Insights & Guides
Anchor Profile Measurement: Field Guide for Inspectors
Anchor profile is the peak-to-valley height of a prepared steel surface. In the field it is measured to ASTM D4417, usually by...
Complete Guide to SSPC Surface Preparation Standards: SP-1 Through SP-16 and WJ Levels
SSPC standards, now published by AMPP, define how clean steel must be before coating. SP 1 removes oil and grease; SP 2...
Soluble Salt Contamination: Why It Causes Coating Failure and How to Test for It
Soluble salts (mainly chlorides, sulphates and nitrates) are invisible ionic contaminants that stay on steel after surface preparation. Trapped under a coating,...
Flash Rust: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Prevent It
Flash rust is a thin layer of rust that forms on freshly prepared carbon steel as it dries after water jetting, wet...
Water Jetting Surface Preparation Standards: WJ-1 Through WJ-4 Explained
SSPC-SP WJ-1 to WJ-4 / NACE WJ-1 to WJ-4 grade water jetting at 70 MPa (10,000 psi) and above: WJ-1 clean to...
SSPC-SP6 vs SP10: Which Surface Preparation Standard Does Your Project Need?
SSPC-SP 6 (Commercial Blast Cleaning, roughly ISO Sa 2) allows random staining on up to 33% of each unit area; SSPC-SP 10...
SSPC-SP5 White Metal Blast: When Is It Required?
SSPC-SP 5 / NACE No. 1 (ISO 8501-1 Sa 3) white metal blast is required only where the coating data sheet or...
SSPC-SP11 Power Tool Cleaning to Bare Metal: Complete Technical Guide
SSPC-SP 11 is the power tool standard for cleaning steel to bare metal. The surface must be free of all visible oil,...
How to Prepare Metal for Painting: Surface Preparation Methods Compared
To prepare metal for painting, degrease it first (SSPC-SP 1), then remove rust, mill scale and old coating to the cleanliness grade...
Weld Cleaning and Post-Weld Surface Preparation: Methods and Standards
Before coating, a weld zone must be free of spatter, slag and flux residue, heat tint and HAZ oxide, and loose or...
What is Bristle Blasting? How It Works, Standards It Achieves, and When to Use It
Bristle blasting is a grit-free mechanical surface preparation method in which a rotating belt of hardened wire bristles, held back by an...
Alternatives to Sandblasting Steel: Complete Method Comparison
The main alternatives to sandblasting steel are bristle blasting, water jetting, wet and vacuum blasting, needle guns, grinders, chemical stripping and laser...
How to Remove Mill Scale from Steel: Tools, Methods, and Specifications
Remove mill scale by abrasive blasting to SSPC-SP 10 / Sa 2½ or better where blasting is practical, or with impact power...
Surface Preparation for Pipeline Field Joints and Corroded Welds
Pipeline field joints and corroded welds are prepared to the grade in the field joint coating specification, usually Sa 2½ / SSPC-SP...
How to Remove Heavy Rust from Steel Without Sandblasting
Remove heavy rust without sandblasting in two mechanical steps: strip the laminar corrosion mass first (for example with a Tercoo® pin disc...
How to Remove Vinyl Decals from Vehicles and Equipment
To remove vinyl decals without damaging paint, wash and dry the panel, work above 10 °C, then lift film and adhesive together...
Surface Preparation in ATEX Zone 1: Requirements and Approved Methods
Surface preparation in an ATEX zone 1 needs equipment evaluated as Category 1 or 2 for the gas group and temperature class...
How to Achieve SSPC-SP10-Comparable Results Without Sandblasting
To get a surface comparable to SSPC-SP 10 / ISO 8501-1 Sa 2½ without sandblasting, use an impact power tool such as...
SSPC-SP10 Near-White Metal Blast: The Complete Technical Guide
SSPC-SP 10 / NACE No. 2, Near-White Metal Blast Cleaning, is the joint AMPP blast-cleaning standard that requires steel to be free...
Bristle Blaster® vs. Sandblasting: Which Method Achieves SSPC-SP10-Comparable Results?
Sandblasting is the reference method and remains faster on large open areas, but SSPC-SP 10 is written for blast cleaning. The Bristle...
What Is Corrosion? Types, Causes and How Surface Preparation Stops It
Corrosion is the electrochemical degradation of a metal by its environment. On steel it needs an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte and...
Mill Scale on Steel: What It Is and How to Remove It
Mill scale is the blue-grey iron oxide layer (wüstite, magnetite and haematite) that forms on steel during hot rolling. It must be...
Recyclability
MontiPower® belts are made from recyclable materials — steel wire, cloth, polyamide backing and threading, shipped in carton — and used belts...
Preparation is everything!
A coating only performs as well as the surface under it. Preparation has two jobs: remove contamination to the specified cleanliness grade,...
No articles match. Ask a specialist →