P R O B L E M S O LV I N G F O R U M

Checking for Contaminants

After Solvent Cleaning

Q
QA
A
Answer the new coating.
Y. Noel and Marc Arav
EMTS
& Foreign matter: This is more
difficult to address, because
Aix-en-Provence, France: there are a number of foreign
There are a large number of matters that can contaminate
national standards inspired by the surface and that wont nec-
Swedish Standard SIS 05 59 00 Many surface preparation standards essarily disappear with cleaning
(1967). These include DIN 55 (e.g., dust, welding residues,
928 Part 4 (1977), TGL 18730/02
call for the removal of dust, dirt, and water-soluble salts). Sur-
(1977), DS 2019 (1967), AS 1627 and similar contaminants from steel face coatings are not compatible
Part 9 (1974), ASTM D2200 after solvent cleaning. Is there a with these kinds of contami-
(1980), JSRA SPSS (1975), SSPC- recognised test to verify the removal nants, and so they must be re-
Vis 1-82, and ISO 8501-1 (1988), moved.
of these contaminants?
all of which deal with the visual ISO 8502, Preparation of
evaluation of the cleanliness of a Steel Substrates Before Applica-
steel surface. tion of Paints and Related ProductsTests for the As-
ISO 8501, Preparation of Steel Substrates Before sessment of Surface Cleanliness, describes various
Application of Paints and Related ProductsVisual methods of evaluating the cleanliness of a surface,
Assessment of Surface Cleanliness, adopted the including the following:
prime elements of SIS 05 59 00, adding a section on Part 1: Field Test for Soluble Iron Corrosion Prod-
preparation of previously coated steel substrates. ucts;
With the help of 28 photographs, it points out the re- Part 2: Laboratory Determination of Chloride on
lationship between cleanliness of a steel substrate Cleaned Surfaces;
and its appearance under normal vision. Part 3: Assessment of Dust on Steel Surfaces Pre-
The preparation grades in the standard are defined pared for Painting (Pressure-Sensitive Tape Method);
by describing the appearance of the surface after Part 4: Guidance on the Estimation of the Proba-
cleaning. In each case, it mentions that the surface bility of Condensation Prior to Paint Application;
shall be free from visible oil, grease, and dirt as well Part 5: Measurement of Chloride on Steel Surfaces
as from all mill scale, rust, paint coatings, and for- Prepared for Painting (Ion Detection Tube Method);
eign matters. Part 6: Extraction of Soluble Contaminants for
Following is information concerning each of these AnalysisThe Bresle Method;
categories. Part 9: Field Method for the Conductimetric Deter-
Visible oil, grease, and dirt: There are only a few mination of Water-soluble Salts; and
coatings that can adhere to these contaminants, and Part 10: Field Method for the Titrimetric Determi-
so they must be removed by the different means nation of Chloride.
known. Use of these standardised test methods can signifi-
Mill scale, rust, and previous coatings: The grade cantly improve the results of protective coating work,
of preparation depends on the expected coating life- although not without some difficulties mainly as a
time. Nowadays there are a number of methods to result of acceptability criteria that are not precisely
clean and blast clean a surface. described, required changes in work habits, and as-
Previous coatings: It is necessary to check sociated increases in costs that are not particularly
whether they are still adherent and compatible with well accepted in the market.

4 PCE July 1998 Copyright 1998, Technology Publishing Company

 P R O B L E M S O LV I N G F O R U M

Answer following solvent cleaning operations. This light

Dr. Nigel Whitehouse can work in several ways.
Paint Research Association Many shop contaminants are hydrocarbon-
Teddington, UK: based (e.g., grease and oils). They will fluoresce
Dust, dirt, and similar particulate contamination left under black light, highlighting areas that need to
on the surface of steel after solvent cleaning can be be cleaned again. Clean bare metal has no reaction
seen visually in good lightwith the unaided eye if the (black) under ultraviolet light.
particulates are of reasonable size (50100 microme- Some cleaning solvents will fluoresce under
tres in diameter or more) and with a hand lens (10X) black light, again highlighting areas that were not
if the particulates are small (less than 50 micrometres). completely cleaned.
A test method that involves pressure-sensitive tape I have also used a combination of a fluorescent
is used sometimes, however. It has been standardised dye and solvent applied to a metal surface to pro-
in ISO 8502-3, Preparation of Steel Substrates Before duce a uniform fluorescent response. Clean rags
Application of Paints and Related Products-Tests for are then used to wipe the surface until the fluo-
the Assessment of Surface CleanlinessPart 3: Assess- rescence is completely removed. I have found that
ment of Dust on Steel Surfaces Prepared for Painting it requires extra effort to remove the solvent from
(Pressure-Sensitive Tape Method). cracks, joints, and welds, which would probably
The standard provides pictorial ratings for the as- be overlooked in normal solvent cleaning
sessment of the average quantity of particulate conta- operations.
mination and descriptive classes for the assessment of
the average size of the particles.
The method may be carried out as a simple pass/fail
test against a previously agreed limit. It can also pro-
vide a permanent record of the particulate contamina-
tion present on a surface.
The test is conducted as follows:
A pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is pressed onto
the steel surface prepared for painting.
The tape, with the dust adhering to it, is then re-
moved and placed on a display board of a colour in
contrast to that of the particulate contaminants, and it
is examined visually.
The quantity of contamination adhering to the
tape is estimated by comparison with the pictorial ref-
erences in the standard. There are five pictorial refer-
ences corresponding to dust quantity ratings 1 to 5.
On solvent-cleaned smooth steel (cold-rolled), the
application of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape may
leave adhesive residues on the steel in the test area if
the level of particulate contamination is low. There-
fore, the tape test should be used only when necessary,
since it may remove one contaminant and introduce
another.

Answer
Jim Deardorff
Superior Coatings, Inc.
Chillicothe, MO, USA:
A black light (365 nanometre ultraviolet light)
can be used to verify the removal of contaminants

Copyright 1998, Technology Publishing Company PCE July 1998 5