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SynC · SynC Standards

High-Performance Coatings

Written and maintained by SynC.

Rev3
IssuedOct 12, 2026
LicenseCC BY 4.0
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1 Scope

NOTE This standard governs the coating systems a facility relies on to keep its steel, iron, concrete, and masonry in service: the field finish over the shop coating of the piping, valves, pumps, and steel of a process plant, the washable wall systems of a food, pharmaceutical, or chemical room, the linings of wet wells, digesters, channels, and chemical containment, and the ultraviolet shield on exposed plastic pipe. (1.1)
NOTE The test for whether a surface is coated under this standard is the service, not the substrate or the resin. A two-component polyurethane on a railing in the weather is architectural painting under Exterior PaintingExterior Painting and CoatingsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/exterior-painting; the same polyurethane on a pipe in a chemical room, a valve in a washdown area, or a beam over an aeration basin is a system under this standard. Where a surface sees chemical splash or spill, immersion, hydrogen sulfide vapor, industrial washdown, or the corrosive atmosphere of a process facility, the whole system for that surface, from the surface preparation to the finish coat, is selected here. (1.2)
1.3 The furnished work shall comprise the surface preparation, primers, intermediate coats, finish coats, linings, holiday and adhesion testing, cure, touch-up, protection of adjacent work, and the records this standard requires, on every surface the coating schedule assigns to a system of this standard.
NOTE The substrates this standard coats are the following. (1.4)
  • Exposed carbon steel and ductile iron process piping, fittings, and couplings delivered with a shop primer or a shop epoxy under Ductile Iron Process PipingDuctile Iron Process PipingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/ductile-iron-process-piping and Steel And Stainless Process PipingSteel and Stainless Steel Process PipingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/steel-and-stainless-process-piping, and stainless steel piping where the piping schedule designates it for coating
  • Valves, gates, actuators, stands, and handwheels delivered with a shop epoxy under Butterfly ValvesButterfly ValvesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/butterfly-valves, Resilient Seated Gate ValvesResilient-Seated Gate ValvesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/resilient-seated-gate-valves, Process Check ValvesProcess Check ValvesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/process-check-valves, Air Release And Vacuum ValvesAir Release and Vacuum ValvesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/air-release-and-vacuum-valves, Slide Gates And Stop LogsSlide Gates and Stop LogsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/slide-gates-and-stop-logs, and Valve And Gate ActuatorsValve and Gate ActuatorsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/valve-and-gate-actuators
  • Pumps, drivers, and bases delivered with a shop primer under Horizontal Centrifugal Process PumpsHorizontal Centrifugal Process PumpsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/horizontal-centrifugal-process-pumps, Vertical Turbine PumpsVertical Turbine PumpsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/vertical-turbine-pumps, Submersible Solids Handling PumpsSubmersible Solids-Handling PumpsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/submersible-solids-handling-pumps, and Positive Displacement PumpsPositive Displacement PumpsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/positive-displacement-pumps, where the datasheet of the pump standard selects a field finish coat
  • Structural steel, metal fabrications, gratings, floor plate, ladders, supports, and miscellaneous metals delivered shop primed or galvanized under Structural Steel FramingStructural Steel FramingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structural-steel-framing, Metal FabricationsMetal FabricationsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/metal-fabrications, Metal Gratings And Floor PlatesMetal Gratings and Floor PlatesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/metal-gratings-and-floor-plates, and Miscellaneous MetalsMiscellaneous MetalsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/miscellaneous-metals, where the coating schedule assigns them a chemical-resistant, washdown, or immersion system
  • Bare carbon steel fabricated or repaired in the field, and existing steel being recoated
  • Exposed PVC, CPVC, and fiberglass piping scheduled for a coating for ultraviolet protection or identification under Plastic Process PipingPlastic Process PipingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/plastic-process-piping
  • Cast-in-place and precast concrete, concrete masonry, and gypsum board and plaster walls and ceilings in washdown, chemical, food, pharmaceutical, and laboratory rooms
  • The interior concrete of wet wells, channels, basins, digesters, headworks structures, and chemical containment areas built under Water Retaining Concrete StructuresWater-Retaining Concrete StructuresResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/water-retaining-concrete-structures and Cast In Place ConcreteCast-in-Place ConcreteResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cast-in-place-concrete, and steel structures in immersion that no equipment standard furnishes
NOTE The following are governed elsewhere. (1.5)
  • The shop primer, shop epoxy, and galvanizing on an item are furnished and warranted by the standard that supplies the item, and the process requirements of shop priming and galvanizing by Shop Painting And GalvanizingShop Painting and Galvanizing of SteelResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/shop-painting-and-galvanizing; this standard governs everything laid over the shop coating, and its warranty covers what it lays down and not the coat beneath
  • A field topcoat selected for color and weather on an exterior fabrication, including its touch-up, is governed by Exterior PaintingExterior Painting and CoatingsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/exterior-painting, and interior decorative painting by Interior PaintingInterior PaintingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/interior-painting
  • Floor finishes are governed by Epoxy FlooringEpoxy Floor CoatingsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/epoxy-flooring where the floor receives a roller-applied epoxy of 30 mils or less, and by Resinous FlooringResinous FlooringResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/resinous-flooring where it receives a self-leveling, broadcast, mortar, or cementitious urethane topping or a wearing surface thicker than 30 mils; the cove base and the wall-to-floor detail belong to the floor standard, and the wall system above the cove belongs here
  • Pipe markers, valve tags, legends, flow arrows, and color bands are governed by Mechanical IdentificationMechanical IdentificationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/mechanical-identification; this standard applies the field color a pipe or valve is painted, and the identification standard labels it
  • The removal and disposal of a lead-containing existing coating is governed by Hazardous Material AbatementHazardous Material AbatementResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/hazardous-material-abatement; the surface preparation and recoating that follow are governed here
  • Intumescent and cementitious fireproofing by FireproofingApplied FireproofingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fireproofing, waterproofing membranes by Fluid Applied WaterproofingFluid-Applied WaterproofingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fluid-applied-waterproofing and Below Grade WaterproofingBelow-Grade WaterproofingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/below-grade-waterproofing, and crack repair and patching of the concrete beneath a lining by Concrete Repair And RestorationConcrete Repair and RestorationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-repair-and-restoration
1.6 Where a substrate or equipment standard imposes a cleaner surface, a longer cure, or a tighter moisture limit than this standard, the more stringent requirement shall govern.
1.7 The Contractor shall obtain from each supplier the generic type and product identity of the shop primer, shop epoxy, or galvanizing on every item scheduled for a field system before the coating system schedule is submitted.

2 Referenced Standards

2.1 Materials, surface preparation, application, and testing shall comply with the latest adopted edition of each of the following unless a specific edition is cited.
2.2 Where referenced standards conflict, the more stringent requirement shall govern unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.
Standard Title
SSPC-SP 1 Solvent Cleaning
SSPC-SP 2 Hand Tool Cleaning
SSPC-SP 3 Power Tool Cleaning
SSPC-SP 5/NACE No. 1 White Metal Blast Cleaning
SSPC-SP 6/NACE No. 3 Commercial Blast Cleaning
SSPC-SP 7/NACE No. 4 Brush-Off Blast Cleaning
SSPC-SP 10/NACE No. 2 Near-White Metal Blast Cleaning
SSPC-SP 11 Power Tool Cleaning to Bare Metal
SSPC-SP 13/NACE No. 6 Surface Preparation of Concrete
SSPC-SP 16 Brush-Off Blast Cleaning of Coated and Uncoated Galvanized Steel, Stainless Steels, and Non-Ferrous Metals
SSPC-VIS 1 Guide and Reference Photographs for Steel Surfaces Prepared by Abrasive Blast Cleaning
SSPC-VIS 3 Guide and Reference Photographs for Steel Surfaces Prepared by Hand and Power Tool Cleaning
SSPC-PA 1 Shop, Field, and Maintenance Painting of Steel
SSPC-PA 2 Procedure for Determining Conformance to Dry Coating Thickness Requirements
SSPC-PA 9 Measurement of Dry Coating Thickness on Cementitious Substrates Using Ultrasonic Gages
SSPC-QP 1 Standard Procedure for Evaluating Painting Contractors: Field Application to Complex Industrial Structures
SSPC-QP 8 Standard Procedure for Evaluating Contractors Who Install Polymer Coatings or Surfacings on Concrete and Other Cementitious Surfaces
SSPC-Guide 15 Field Methods for Retrieval and Analysis of Soluble Salts on Steel and Other Nonporous Substrates
AMPP CIP Coating Inspector Program certification levels
NACE SP0188 Discontinuity (Holiday) Testing of New Protective Coatings on Conductive Substrates
ICRI 310.2R Selecting and Specifying Concrete Surface Preparation for Sealers, Coatings, Polymer Overlays, and Concrete Repair
ASTM D4258 Practice for Surface Cleaning Concrete for Coating
ASTM D4259 Practice for Abrading Concrete
ASTM D4262 Test Method for pH of Chemically Cleaned or Etched Concrete Surfaces
ASTM D4263 Test Method for Indicating Moisture in Concrete by the Plastic Sheet Method
ASTM F2170 Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in Concrete Floor Slabs Using in situ Probes
ASTM D4417 Test Methods for Field Measurement of Surface Profile of Blast Cleaned Steel
ASTM D4285 Test Method for Indicating Oil or Water in Compressed Air
ASTM D4541 Test Method for Pull-Off Strength of Coatings Using Portable Adhesion Testers
ASTM D7234 Test Method for Pull-Off Adhesion Strength of Coatings on Concrete Using Portable Pull-Off Adhesion Testers
ASTM D4787 Practice for Continuity Verification of Liquid or Sheet Linings Applied to Concrete Substrates
ASTM D5162 Practice for Discontinuity (Holiday) Testing of Nonconductive Protective Coating on Metallic Substrates
ASTM D7091 Practice for Nondestructive Measurement of Dry Film Thickness of Nonmagnetic Coatings Applied to Ferrous Metals and Nonmagnetic, Nonconductive Coatings Applied to Non-Ferrous Metals
ASTM D4138 Practices for Measurement of Dry Film Thickness of Protective Coating Systems by Destructive, Cross-Sectioning Means
ASTM D523 Test Method for Specular Gloss
ASTM D2244 Practice for Calculation of Color Tolerances and Color Differences from Instrumentally Measured Color Coordinates
ASTM E84 Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials
NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 Drinking Water System Components, Health Effects
NSF/ANSI/CAN 600 Health Effects Evaluation and Criteria for Chemicals in Drinking Water
40 CFR Part 59, Subpart D National Volatile Organic Compound Emission Standards for Architectural Coatings
OTC Model Rule for Architectural and Industrial Maintenance Coatings Ozone Transport Commission
CARB Suggested Control Measure for Architectural Coatings California Air Resources Board
SCAQMD Rule 1113 Architectural Coatings
29 CFR 1910.146 Permit-Required Confined Spaces
NOTE The surface preparation, application, and qualification standards once published by SSPC and NACE are now maintained by AMPP, the Association for Materials Protection and Performance; the SP, PA, QP, and NACE SP numbers remain in use and are cited here. The AMPP Coating Inspector Program is the successor of the NACE CIP certification, and inspectors carry either name. (2.3)

3 Submittals

3.1 Action Submittals

3.1.1 The submittals listed below shall be reviewed and returned before any coating material is ordered or applied.
  • Product data for every primer, intermediate, finish, lining, filler, and surfacer, stating the generic resin type, the volume solids, the wet and dry film thickness per coat, the spreading rate, the minimum and maximum recoat times at the application temperature, the pot life and induction time, the application temperature and humidity limits, the cure to handle and to service, the published chemical resistance, and the volatile organic compound content in grams per liter
  • Coating system schedule assigning to every surface the coating schedule identifies the service class, the surface preparation grade and profile, the primer, intermediate, finish, or lining product, the number of coats, the dry film thickness per coat and in total, the color, and the gloss, and identifying the shop primer, shop epoxy, or galvanizing each field system is applied over
  • The coating manufacturer's written confirmation that each field system is compatible with the shop coating it is applied over, with the surface preparation the shop coating requires
  • Color and gloss drawdowns of every finish color and gloss scheduled, on a card the manufacturer publishes for the purpose, at the film build the schedule requires
  • Surface preparation plan for abrasive blasting, water jetting, and coating removal, describing abrasive, containment, dust and water control, confined space entry, protection of equipment and adjacent work, and disposal of spent abrasive and removed coating
  • Certification to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 and 600 for every product in contact with potable water or with water that will be treated to potable quality
  • Flame spread and smoke developed indices by ASTM E84 for every system on an interior surface where a flame spread class is required
Action Submittals Requiredcheckbox
☑ Product data for every coating product
☑ Coating system schedule by surface and service
☑ Shop coating compatibility confirmations
☑ Color and gloss drawdowns
☑ Surface preparation and containment plan
☐ NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 and 600 certifications
☐ ASTM E84 flame spread reports
3.1.2 The Engineer of Record's acceptance of a drawdown shall establish the color and gloss standard for the surfaces it represents, and no material shall be tinted in bulk before the drawdown for that color is accepted.

3.2 Informational Submittals

3.2.1 The Contractor shall submit the following for record, without waiting for return, before the corresponding work begins.
  • Applicator qualification statement with the certification or approval the Applicator Qualification article requires and the comparable projects it lists
  • The coating inspector's name, certification, and employer, where an inspector is required
  • Safety data sheets for every product
  • The manufacturer's certification of the volatile organic compound content of every product against the regulatory basis selected under Volatile Organic Compounds
  • The form of the daily inspection log, and the completed logs as the work proceeds, recording for each day and each surface the air and surface temperature, the relative humidity, the dew point, the surface preparation grade and profile reading, the soluble salt test result where tested, the concrete moisture test result where tested, the product and batch applied, the wet and dry film readings, and the recoat time elapsed
  • Holiday test, adhesion test, and dry film thickness reports as each is completed
  • The record of mock-up acceptance, where a mock-up is required
  • Confined space entry permits and ventilation records for coating work in wet wells, tanks, and vaults
Informational Submittals Requiredcheckbox
☑ Applicator qualification statement
☐ Coating inspector qualification
☑ Safety data sheets
☑ Volatile organic compound certifications
☑ Daily inspection logs
☑ Holiday, adhesion, and thickness test reports
☐ Mock-up acceptance record
☐ Confined space entry and ventilation records

3.3 Closeout Submittals

3.3.1 The Contractor shall submit the following before final acceptance.
  • Record coating schedule stating, for every coated surface, the surface preparation performed, each product and batch applied, the color name and tint formula, the gloss, the number of coats, the dry film thickness measured, and the dates of application and of release to service
  • The manufacturer's published product or system warranty for every system that carries one, executed in the Owner's name where the manufacturer issues a project warranty
  • The Contractor's warranty under the Warranty section
  • Maintenance instructions stating the cleaning agents and washdown chemicals each system tolerates, the touch-up procedure and surface preparation for each system, and the recoat interval
  • The Owner's signed receipt for the extra stock delivered
Closeout Submittals Requiredcheckbox
☑ Record coating schedule
☑ Manufacturer warranties
☑ Contractor warranty
☑ Maintenance and touch-up instructions
☑ Extra stock receipt

4 Quality Assurance

4.1 Applicator Qualification

4.1.1 Coating work under this standard shall be performed by an applicator holding at least one of the qualifications indicated in the datasheet, and the qualification shall be held before the work begins and maintained until it is accepted.
Applicator Qualification Acceptedcheckbox
Any of:
☐ SSPC-QP 1 certification for field application to industrial structures
☐ SSPC-QP 8 certification for polymer coatings on concrete
☐ Written approval of the applicator by the coating manufacturer for the systems applied
☐ Comparable project experience statement without certification
4.1.2 Where an immersion, chemical-service, or containment lining is in the work, the applicator of that lining shall also hold the lining manufacturer's written approval for the product and the application equipment, whatever other qualification the datasheet accepts.
NOTE SSPC-QP 1 audits a contractor's surface preparation, application, inspection, and safety program against industrial steel work and is the qualification a plant specification names for the piping, tanks, and structural steel of a facility; SSPC-QP 8 does the same for polymer linings on concrete, which is a different trade with different equipment, and it is accepted where the work is a wet well or containment lining. A manufacturer's approval ties the applicator to a product line and is what makes a manufacturer's system warranty enforceable, which is why it is required on linings regardless. A comparable project statement alone admits regional contractors who have done the work without carrying a certification, and it widens the bid at the cost of leaving the judgment of their program to the submittal review. The acceptable set is narrowed to the certifications where the work is a lining or a large steel program, and widened where it is the finish painting of exposed piping in a mechanical room. (4.1.3)

4.2 Coating Inspection

4.2.1 Inspection of surface preparation, ambient conditions, application, film thickness, and testing shall be performed by the party indicated in the datasheet.
Coating Inspectorselect
Independent AMPP certified coating inspector retained by the Owner
AMPP certified coating inspector retained by the Contractor, independent of the applicator
Contractor's quality control personnel with the coating manufacturer's representative at the hold points
Contractor's quality control personnel
4.2.2 Where an AMPP certified coating inspector is required, the inspector shall hold AMPP Coating Inspector Program Level 2 or higher, or the NACE CIP Level 2 certification it succeeds.
4.2.3 The inspector's presence shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Inspector Presenceradio
○ Full time during surface preparation, application, and testing
○ At the inspection hold points
NOTE An inspector retained by the Owner answers to the party that will live with the coating and is the arrangement on a lining whose failure means a structure out of service; one retained by the Contractor but independent of the applicator costs the Owner nothing directly and still puts a certified party between the painter and the record, which is why municipal specifications accept it where the Owner has no inspector of its own. The manufacturer's representative at the hold points brings the product knowledge and conditions the manufacturer's warranty, and is the arrangement where the systems are few and the surfaces are small. Contractor quality control alone is what a finish coat on exposed piping in a mechanical room gets on most projects. Full-time presence is bought where the work is a lining, where surface preparation and application run around the clock, or where the surfaces will be covered or filled before anyone else can look; hold-point presence suffices where each stage can wait for the inspector. (4.2.4)
4.2.5 The inspector shall record the readings and results the Informational Submittals article lists in the daily inspection log and shall sign each hold point before the next operation proceeds.

4.3 Single Source

4.3.1 The primer, intermediate, finish, filler, and surfacer within each coating system shall be products of one manufacturer, unless the Contractor obtains and submits the written confirmation of both manufacturers that the coats are compatible over the specified substrate, preparation, and shop coating before either coat is applied.
NOTE A manufacturer warrants the film it formulated as a system and declines a film built from another manufacturer's primer, so a mixed system carries only the Contractor's warranty. Shop primers and shop epoxies delivered on products from other trades are outside this rule; their compatibility with the field system is confirmed under the Action Submittals article and the Preparation Over Shop Coatings article. (4.3.2)

4.4 Field Mock-Up

4.4.1 The mock-up program shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Mock-Up Programselect
No mock-up required
One mock-up of each coating system
One mock-up of each coating system on each substrate
4.4.2 Each mock-up shall be applied on the actual substrate at a location the Engineer of Record designates, over an area not less than indicated in the datasheet, and shall show the full surface preparation, each coat at the specified thickness, the finish color and gloss, and the holiday and adhesion tests the Testing section requires for that system.
Mock-Up Arearange
Not less than
ft²
2550100200400
4.4.3 The accepted mock-up shall be the standard of surface preparation, film build, appearance, and workmanship for the production work, and shall remain in place and protected until the work is accepted.
NOTE A mock-up proves the surface preparation and the film build on the real substrate before the whole surface is committed, and it is where the pull-off test is run before a failure would mean stripping a room. One per system settles the preparation and the film; one per system per substrate adds the difference between the same lining on cast concrete and on block, or the same finish over a shop epoxy and over galvanizing, which is where adhesion failures start. No mock-up is selected where the work is a single system on a small area and the first panel serves as the test. (4.4.4)

4.5 Pre-Application Conference

4.5.1 Whether a pre-application conference is held before coating work begins shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Pre-Application Conferenceradio
● Conference required before coating work begins
○ No conference required
4.5.2 Where a conference is required, the Contractor shall convene it with the applicator, the coating inspector, the coating manufacturer's representative, and the suppliers and installers of the shop-coated items and concrete to be coated, and the conference shall review the coating system schedule, the shop coatings identified, the surface preparation and containment plan, the sequence against pressure and tightness tests, the mock-up program, the ambient limits, the confined space program, and the hold points.
NOTE The conference is where the pipe supplier's shop epoxy, the concrete contractor's curing compound, the pressure test schedule, and the painter's system meet for the first time on most projects, and it is skipped only where the scope is a single system applied by one trade. (4.5.3)

4.6 Inspection Hold Points

4.6.1 The Contractor shall notify the coating inspector and the Engineer of Record not less than 48 hours before each of the following stages on each surface and shall not proceed past the stage until it has been inspected and signed in the daily inspection log.
  • Completed surface preparation, before any primer, filler, or surfacer is applied, for cleanliness, profile, soluble salts where tested, and concrete moisture and pH where tested
  • Each coat, before the next coat is applied, for dry film thickness, recoat time, and surface condition
  • Completed system, before holiday and adhesion testing
  • Completed testing and cure, before the surface is placed in immersion or chemical service or concealed
NOTE Surface preparation and primer defects are invisible once the finish is on, and the hold points are the only moments at which they can be seen without destroying the finish to look. Retroactive correction of a preparation or thickness deficiency means removing and reapplying the affected system, which on a lining is the whole structure. (4.6.2)

5 Environmental and Service Conditions

5.1 Service Classes

5.1.1 Each surface the coating schedule assigns to this standard shall be classed by its service in the coating system schedule, and the system for that surface shall be selected from the article of this standard that serves that class and substrate.
NOTE The service classes this standard distinguishes are the following. (5.1.2)
  • Atmospheric service: a surface exposed to the air of the facility, indoors or outdoors, including the condensing humidity of a process room and the periodic wetting of washdown, and splashed only incidentally
  • Chemical service: a surface that receives the splash, spill, fumes, or washdown chemicals of a chemical feed, storage, or process area, and the floor and walls of a secondary containment area up to the containment level
  • Immersion service: a surface continuously or intermittently submerged in water, wastewater, sludge, or a process liquid, including the splash zone and the surface below the maximum liquid level of a structure
  • Vapor service: a surface above the liquid in a wastewater, sludge, or digester structure, where hydrogen sulfide condenses and oxidizes to sulfuric acid, which is treated as chemical service on concrete and as immersion service on steel
5.1.3 The chemicals each chemical-service and containment surface is exposed to, with their concentrations and temperatures, shall be as listed on the chemical containment schedule, and the coating manufacturer's published chemical resistance for the lining shall cover each listed chemical at the listed concentration and temperature and for the exposure the containment design assumes.
5.1.4 Every coating or lining in contact with potable water, or with water that will be treated to potable quality, shall be certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 and 600 for the thickness and cure applied.
NOTE A plant does not fail its coatings uniformly: the beam over an aeration basin corrodes while the same beam over the blower room does not, and the containment pad under a sodium hypochlorite tank is attacked where the pad under a polymer tank is merely stained. Classing each surface by service, rather than selecting one system for a building, is what lets the schedule put a three-coat zinc system where it is needed and a two-coat epoxy where it is not. (5.1.5)

5.2 Weather and Ambient Limits During Application

5.2.1 Coatings shall not be applied when the air temperature or the surface temperature is below the value indicated in the datasheet, or outside the range the manufacturer publishes for the product.
Air and Surface Temperature During Applicationrange
Not less than
°F
354045505560
5.2.2 Coatings shall not be applied when the relative humidity exceeds the value indicated in the datasheet.
Relative Humidity During Applicationrange
Not more than
%
7095
Default: 85 %
5.2.3 Coatings shall not be applied unless the surface temperature is at least 5°F above the dew point, and application shall stop when the margin closes or condensation forms during the recoat time.
5.2.4 The temperature, humidity, and dew-point limits shall be maintained from the start of application until each coat has reached the manufacturer's published dry-to-recoat time, and the cure temperature the manufacturer publishes shall be maintained until the coating has reached its cure to service.
5.2.5 Coating work in a wet well, tank, vault, or enclosed structure shall be ventilated to hold the solvent vapor below the exposure and explosive limits and to carry the solvent out of the film, with the ventilation maintained through the cure, and entry shall be under 29 CFR 1910.146.
NOTE Below its published minimum, an epoxy or polyurethane stays soft, never reaches its chemical resistance, and sheds the next coat; a surface near the dew point carries a film of water the primer traps. Conventional two-component products hold a 50°F minimum, and formulations rated to 35°F are available from several manufacturers at a premium and with a longer cure, which is how a wet well lining gets done in a shoulder season. Below grade and inside a structure, the air is still and the surface stays colder than the room, so the limits are read at the surface and the structure is heated and dehumidified rather than waited on. (5.2.6)

5.3 Concrete Moisture, Cure, and pH

5.3.1 Concrete and masonry shall have cured not less than 28 days before a coating is applied, unless the coating manufacturer publishes a shorter interval for the product and the moisture test under this article confirms the substrate is within the manufacturer's limit.
5.3.2 Concrete shall be tested for moisture by in situ probes to ASTM F2170 before coating, at not fewer than three locations per structure or room plus one per 1,000 ft² of surface, and the relative humidity shall not exceed the value indicated in the datasheet.
Relative Humidity of Concrete Before Coatingrange
Not more than
%
7590
5.3.3 Where probes cannot be set in a thin wall or a precast member, the surface shall be tested by ASTM D4263 and shall show no condensation beneath the sheet after 16 hours.
5.3.4 Where the measured moisture exceeds the limit, the Contractor shall allow the concrete to dry and retest, or shall apply a moisture-tolerant primer or epoxy surfacer the lining manufacturer publishes for the measured relative humidity, as the Engineer of Record directs.
5.3.5 The surface pH of concrete and masonry shall be tested by ASTM D4262 before priming, and a surface whose pH exceeds the primer manufacturer's published limit shall be allowed to cure further or shall receive the alkali-resistant primer the manufacturer publishes for that pH.
NOTE Moisture moving out of the concrete is the first cause of lining failure on a wet well wall and a containment slab, because the vapor pressure lifts the film from behind. Most 100 percent solids epoxies and polyurethanes publish a 75 to 80 percent limit at F2170 and some publish 85 to 90 with a moisture-tolerant primer, and the limit is set from the product data of the lining selected; a limit above what the lining tolerates is a blister six months in. A structure that has held water for its tightness test is wet through, and the lining waits on it under Water Retaining Concrete StructuresWater-Retaining Concrete StructuresResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/water-retaining-concrete-structures. (5.3.6)

5.4 Soluble Salts on Steel

5.4.1 Prepared steel shall be tested for soluble salts by a method of SSPC-Guide 15 on the surfaces indicated in the datasheet, and the chloride remaining after preparation shall not exceed the lining manufacturer's published limit, nor 3 µg/cm² on a surface to receive an immersion lining, nor 5 µg/cm² on any other surface.
Soluble Salt Testing of Prepared Steelradio
○ Every surface to receive an immersion lining, and every previously coated or corroded steel surface
● Surfaces to receive an immersion lining
○ Not required
5.4.2 Where the salt limit is exceeded, the surface shall be washed with clean water or a salt remover the coating manufacturer accepts, dried, reblasted to the specified grade, and retested before priming.
NOTE Chloride and sulfate left under a coating draw water through the film by osmosis and blister it, and blasting does not remove them; the salt is invisible, the test takes minutes, and a lining in immersion is where the osmotic blister is certain. Testing every previously coated or corroded surface catches the salts that rust carries into the pits of existing steel and is selected on recoating work and on steel that has stood outdoors; testing immersion surfaces alone is the common program on new steel; no testing is selected where the steel is new, shop primed, and in dry atmospheric service. (5.4.3)

6 Steel and Ductile Iron in Atmospheric Service

6.1 Surface Preparation of Bare Steel

6.1.1 Bare carbon steel, and the bare areas of shop-primed steel where the shop primer has been removed, shall be solvent cleaned to SSPC-SP 1 and then prepared to the grade indicated in the datasheet before priming, verified against SSPC-VIS 1 or SSPC-VIS 3 for the method used.
Surface Preparation Grade for Bare Steel in Atmospheric Serviceselect
SSPC-SP 2, Hand Tool Cleaning
SSPC-SP 3, Power Tool Cleaning
SSPC-SP 11, Power Tool Cleaning to Bare Metal
SSPC-SP 7, Brush-Off Blast Cleaning
SSPC-SP 6, Commercial Blast Cleaning
SSPC-SP 10, Near-White Metal Blast Cleaning
6.1.2 Abrasive blast cleaned steel shall carry an angular profile within the range the primer manufacturer publishes, measured by ASTM D4417, and compressed air for blasting and spraying shall be tested by ASTM D4285 and shall be free of oil and water.
6.1.3 Blast cleaned steel shall be primed before any visible rust bloom forms and on the same day it is blasted unless the surface is held under dehumidification, and a surface that has bloomed shall be reblasted.
NOTE Solvent cleaning comes first at every grade because abrasive or mechanical cleaning over oil or grease drives the contaminant into the profile. Hand and power tool cleaning leave tight rust and mill scale in place and no profile, and they serve a surface-tolerant epoxy mastic at a railing, a bracket, or a repair where blasting cannot be contained; power tool cleaning to bare metal removes everything but still leaves no anchor profile, which an epoxy accepts and a zinc-rich primer does not. Brush-off blast roughens a surface with the least abrasive and is the grade for sound shop-primed steel. Commercial blast removes all but staining and gives the profile an epoxy primer bonds to, and it is the grade most plant specifications set for atmospheric steel; near-white blast is the grade zinc-rich primers and the systems for exterior and vapor-space exposure are published for. Each blast grade above the last costs abrasive, containment, and time, and buys service life in proportion to the severity of the exposure. (6.1.4)

6.2 Preparation Over Shop Coatings

6.2.1 Before a field system is applied over a shop primer or a shop epoxy, the Contractor shall obtain the field coating manufacturer's written confirmation that the system is compatible with that shop coating, and the surface preparation the field system requires over it, as the Action Submittals article requires.
6.2.2 Shop-primed and shop-epoxy-coated surfaces shall be solvent cleaned to SSPC-SP 1, and shall be roughened to the profile the field coating manufacturer requires by brush-off blast cleaning to SSPC-SP 7 or by the abrasion the manufacturer publishes, before the field system is applied.
6.2.3 Where compatibility cannot be confirmed, the Contractor shall apply a tie coat the field coating manufacturer publishes for the shop coating, or shall remove the shop coating to the grade selected for bare steel and prime the surface under this section, as the Engineer of Record directs.
6.2.4 Damaged shop coating, field welds, bolted connections, field-cut edges, flange faces left bare by the supplier, and areas where the shop coating has weathered beyond its published exposure period shall be cleaned to the grade selected for bare steel and spot primed with a primer the field coating manufacturer publishes as compatible with both the shop coating and the field system, before the field coats are applied.
NOTE A shop epoxy on a valve or a ductile iron pipe is a complete corrosion barrier that was cured in an oven, and a field finish bonds to it only through a profile; a shop primer on a pump or a beam is a shipping coat formulated to be covered within weeks. The valve and pipe standards have the supplier state the surface preparation its epoxy needs and furnish an epoxy compatible with the finish system, and this standard has the finish manufacturer confirm it, so that when a finish lifts there is one party answerable. (6.2.5)

6.3 Primer on Steel in Atmospheric Service

6.3.1 The primer on bare steel in atmospheric service shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Primer on Bare Steel in Atmospheric Serviceselect
Polyamide or polyamidoamine epoxy primer
Organic zinc-rich epoxy primer
Inorganic zinc primer
Moisture-cured urethane zinc-rich primer
Surface-tolerant epoxy mastic
6.3.2 Zinc-rich primers shall be applied only over a surface cleaned to SSPC-SP 10 or cleaner, and epoxy primers only over a surface cleaned to SSPC-SP 6 or cleaner, unless the primer manufacturer publishes a less stringent grade for the product.
6.3.3 Inorganic zinc primers shall receive a mist coat or a tie coat the manufacturer publishes before the intermediate coat, so that the porous zinc film does not bubble the coat over it.
NOTE A polyamide epoxy primer builds a barrier, bonds a polyurethane finish, and is the primer of the interior process room and the washdown area where the steel is not seen by the weather. An organic zinc-rich epoxy protects the steel galvanically at every scratch and is the primer under the systems selected for exterior, vapor-space, and marine exposure, at the cost of near-white blasting. An inorganic zinc primer gives the longest galvanic life and the hardest film, and it demands a white or near-white blast, a narrow humidity window for its cure, and a mist coat; it is selected on structural steel and large exterior surfaces that will not be recoated for decades. A moisture-cured urethane zinc-rich primer tolerates high humidity and cold, which is why it is selected for field work in a season that stops the others. A surface-tolerant epoxy mastic wets a hand-cleaned or lightly rusted surface and builds its thickness in one coat, and it is the primer of maintenance recoating and of surfaces that cannot be blasted. (6.3.4)

6.4 Intermediate Coat on Steel in Atmospheric Service

6.4.1 Whether an intermediate coat is applied between the primer and the finish shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Intermediate Coat on Steel in Atmospheric Serviceradio
○ High-build epoxy intermediate coat
○ No intermediate coat, finish applied over the primer
NOTE A high-build epoxy intermediate carries most of the barrier thickness of a three-coat system and isolates a zinc primer from the finish, and it is the middle of the zinc, epoxy, and polyurethane system that exterior and vapor-space steel receive. A two-coat system of epoxy primer and polyurethane finish serves the interior process room and the washdown area at a lower cost and one fewer recoat window, and it is what field-finished piping and valves receive where the shop epoxy already carries the barrier. (6.4.2)

6.5 Finish Coat on Steel in Atmospheric Service

6.5.1 The finish coat on steel in atmospheric service shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Finish Coat on Steel in Atmospheric Serviceselect
Aliphatic acrylic polyurethane
Polysiloxane
Aliphatic polyaspartic polyurea
High-build epoxy
Waterborne acrylic
6.5.2 Where the finish coat is exposed to sunlight, outdoors or through glazing and skylights, the finish shall be an aliphatic polyurethane, a polysiloxane, or a polyaspartic, and an epoxy shall not be the exposed finish.
NOTE Aromatic polyurethanes and epoxies chalk and yellow under ultraviolet light within months, while the aliphatic chemistries hold color and gloss for years. An aliphatic acrylic polyurethane is the finish most plant systems carry: hard, cleanable, color-stable, and published by every manufacturer over its own epoxy. A polysiloxane holds gloss longer and replaces the epoxy intermediate and the polyurethane finish with one coat over a zinc primer, at a higher material cost and with a trained applicator. A polyaspartic cures in hours, which is what a plant that cannot stay down for a weekend buys, and it is less forgiving of humidity and film build. A high-build epoxy finish is selected indoors away from sunlight where cleanability and chemical resistance matter more than color, in a chemical room or over a basin. A waterborne acrylic is the finish on plastic piping and on surfaces inside an occupied building where solvent odor and the volatile organic compound basis exclude the others, and it gives up chemical resistance. (6.5.3)

6.6 Film Thickness of Steel Systems in Atmospheric Service

6.6.1 The primer on steel in atmospheric service shall be applied to the dry film thickness indicated in the datasheet, and not less than the manufacturer publishes for the product.
Primer Dry Film Thickness on Steelrange
Not less than
mils
1.58
Default: 3 mils
6.6.2 The intermediate coat, where one is selected, shall be applied to the dry film thickness indicated in the datasheet.
Intermediate Coat Dry Film Thickness on Steelrange
Not less than
mils
28
Default: 4 mils
6.6.3 The finish coat shall be applied to the dry film thickness indicated in the datasheet.
Finish Coat Dry Film Thickness on Steelrange
Not less than
mils
1.58
Default: 3 mils
6.6.4 The total dry film thickness of the system shall be the sum of the coats selected, and each coat and the total shall be measured under the Film Thickness Verification article.
Total System Dry Film Thickness on Steelrange
Not less than
mils
320
Derived — the sum of the primer, intermediate, and finish coat thicknesses selected (by default)
NOTE Thickness is what a barrier coating has to offer, and each generic coat has a published band: 2.5 to 3.5 mils for a zinc-rich primer, 3 to 5 for an epoxy primer, 4 to 6 for a high-build epoxy intermediate, 2 to 4 for a polyurethane finish, and 5 to 8 for an epoxy mastic applied as a single coat. Below the band the film has pinholes and the barrier is incomplete; well above it a solvent-borne coat traps solvent and sags, and a zinc primer mud-cracks. The values are set from the product data of the system selected, and the total follows from them. (6.6.5)

7 Galvanized and Stainless Steel

7.1 Galvanized Steel in Chemical and Washdown Service

7.1.1 Galvanized steel scheduled for a field system shall be solvent cleaned to SSPC-SP 1, cleaned of its passivation treatment, storage oils, and white rust by the method the primer manufacturer publishes, and profiled by brush-off blast cleaning to SSPC-SP 16 where the primer manufacturer requires a profile, before priming.
7.1.2 The primer on galvanized steel shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Primer on Galvanized Steelselect
Epoxy primer published for galvanizing
Surface-tolerant epoxy mastic
Finish coat applied directly to profiled galvanizing where the finish manufacturer publishes it
7.1.3 The finish coat on galvanized steel shall be the finish selected under Finish Coat on Steel in Atmospheric Service, at the thickness selected for the finish coat on steel.
7.1.4 Alkyd primers and alkyd finishes shall not be applied to galvanized steel, because the zinc saponifies the binder.
NOTE New galvanizing sheds most primers until its passivation and oils are removed, and a profile from a sweep blast is what a two-component system holds to. An epoxy primer published for galvanizing is what every manufacturer puts under its polyurethane on a duplex system and is the common selection. A surface-tolerant epoxy mastic covers weathered galvanizing that has lost its passivation and formed zinc corrosion products, and it is selected on recoating work. A finish applied directly to profiled galvanizing saves a coat where the manufacturer publishes the finish as self-priming on zinc, and the compatibility confirmation names the product. The gratings, ladders, supports, and fabrications of a washdown area arrive galvanized under their own standards, and the system here is what a scheduled color or a chemical exposure adds to the zinc. (7.1.5)

7.2 Stainless Steel

7.2.1 Stainless steel shall be coated only where the piping schedule or the coating schedule designates it, and shall otherwise be left in its mill, pickled, or passivated finish.
7.2.2 Stainless steel designated for coating shall be solvent cleaned to SSPC-SP 1 and profiled by brush-off blast cleaning to SSPC-SP 16 with an abrasive free of iron, and shall receive the primer and finish the coating manufacturer publishes for stainless steel at the thickness selected for steel.
NOTE Stainless steel is coated for color coding and for identification, not for protection, and a coating on it that holds water at a pinhole can start the crevice corrosion the alloy would otherwise never see; iron in the abrasive embeds in the surface and rusts, which is why the abrasive is iron-free. (7.2.3)

8 Plastic Piping

8.1 Field coating of exposed PVC, CPVC, and fiberglass piping, where the piping schedule designates it for coating, shall be a system the pipe manufacturer accepts in writing for the pipe material, and the coating type shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Coating on Plastic Pipingradio
● Waterborne acrylic, two coats
○ Aliphatic polyurethane over a bonding primer the pipe manufacturer accepts
8.2 Plastic piping shall be prepared by solvent cleaning with a cleaner the pipe manufacturer accepts and by hand abrasion with fine abrasive to a uniformly dulled surface, and shall not be abrasive blasted.
NOTE Sunlight chalks and embrittles unprotected PVC and CPVC, and a coating is the lightest protection where insulation is not otherwise needed. A waterborne acrylic bonds to the dulled plastic, flexes with its thermal movement, carries the identification color, and attacks nothing, which is why the pipe standard names it; an aliphatic polyurethane over a bonding primer gives a harder, more cleanable film for a chemical room, and the primer and the polyurethane's solvent have to be ones the pipe manufacturer has tested on the resin, because a solvent-borne coating can craze the pipe. The pipe standard decides whether the pipe is coated at all; this standard governs the coating once it is. (8.3)

9 Steel in Immersion Service

9.1 Surface Preparation of Steel for Immersion

9.1.1 Steel to receive an immersion lining shall be solvent cleaned to SSPC-SP 1, tested for soluble salts under the Soluble Salts on Steel article, and abrasive blast cleaned to the grade indicated in the datasheet, with the angular profile the lining manufacturer publishes measured by ASTM D4417.
Surface Preparation Grade for Steel in Immersion Serviceradio
● SSPC-SP 10, Near-White Metal Blast Cleaning
○ SSPC-SP 5, White Metal Blast Cleaning
NOTE Near-white blast leaves staining on no more than a twentieth of the surface and is the grade every lining manufacturer publishes for water and wastewater immersion; white metal blast removes everything and is selected for linings in chemical immersion, in hot water, and under the vinyl ester and novolac linings whose manufacturers require it. (9.1.2)
9.1.3 Weld spatter, sharp edges, and laminations on steel to be lined shall be ground before blasting, and edges to be lined shall be rounded so that the lining holds its thickness over them.

9.2 Immersion Lining on Steel

9.2.1 The lining on steel in immersion service shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Lining on Steel in Immersion Serviceselect
High-build polyamide epoxy, multiple coats
100 percent solids epoxy
Epoxy novolac or phenolic epoxy
Polyurethane elastomeric lining, plural component spray
Polyurea lining, plural component spray
Vinyl ester lining
Coal tar epoxy
9.2.2 Coal tar epoxy shall not be applied in potable water service, in food contact, or on any surface the Owner's personnel will enter without respiratory protection during its cure.
NOTE A high-build polyamide epoxy in two or three coats is the water-tank and clearwell lining of the last fifty years, forgiving of application and repairable in the field, and it needs its recoat windows respected. A 100 percent solids epoxy builds its thickness in one or two coats with no solvent to trap in a confined structure and is the lining most new wet wells and clearwells receive. An epoxy novolac resists the acids, solvents, and hot water a plain epoxy does not, and it is selected for chemical immersion and for the heated sludge of a digester. A plural-component polyurethane elastomer and a polyurea each build 40 to 125 mils in minutes, bridge the movement of a steel structure, and resist abrasion, and each requires the heated plural-component equipment and the trained applicator the Applicator Qualification article names; the polyurea cures fastest and is the least tolerant of a damp or cold surface. A vinyl ester resists the strongest acids and oxidizers and is the lining of a chemical tank and a chlorine contact structure, applied with glass reinforcement by a specialty applicator. Coal tar epoxy is the lowest-cost lining for raw wastewater and buried steel and is excluded from potable and food service by its leachable constituents, and it is applied and cured with the respiratory precautions its data sheet carries. (9.2.3)
9.2.4 The lining on steel in immersion service shall be applied to the total dry film thickness indicated in the datasheet, in the number of coats and at the thickness per coat the lining manufacturer publishes for that total.
Total Lining Thickness on Steel in Immersion Servicerange
Not less than
mils
10125
NOTE An immersion lining is a barrier against a head of liquid and the salts in it, and its published thickness is what its permeability data assume: 10 to 16 mils for a multi-coat epoxy in clean water, 20 to 40 for a 100 percent solids epoxy or a novolac in wastewater and chemical service, 40 to 125 for a sprayed polyurethane or polyurea where abrasion or movement is the design case. Below the published thickness the holiday count climbs and the lining fails at the thin spots; above it the sprayed elastomers are merely expensive, and the solvent-borne epoxies trap solvent. (9.2.5)

10 Concrete and Masonry Surface Preparation

10.1 Concrete and masonry to receive a coating or lining shall be cleaned of curing compound, form release agent, laitance, efflorescence, oil, and existing coating by SSPC-SP 13 and ASTM D4258, and shall be profiled by the method indicated in the datasheet to the concrete surface profile the article for the system requires, verified against the ICRI 310.2R profile chips.
Concrete Surface Preparation Methodselect
Abrasive blast cleaning
Shot blast cleaning
Mechanical grinding or scarifying
High-pressure water jetting
Acid etching
10.2 Acid etching shall be used only where the coating manufacturer publishes it for the product, and the etched surface shall be rinsed to a neutral pH by ASTM D4262 and shall show the required profile before priming.
10.3 The Contractor shall confirm the removal of curing compound and form release agent by observing that water sprinkled on the surface is absorbed rather than beaded, before priming.
10.4 Bug holes, honeycomb, cracks, spalls, and form tie holes shall be repaired before the surface is coated: cracks and spalls under Concrete Repair And RestorationConcrete Repair and RestorationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/concrete-repair-and-restoration, and bug holes and tie holes with the filler or surfacer the article for the system selects.
NOTE Abrasive blasting opens the pores, removes laitance and contamination, and reaches a wall and a ceiling, which is why it is the common method on a structure; shot blasting does the same on a slab with the abrasive recovered and is the floor method that reaches a containment pad; grinding and scarifying remove a thick existing coating or a weak surface layer and leave a profile the lining manufacturer may require to be blasted afterward; high-pressure water jetting removes contamination and existing coatings without dust where the water can be collected, and it leaves the surface wet and needs a moisture retest; acid etching gives a light profile on a sound slab with no equipment and is excluded by most lining manufacturers because it leaves salts in the pores and cannot reach the profile a high-build lining needs. (10.5)
NOTE Curing compound and form release agent leave a film no primer bonds through, and they are invisible on a dry wall; the water test shows them in a minute. Water Retaining Concrete StructuresWater-Retaining Concrete StructuresResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/water-retaining-concrete-structures has them removed before its lining, and this article is the method of removal. (10.6)

11 Concrete and Masonry Walls and Ceilings

11.1 Profile and Fillers on Walls and Ceilings

11.1.1 Concrete and masonry walls and ceilings to receive a coating shall be profiled to not less than the concrete surface profile indicated in the datasheet.
Concrete Surface Profile for Wall and Ceiling Coatingsrange
Not less than
CSP
15
Default: 3 CSP
11.1.2 Whether concrete masonry receives a block filler before the coating shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Block Filler on Concrete Masonryradio
● Epoxy block filler
○ Cementitious block filler
○ No block filler
11.1.3 Block filler shall be applied by roller or by spray with back-rolling, in the quantity needed to fill the voids of the masonry and present a pinhole-free surface to the coat that follows, and shall be cured as the manufacturer publishes before it is coated.
11.1.4 Bug holes and voids in cast concrete walls that would pinhole the coating shall be filled with the epoxy or cementitious filler the coating manufacturer publishes for the system, before the first coat.
NOTE A concrete surface profile of 2 to 3 is what a thin-film or high-build wall coating of 10 to 20 mils bonds to, and a profile above 3 shows through a wall coating as texture; a profile of 1 serves only a penetrating sealer. Concrete masonry is open-celled, and a high-performance coating applied straight to it pinholes at every void and never forms the washable film the room is coated for; an epoxy block filler fills the texture with the same chemistry as the system over it and resists the washdown a cementitious filler softens under, which is why it is the common selection in a washdown room, and a cementitious filler costs less and is selected where the wall is in dry atmospheric service. No filler is selected where the units were factory filled or ground face, or where the open texture is the finish. (11.1.5)

11.2 Finish System on Walls and Ceilings

11.2.1 The coating system on concrete, masonry, gypsum board, and plaster walls and ceilings shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Finish System on Walls and Ceilingsselect
High-build polyamide epoxy, two coats
Waterborne epoxy, two coats
Epoxy with an aliphatic polyurethane finish
Epoxy novolac
11.2.2 Gypsum board and plaster walls and ceilings in a washdown room shall receive the primer the coating manufacturer publishes for the substrate, and the gypsum board shall be a moisture-resistant or glass-mat type and the joints finished to the level the coating manufacturer requires, as the standard that furnishes the board provides.
NOTE Two coats of high-build polyamide epoxy form the washable, chemical-resistant wall of the food plant, the pharmaceutical suite, the chemical room, and the mechanical room that is hosed down; it yellows under sunlight and is kept away from windows. A waterborne epoxy carries the same cleanability at a lower chemical resistance and a lower volatile organic compound content, which is what an occupied building and a strict regulatory basis buy. An epoxy base with an aliphatic polyurethane finish holds its color under a skylight and resists the stronger cleaning chemicals, at one more coat. An epoxy novolac resists the acids and solvents of a chemical storage room and the sulfuric acid of a wastewater vapor space, and it is the system where the wall is in chemical service rather than merely washed. (11.2.3)
11.2.4 The wall and ceiling system shall be applied to the total dry film thickness indicated in the datasheet, and not less than the manufacturer publishes for the system.
Total Dry Film Thickness of Wall and Ceiling Systemsrange
Not less than
mils
430
Default: 10 mils
NOTE A two-coat high-build epoxy wall system reaches 8 to 12 mils and is what the published washdown and chemical resistance data of most manufacturers assume; a waterborne epoxy reaches 4 to 6, and a novolac in chemical service is published at 16 to 30. Thickness on a wall buys chemical resistance and cleanability and costs coats and recoat windows, and it is set from the product data of the system selected and the chemicals the room sees. (11.2.5)

12 Concrete Linings in Immersion, Chemical, and Containment Service

12.1 Profile and Resurfacing Under Linings

12.1.1 Concrete to receive an immersion, chemical-service, or containment lining shall be profiled to not less than the concrete surface profile indicated in the datasheet.
Concrete Surface Profile for Liningsrange
Not less than
CSP
39
12.1.2 Whether the prepared concrete receives a resurfacer before the lining shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Resurfacer Under Liningsradio
○ Epoxy resurfacer or trowel-applied epoxy filler
○ Polymer-modified cementitious resurfacer
○ No resurfacer, bug holes filled individually
12.1.3 The resurfacer shall be applied to fill every bug hole and void and to present a surface free of pinholes to the lining, and shall be cured, profiled, and tested for moisture as the lining manufacturer publishes before the lining is applied.
NOTE A lining of 40 mils bridges nothing: every bug hole becomes a pinhole and every pinhole a holiday under a head of liquid. The profile a lining needs rises with its thickness, from 3 for a 20-mil epoxy to 5 and above for a sprayed elastomer at 80 mils, and the value is set from the lining manufacturer's data. An epoxy resurfacer fills the surface with the lining's own chemistry and is the common selection under a thick lining on cast concrete; a polymer-modified cementitious resurfacer is selected where the concrete is weak, uneven, or deteriorated, and it needs its own cure and moisture test before the lining goes over it; filling bug holes individually suits sound, dense concrete under a thinner lining. (12.1.4)
12.1.5 Where the concrete has absorbed sunlight or been heated, the lining shall be applied while the concrete temperature is falling, so that air expanding out of the pores does not pinhole the wet film.

12.2 Lining on Concrete

12.2.1 The lining on concrete in immersion, chemical, vapor, or containment service shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Lining on Concrete in Immersion, Chemical, and Containment Serviceselect
100 percent solids epoxy
Epoxy novolac
Polyurethane elastomeric lining, plural component spray
Polyurea lining, plural component spray
Vinyl ester lining
Flexible polyurethane containment coating
12.2.2 Where the lining manufacturer publishes a primer for the concrete, the primer shall be applied and the lining applied within the primer's recoat window.
NOTE A 100 percent solids epoxy at 20 to 40 mils is the lining of a clearwell, a clean-water channel, and a wet well in domestic wastewater, bonded to the concrete and repairable in place. An epoxy novolac is selected where the structure holds a chemical or a hot liquid, or where the vapor space of a wastewater structure concentrates sulfuric acid, which a plain epoxy softens under. A sprayed polyurethane elastomer builds 60 to 125 mils in one pass, bridges the shrinkage and joint movement of a concrete structure, and takes the abrasion of grit at a headworks, and a polyurea does the same with a faster cure and less tolerance for moisture in the concrete; each needs the plural-component equipment and the qualified applicator. A vinyl ester with glass reinforcement is the lining of a chemical containment under an acid or an oxidizer at a concentration an epoxy will not hold, and of a chlorine contact basin. A flexible polyurethane containment coating is formulated to bridge the cracks of a containment slab and curb and to resist the listed chemicals for the hours of a spill rather than years of immersion, which is the service a secondary containment area actually sees. (12.2.3)
12.2.4 The lining on concrete shall be applied to the total dry film thickness indicated in the datasheet, in the number of coats and at the thickness per coat the lining manufacturer publishes for that total.
Total Lining Thickness on Concreterange
Not less than
mils
15125

12.3 Secondary Containment

12.3.1 A containment lining shall extend over the slab and up the curbs and walls to not less than the containment level as indicated on the containment details, and shall be returned into every drain, sump, and penetration and terminated in a keyed or sealed edge as the lining manufacturer details.
12.3.2 Joints and cracks in a containment slab and curb shall be bridged with the reinforcing fabric or joint detail the lining manufacturer publishes before the lining is applied, and sealant joints shall be sealed under Joint SealantsJoint SealantsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/joint-sealants with a sealant the lining manufacturer accepts.
12.3.3 The containment area shall not receive its tank until the lining has passed the test the Holiday Testing article requires.
NOTE A containment lining is a barrier against a spill, which means it has to be continuous over the one joint or crack the slab was always going to have; the thickness buys nothing at a crack the lining does not bridge, which is why the fabric and the joint detail come before the lining and the holiday test after it. (12.3.4)

13 Color, Gloss, and Flame Spread

13.1 Color

13.1.1 The color of each coated pipe, valve, operator, and item of equipment shall be as indicated on the piping color schedule.
13.1.2 The color of each coated wall, ceiling, and structural surface shall be as indicated on the room finish schedule.
13.1.3 Each color shall match the accepted drawdown under the Action Submittals article, and where the Engineer of Record and the Contractor disagree whether a cured film matches it, the color difference measured by ASTM D2244 with a spectrophotometer shall not exceed 2 ΔE, and where the measurement is not made the Engineer of Record's determination shall govern.
13.1.4 Valve operators, handwheels, levers, and weights shall be finished in the color the piping color schedule assigns to valve operators, and the stem of a rising-stem valve shall not be coated.
13.1.5 Bulk-tinted material of one color from different batches shall be boxed and mixed before application on any continuous surface.
NOTE A plant's piping is color coded by service, and state reviewers in most jurisdictions hold a water or wastewater plant to the color scheme the design has placed on the piping color schedule; the finish coat under this standard is what carries that color, and Mechanical IdentificationMechanical IdentificationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/mechanical-identification adds the legend, the arrow, and the band. (13.1.6)

13.2 Gloss

13.2.1 The gloss of finish coats shall be as indicated in the datasheet, measured at 60 degrees by ASTM D523.
Gloss of Finish Coatsselect
Flat, under 10 gloss units
Satin, 10 to 35 gloss units
Semi-gloss, 35 to 70 gloss units
Gloss, over 70 gloss units
NOTE A gloss finish cleans most easily, sheds washdown water, and shows every weld, run, and repair; a semi-gloss finish is what most plant piping and washdown walls carry, cleanable and forgiving of a textured substrate; satin and flat finishes hide the texture of block and the patching of a wall and hold dirt in their surface. Polyurethanes are published at every level, epoxies at semi-gloss and gloss, and the sprayed linings in whatever gloss they cure to. (13.2.2)

13.3 Flame Spread

13.3.1 Coating systems on the interior walls and ceilings of an occupied building shall carry the surface burning classification indicated in the datasheet, tested by ASTM E84 on the substrate and at the thickness applied.
Flame Spread Class of Interior Wall and Ceiling Systemsselect
Class A
Class B
Class C
No flame spread classification required
Derived — the interior finish class Adopted Building CodeAdopted Building CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-building-code assigns to the occupancy and location of the coated surface (by default)
NOTE The building code classes interior wall and ceiling finishes by the occupancy and by whether the surface is in an exit, a corridor, or a room, and a coating thicker than the code's exemption threshold is a finish that carries the class. Thin epoxy and polyurethane films on concrete and masonry pass Class A in most manufacturers' reports; a thick lining or a filler-and-coating system on gypsum board does not necessarily, and the report is read for the substrate and thickness actually applied. A surface in a process structure that is not an occupied building carries no class. (13.3.2)

14 Volatile Organic Compounds

14.1 Every coating shall comply with the volatile organic compound limits in force at the project location, and the regulatory basis against which the submittals demonstrate compliance shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Volatile Organic Compound Limit Basisselect
EPA national architectural coatings rule, 40 CFR Part 59 Subpart D
OTC model rule as adopted by the state
CARB Suggested Control Measure as adopted by the air district
SCAQMD Rule 1113
14.2 Where a limit stricter than the selected basis is in force at the project location, the stricter limit shall govern, and the Contractor shall confirm the limits in force before material is ordered.
14.3 The product data shall state the volatile organic compound content of each product in grams per liter, less water and exempt compounds, as the selected basis defines it, and shall identify the category under which the product is regulated.
NOTE The federal rule sets an industrial maintenance coating category at a limit most solvent-borne epoxies and polyurethanes meet, and it is the floor everywhere in the United States. The Ozone Transport Commission model rule and the California Air Resources Board measure lower the limit for that category and narrow its definition, so that a product qualifies as industrial maintenance only on a surface in the exposures those rules list, which the chemical, immersion, and washdown service of this standard generally satisfies; SCAQMD Rule 1113 is the strictest and pushes a project to the 100 percent solids and waterborne products. The selected basis changes which primer and finish options above remain procurable, and a system inside an occupied building is often chosen for its odor as much as its content. (14.4)

15 Coating Application

15.1 Mixing, Recoat, and Film Continuity

15.1.1 Two-component and plural-component materials shall be mixed in the published ratio, allowed the published induction time, and applied within the published pot life, and material that has exceeded its pot life shall be discarded.
15.1.2 Each coat shall dry for not less than the manufacturer's published minimum recoat time before the next coat is applied, and where the manufacturer publishes a maximum recoat time the next coat shall be applied within it or the surface shall be abraded and cleaned, or tie-coated, as the manufacturer publishes.
15.1.3 Each coat of a multi-coat system shall be applied in a contrasting color to the coat beneath it, so that coverage can be seen.
15.1.4 Every edge, weld, corner, bolt, rivet, and crevice on steel, and every corner, joint, and penetration on concrete, shall receive a brush-applied stripe coat before each full coat, unless the manufacturer publishes a single stripe coat for the system.
15.1.5 The completed film shall be continuous and uniform in color, gloss, and thickness, free of runs, sags, drips, holidays, pinholes, dry spray, overspray, lap marks, and embedded debris, when viewed in daylight or under the room lighting from a distance of 5 ft.
15.1.6 Hardware, nameplates, data plates, tags, stainless stems, machined faces, flange faces, gaskets, bearings, couplings, guards, and every surface not scheduled for coating shall be masked before application and unmasked after cure, and a nameplate or data plate that is overcoated shall be cleaned or replaced at the Contractor's cost.
NOTE Recoating too soon traps solvent under the new coat and blisters it; recoating an epoxy or polyurethane after its window closes puts a new coat on a surface too hard to bond to, and on these products the window is days. A stripe coat is where the thickness that a sprayed coat pulls away from an edge is put back, and an edge without one is where a lining fails first. (15.1.7)

15.2 Sequence Against Other Work

15.2.1 The field finish on piping shall be applied after the pressure test of that piping has passed under Steel And Stainless Process PipingSteel and Stainless Steel Process PipingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/steel-and-stainless-process-piping, Ductile Iron Process PipingDuctile Iron Process PipingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/ductile-iron-process-piping, and Plastic Process PipingPlastic Process PipingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/plastic-process-piping, and the lining of a concrete structure after its tightness test has been accepted under Water Retaining Concrete StructuresWater-Retaining Concrete StructuresResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/water-retaining-concrete-structures.
15.2.2 The finish coat on a surface shall be applied after the work of other trades that would damage it is complete, or the finished surface shall be protected until that work is complete, and damage by others shall be repaired by the Contractor at the cost of the party that caused it.
15.2.3 Equipment and valves shall be finish coated in place with their drivers, guards, and accessories installed and masked, or the parts shall be coated separately and assembled after cure, so that no coated faying surface, gasket, or stem is bonded by the coating.

15.3 Cure Before Service

15.3.1 A coating or lining in immersion, chemical, or containment service shall not be placed in contact with its service liquid, and a wall system shall not be washed down, until the coating has cured for not less than the number of days indicated in the datasheet at the cure temperature the manufacturer publishes, nor less than the manufacturer's published cure to service for the product and the liquid.
Cure Before Immersion or Chemical Servicerange
Not less than
days
114
Default: 7 days
15.3.2 Where the cure temperature falls below the manufacturer's published value, the cure period shall be extended as the manufacturer publishes, or the structure shall be heated, and the inspector shall record the surface temperature through the cure.
NOTE An epoxy reaches its chemical resistance only at full cross-linking, which on most products takes seven days at 77°F and much longer in a cold wet well, and a lining wetted before it is cured absorbs the liquid and blisters; a sprayed polyurea reaches service in a day, and a novolac in chemical service may need two weeks and a forced cure. The value is set from the product data of the lining and the liquid it will hold. (15.3.3)

15.4 Touch-Up and Final Cleaning

15.4.1 After the work of other trades is complete, the Contractor shall touch up abrasions, scratches, and damage to coated surfaces with the system, product, color, and batch used on the surface, after the surface preparation the manufacturer publishes for a repair, and a repair to a lining shall be holiday tested.
15.4.2 Where a touch-up is visible from 5 ft, the Contractor shall recoat the surface to the nearest natural break.
15.4.3 The Contractor shall remove spatter, drips, and overspray from every surface not scheduled for coating, and shall remove its materials, containers, spent abrasive, and debris from the site at completion.

16 Testing

16.1 Film Thickness Verification

16.1.1 Dry film thickness on steel, ductile iron, and galvanized steel shall be measured for each coat and for the completed system with a gauge conforming to ASTM D7091, to the sampling plan and acceptance of SSPC-PA 2, and the measurement over galvanizing shall be zeroed on the galvanizing.
16.1.2 Dry film thickness on concrete, masonry, gypsum board, and plastic shall be verified by wet film gauge readings during application correlated to the product's volume solids, and on a lining by an ultrasonic gauge under SSPC-PA 9 or by destructive measurement under ASTM D4138 at locations the inspector selects and the Contractor repairs.
16.1.3 Where a measured area is below the specified dry film thickness, the Contractor shall apply additional coats to that area until it conforms, within the recoat window or after the abrasion the manufacturer publishes, at no change in the Contract Sum.
16.1.4 Where a measured area exceeds the manufacturer's published maximum thickness, the Contractor shall obtain the manufacturer's written evaluation of the area and shall remove and reapply it where the manufacturer does not accept it.

16.2 Holiday Testing

16.2.1 Linings and coatings shall be tested for holidays over the extent indicated in the datasheet, by NACE SP0188 and ASTM D5162 on steel and by ASTM D4787 on concrete, after the lining has cured to the state the manufacturer publishes for testing and before it is placed in service.
Holiday Testing Extentradio
● Every immersion, chemical, vapor, and containment surface, over its whole area
○ Immersion linings, over their whole area
○ Not required
16.2.2 Holiday testing shall use the low-voltage wet sponge method on linings 20 mils and thinner and the high-voltage spark method on thicker linings, at the voltage the lining manufacturer publishes for the thickness applied, and the high-voltage method shall not be used over a lining the manufacturer publishes as damaged by it.
16.2.3 Every holiday shall be marked, repaired by the method the manufacturer publishes, and retested, and the test shall be repeated until no holiday is found.
NOTE A holiday is a path for the liquid to the substrate, and under a head of wastewater or a chemical it is where the lining lifts from; the test finds in an hour what the first fill would find in a year. Testing every immersion, chemical, vapor, and containment surface is the program of a plant whose structures cannot be drained to look; limiting it to immersion linings suits a project where the chemical and vapor surfaces are small; no testing is selected where the work is atmospheric finish painting and the test has nothing to find. (16.2.4)

16.3 Adhesion Testing

16.3.1 The adhesion testing program shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Adhesion Testing of the Applied Systemselect
Pull-off tests on every coating system, on the mock-up and on the production work
Pull-off tests on immersion, chemical, and containment linings
Pull-off tests on the mock-up of each system, none on the production work
16.3.2 Pull-off adhesion shall be tested by ASTM D4541 on steel and galvanized steel and by ASTM D7234 on concrete and masonry, on a film cured not less than seven days, at not fewer than three locations per system on the mock-up and, where production work is tested, three locations per system per structure or room plus one per 1,000 ft² of surface.
16.3.3 Pull-off adhesion on steel and galvanized steel shall be not less than the value indicated in the datasheet.
Pull-Off Adhesion on Steelrange
Not less than
psi
2001000
16.3.4 Pull-off adhesion on concrete and masonry shall be not less than the value indicated in the datasheet, or the failure shall be cohesive within the concrete.
Pull-Off Adhesion on Concreterange
Not less than
psi
100400
Default: 200 psi
16.3.5 Adhesion tests shall be performed by the Contractor in the presence of the inspector, the test locations shall be repaired with the system, and where a test fails the Contractor shall investigate the surface preparation, test the adjacent area to bound the failure, remove and reapply the bounded area, and retest at its own cost.
NOTE A pull-off test is the only field measure of whether the preparation and the compatibility confirmations worked, and it is cheap against the surface it qualifies. Testing every system on the production work is selected on a lining program and on recoating work where the existing surfaces are many; testing the linings alone covers the surfaces whose failure takes a structure out of service; testing the mock-up only suits new, shop-coated steel in atmospheric service whose compatibility is confirmed in writing. On steel, 400 to 600 psi is what a sound epoxy over a blast profile reaches and 200 to 300 what a surface-tolerant system over hand-cleaned steel reaches, and the value is set from the system selected; on concrete the lining is stronger than the concrete, so a failure within the concrete at any load is the substrate's limit and not the coating's, and 200 psi is the value the lining manufacturers and ICRI cite for sound concrete. (16.3.6)

17 Delivery, Storage, and Handling

17.1 Coatings shall be delivered to the site in the manufacturer's original sealed containers, labeled with the product name, the component, the color, the batch number, the date of manufacture, and the shelf life.
17.2 Materials shall be stored in a secure, ventilated space within the temperature range the manufacturer publishes, protected from freezing, direct sun, and open flame, with the two components of a product stored together and the plural-component materials heated as the manufacturer publishes before use.
17.3 Material that has exceeded its published shelf life, has frozen, or shows gelling, skinning, or settling that cannot be reincorporated shall be removed from the site.
17.4 Abrasive shall be stored dry, and recycled abrasive shall be tested for oil, water, and soluble salts before reuse.
17.5 Mixing and storage areas shall be protected with drop cloths and spill containment, and spent solvent, rags, and surplus material shall be disposed of as the regulations in force at the project location require.
NOTE A two-component material that has sat past its shelf life cures unpredictably, and the warranty is void from the batch date; a waterborne product that freezes breaks its emulsion and cannot be restored. Oily rags left in a pile heat and ignite, which is why they are kept in a closed metal container. (17.6)

18 Warranty

18.1 The Contractor shall warrant the coating work against peeling, blistering, cracking, loss of adhesion, holidays, and chemical or corrosion failure under the service the coating system schedule assigns, for not less than the period indicated in the datasheet from the date of Substantial Completion.
Contractor Warranty Period for the Coating Workrange
Not less than
yr
1235
18.2 The Contractor's warranty shall cover the field-applied system, including its adhesion to the shop coating the Contractor confirmed compatible, and shall not cover the shop coating's adhesion to its own substrate, which remains under the warranty of the standard that furnished it.
18.3 Where the manufacturer publishes a product or system warranty longer than the Contractor's period, the Contractor shall comply with the manufacturer's applicator, inspection, and documentation conditions so that the Owner receives it, and the manufacturer's warranty shall apply in addition to the Contractor's.
18.4 A warranty repair shall restore the surface with the system, color, and gloss of the adjacent work to the nearest natural break, shall be holiday tested where the original work was, and shall carry a fresh warranty of the original period from the date of the repair or the unexpired remainder of the original period, whichever ends later.
18.5 The Contractor shall bear the cost of draining, cleaning, ventilating, and returning to service a structure for a warranty repair, of removing, protecting, and reinstalling adjacent work the repair disturbs, and of collateral damage the repair causes.
NOTE A one-year period matches the general correction period of most contracts and is what a project selects when the coating is finish painting of exposed piping; two years carries a lining through two full seasons of service, which is when preparation and moisture failures appear; longer periods are selected on linings whose manufacturers warrant the material for five and ten years, so that the workmanship warranty is not the shortest term in the structure. Damage by abrasion beyond the published rate, by a chemical not on the containment schedule, and by others is outside the warranty. (18.6)

19 Extra Stock

19.1 The Contractor shall deliver to the Owner before final acceptance the quantity of each finish product and lining, in each color and gloss used on the project, indicated in the datasheet, in sealed, labeled, original containers from the batches applied, with both components of a two-component product.
Extra Stock of Each Finish Product, Color, and Glossrange
gal
05
Default: 1 gal
19.2 Each container shall be labeled with the product, the component, the color name and tint formula, the gloss, and the surfaces on which it was used, so that the Owner can match a touch-up without testing.
19.3 The Contractor shall obtain the Owner's signed receipt for the extra stock and shall include it in the closeout submittals.
NOTE A plant touches up its piping and its washdown walls for years, and the batch applied, with the formula recorded, is the closest match the Owner will get; a gallon of each serves the first years of touch-up, and a lining is stocked where the Owner's staff will repair a holiday rather than call the applicator back. (19.4)

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"High-Performance Coatings," SynC Standards, revision 3. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source: https://synergyinconstruction.com/standards/general/high-performance-coatings. Reference material only; not professional engineering advice and provided without warranty. Verify against governing codes and have a licensed professional review before use.