and hand tools. Experience proved that abrasive blasting is the best method for surface preparation, however it has some limitations for coating repair such as accessibility, time constrain and damaging to surrounding area, etc. New power tool technology was recently introduced to improve the performance of conventional power tool and hand tool methods. In this study, we have evaluated workability and coating performance with different surface preparation methods in accordance with international test standards.
To achieve adequate protection of assets, use of a protective coating is one of predominant methods used in the oil and gas industry. There are several factors contribute in the coating service life, including surface preparation, coating application, coating material and environmental conditions. It is well known in the coating industry that 70% of the coating failures are attributed to improper surface preparation.
Coating applications for new construction is executed at the shop where the area is under a controlled environment. However, maintenance and repair coatings are applied at the field where it is difficult to control the environment. Accordingly, it is hard to obtain a good coating application compared to new construction. In addition, when maintenance coating is carried out in areas that are difficult to access, the cost of maintenance coating can be up to 20 times more expensive than shop applied coating [1]. For some areas, it is difficult to use abrasive blasting and power tools are the only option. However, power tools do not provide the required surface preparation for industrial coatings that are used in critical services. For this reason, it becomes essential to evaluate alternative surface preparation methods that can provide acceptable performance to enhance coating service life.
