Prepared By: Renato B.

Bermillo
 BACKGROUND
 OBJECTIVES
 STANDARDS
 CONTAMINANTS
 CLEANING PROCESSES
◦ Abrasive Blasting
 Dry Blasting
 Wet Blasting
 Inhibitors
 Abrasives
◦ Manual and Power Tool Cleaning
 Chipping and Needle gunning
 Wire brushing
 Disc Sanding
 Grinding tools
 INSPECTION AND TESTING TOOLS FOR SURFACE PREPARATION
 DEGREE OF SURFACE PREPARATION & DEFINITIONS
 FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEGREE OF REQUIRED SURFACE PREPARATION
 PREPARATION OF OTHER METALS THAN STEEL
 RUST GRADES ACCORDING TO NACE
 Controlling corrosion is a multi-billion dollars
industry (products and services)– including
application of protective coating
 Dow spent $25MM in 2009 and allotted
$42MM budget for 2010 to address CUI
(corrosion under insulation) assessments
alone
 85% of all paint failures can be traced back to
insufficient surface preparation
 Surface preparation is to a coating system as
what a foundation is to a building
 Surface Cleanliness
To remove from the surface any substance
detrimental to the performance of paints; the
enemies of paint performance are, especially: mill
scale, rust, soluble salts, dust, oil, and grease.

 Surface Profile
To create a profile, an “anchor pattern”, of the
substrate for the specific coating system to be
applied.
 Mill scale – surface oxides (mainly iron oxides) formed
during the hot rolling of steel, expands and contracts at a
rate different to that of steel; cracks, breaks, and flakes,
damaging any coating applied over it; more noble than
steel, it can give rise to galvanic corrosion of the steel.

 Rust – it is porous and mechanically weak, too weak to

support a paint coating. Paints applied over rust will break
down very easily.

 Salts – no paint coating is completely impermeable to

water, soluble salts will swell under coating and will cause
osmotic blistering, adhesion failure and early corrosion.
 Oil/Grease – most paint binders are repelled,
rather than attracted by oil and grease; will cause
poor adhesion and detachment of paint.

 Dust – most paint adhere well to dust but will lift

the dust from the substrate, the result being
detachment of both dust and paint coating.

 Old paint system – lack of adhesion and not

being compatible with the new paint system.
 Degreasing – oil and grease are most effectively removed
by the use of an emulsifiers (possibly preceded by
scraping and solvent wash). Hot water steam cleaning
and/or scrubbing enhances the effect of emulsifiers. The
emulsified contaminants are removed by high pressure
(1,100~2,200 psi) hosing with fresh, clean water.

 Desalting – degreasing method can be used; soluble salts

are removed by plenty of fresh, clean water, either applied
at high pressure or, if applied at low pressure, supported
by vigorous scrubbing.

 Dust – often removed by high pressure air blowing; air

should be oil and moisture free.
Automatic plants are usually based
on number of centrifugal wheels
throwing the abrasive onto the work
pieces, which are placed on a moving
conveyor.
Open nozzle dry abrasive
blasting uses compressed air
as propellant for the abrasive.
 Open nozzle blasting
Shot blasting machine
equipment
 Water abrasive blasting – water at
73~725psi is added at the nozzle to a
stream of air propelled abrasive
(pressure at nozzle is at 90~100psi

 Slurry blasting – small amount of water,

introduced at a control unit upstream
from the nozzle, produces a slurry
which is propelled by compressed air
(85~90psi)

 Water blasting – water at

3,000~10,000psi

 Hydro blasting – water up to 40,000psi

Nozzle arrangement for

Wet Blasting
Wet Abrasive Blasting
All wet blasting methods contain a tendency to cause
flash rust which can be delayed by using inhibitors.

 Inhibitors – are water soluble chemicals retarding

corrosion by passivation of the steel surface; added
to the water in wet blasting, they may delay flash
rusting for hours.

 Inhibitors tend to form crystalline materials which, if

not removed, may cause osmotic blistering.

 As a rule, inhibitors should not be used in areas that

are to be immersed for any length of time.
Factors affecting the required profile and the greatest efficiency
while using abrasives are:

 Particle size/size distribution – Large abrasives will cut deeper

but slower than a small or fine abrasives when comparing same
amount of abrasive. Too fine abrasives will result in the desired
anchor pattern not being achieved. Grain size of 0.2~1.8mm are
considered the most advantageous for cleaning of steel.

 Hardness – Influence both surface roughness and the rate of

work. Hard abrasives cut deeper and faster than soft or brittle
ones.

 Breakdown characteristics – the manner in which abrasive

particles scatter, and change their shape on impact on the
surface.
Shape of abrasive particles Surface of shot blasted surface –
round, near spherical, and gives a
determine the surface profile dimpled surface profile.
The most commonly used abrasives are:

 Sand, silica sand or quartz sand, crushed flints: low in cost and
effective, creates dust and hazard of silicosis (prohibited inside
EQUATE), and not recycled.

 Metallic abrasives, especially steel shot and grit; are efficient, hard,
and dust free. They are costly and recycled several times. Care must be
taken in storage to prevent rusting.

 Slag abrasives, copper slag, nickel slag, etc. ; are by-products of the ore
and power industries. Fast cutting but have a relatively high breakdown
rate, and are not normally recycled.

 Synthetic abrasives, such as aluminum oxides (corundum) and silicone

carbide, are non-metallic but have properties similar to metallic grit
with the advantage of non-rusting. Very hard, low dusting, and fast
cutting. Costly and therefore usually recycled.
Cleaning by traditional manual and power tool method is always labor
intensive, and often ineffective. Used for maintenance work or for
preparation of steel in non-aggressive environments.

 Wire brushing – whether by hand brushes or powered rotary brushes

 Disc sanding – more effective than wire brushing, and particularly suited
for feathering of edges and removal of weld spatter in maintenance
work, but has little effect in corners.

 Grinding tools – fitted with correctly shaped heads, are effective for
rounding edges, cleaning pits, smoothening rough welds, and removing
weld spatters, burrs or other protuberances.

 Chipping and Needle gunning – may prove useful for the loosening or
removal of heavy rust scale
 NACE – National Association of Corrosion
Engineers
◦ NACE 1, White Metal Blast Cleaning
◦ NACE 2, Near-White Blast Cleaning
◦ NACE 3, Commercial Blast Cleaning
 Sa, St – Swedish Standards
◦ St 2, Hand Tool Cleaning
◦ St 3, Power Tool Cleaning
◦ Sa 1, Brush-off Blast Cleaning
◦ Sa 2 ½, Near-White Blast Cleaning
◦ Sa 3, White Metal Blast Cleaning
 SSPC-SP – Steel Structures Painting Council-
Surface Preparation
◦ SP-1, Solvent Cleaning
◦ SP-2, Hand Tool Cleaning
◦ SP-3, Power Tool Cleaning
◦ SP-4, Flame Cleaning
◦ SP-5, White Metal Blasting
◦ SP-6, Commercial Blast Cleaning
◦ SP-7, Brush-off Blast Cleaning
◦ SP-8, Pickling
◦ SP-9, Weathering Followed by Blast Cleaning
◦ SP-10, Near-White Blast Cleaning
 SSPC-SP–1: Solvent Cleaning
Removal of all detrimental foreign matter such as oil, grease, dirt,
soil, salts, drawing or cutting compounds, and other contaminants
from steel surface by use of solvents, emulsions, cleaning
compounds, steam or other similar materials and methods which
involve a solvent or cleaning action.

 SSPC-SP-2: Hand Tool Cleaning, St 2

Removal of all rust scale, mill scale, loose rust and loose paint to the
degree specified by hand wire brushing, hand sanding, hand scraping,
hand chipping or other impact tools or by a combination of these
methods.

 SSPC-SP-3: Power Tool Cleaning, St 3

Removal of all rust scale, mill scale, loose paint, and loose rust to the
degree specified by power wire brushes, power impact tools, power
grinders, power sanders or by a combination of these methods. Surface
should not be buffed or polished smooth.
 SSPC-SP–4: Flame Cleaning
Removal of all loose scale, rust and other detrimental foreign matter
by passing high temperature, high velocity oxy-acetylene flames over
the entire surface, followed by wire brushing.

 SSPC-SP-5: White Metal Blast Cleaning, Sa 3, NACE 1

Removal of all mill scale, rust, rust scale, paint or foreign metal by the
use of abrasives propelled through nozzles or by centrifugal wheels.
Surface finish is defined as a surface with gray-white, uniform metallic
color, slightly roughened to form a suitable anchor pattern for
coatings.

 SSPC-SP-6: Commercial Blast Cleaning, Sa 2, NACE 3

Removal of all mill scale, rust, rust scale, paint or foreign metal by the
use of abrasives propelled through nozzles or by centrifugal wheels to
the degree specified. Slight shadows, streaks, or discolorations
caused by rust stain, mill scale or oxides or slight, tight residues of
paint or coating that may remain.
 SSPC-SP–7: Brush-Off Blast Cleaning, Sa 1
Removal of all mill scale, rust, rust scale, paint or foreign
metal by the use of abrasives propelled through nozzles
or by centrifugal wheels to the degree specified. It is not
intended that the surface shall be free of all mill scale,
rust, and paint. The remaining mill scale, rust, and paint
should be tight and the surface should be sufficiently
abraded to provide good adhesion and bonding of paint.

 SSPC-SP-8: Pickling
Removal of all mill scale, rust, and rust scale by chemical
reaction, or by electrolysis, or by both. The picked
surface shall be completely free of all scale, rust, and
foreign matter. Furthermore, the surface shall be free of
un-reacted or harmful acid or alkali, or smut.
 SSPC-SP–9: Weathering Followed by Blast
Cleaning
Weathering to remove all or part of the mill scale
followed by one of the blast cleaning standards

 SSPC-SP-10: Near-White Blast Cleaning, Sa 2-

1/2, NACE 2
Removal of nearly all mill scale, rust, rust scale, paint or
foreign metal by the use of abrasives propelled through
nozzles or by centrifugal wheels to the degree specified.
At least 95% of each square inch of surface area shall be
free of all visible residues, and the remainder shall be
deliver limited to the light discoloration mentioned
above.
Surface profile influences the
performance – especially the
adhesion of the paint applied.
When specifying or describing
surface profile, three parameters
are of importance:

 Surface roughness – depth of

crater in the surface can be
expressed e.g. – Rmax,
maximum height of profile.
The distance between the
g=highest point and the
lowest point on the profile
within the sampling length,
L.

Surface Roughness Rmax & Sampling length, L

Roughness Profile – Shape of
craters (Angular profile from Dimpled profile (Shot)
Grit abrasive)
Density – number of craters per
liners inch or cm (dense or many) Open or few
In practice, comparators are used for
the assessment of profile. Comparison
is both visual and by touch. The best
known and widely used comparators or
instruments are:
◦ ISO Comparator (ISO 8503)
◦ RUGOTEST No. 3 (of Swiss origin)
◦ KEANE-TATOR Surface Profile Comparator (of
US origin)
◦ Testex Tape + Testex Gauge
 Service Environment of the Coating System
◦ Immersion in liquid and what type of liquid
◦ Exposure to aggressive chemical or environment
◦ High temperatures; or,
◦ Combinations of above conditions
 Generic kind of coating used, usually
recommended by paint manufacturer
 Cost of cleaning operation; longer coating
lifetime is given importance
 Regulations that may have an impact on the
degree and method of surface preparation
 Anodized Aluminum : abrasive blasting with
non-metallic abrasive

 Cast Aluminum : abrasive blasting to uniform

evenly grey appearance

 Hot dip galvanized surface : Degreasing and

removal of sags followed by sand sweeping with
fine abrasive. Alternatively, a wash primer for
less severe conditions may be used.

 Stainless steel : Degreasing and followed by light

abrasive sweeping. Garnet is the usual abrasive
material.