What exactly or near enough is PAINT?

Wikipedia description …
Paint is made from a coloured pigment which is usually a powder. The powder is made
from different chemicals. Some of the pigments come straight from natural things
like clay. The pigment must be made wet by mixing it with something that will make it
stick onto the surface and not come off easily. The wet stuff is called the "medium" or
"vehicle". Water-based paints are mixed with water. Other paints are mixed with oils or
chemicals of different sorts.
Paint is also and mainly used in homes and commercial properties to decorate walls and
other surfaces. Now let’s stop talking about Paint and move onto.
Coatings are a different thing altogether; coatings are used to protect steel and help it from
corroding.
From now on when dealing with painters etc offshore and anyone says paint just mentally
replace that with coating or coating system.

A coating protective system is the wet stuff usually applied to a dry(ish) surface (usually
offshore a steel surface often called a substrate).

Now…coating systems in an offshore environment is a sort of special thing … because it

must do lots of things to provide the reason for being used.

Let’s look at a few reasons to apply a coating system to steel.

1. It could help slowing down the oxidisation of the steel (inhibit the corrosion of the
steel).
2. It could act a as temporary passivating layer for the steel (steel not having a natural
passivating layer).
3. A pipe e.g., Can have an aesthetic colour to make it look nice or simply to identify
what product is inside the pipe.

What do we need the coatings to do, to help protect the steel substrate from corroding in
an extreme marine environment? The offshore environment is classified/defined under ISO
EN 12994, as - CX – Extreme industrial areas, offshore areas, salt spray – a hostile
environment! Therefore, a demanding coating system would be required to stop Oil Rigs,
FPSO’S etc from simply corroding into the ocean, some of the problems faced by offshore
structures include:

 Higher costs of monitoring and maintenance

 Severe hostile environment
 Fouling of underwater structure due to marine life
 Down-hole corrosion
 Severe stress corrosion
 Fatigue related to corrosion
Fortunately, the hard work has already been completed by Industry and Governments
collectively accepting certain standards and conventions. Two of the main accepted
documents used in the offshore environment are listed below.

ISO 12994. Generally accepted in UK Offshore sector.

Norsok Standard M-501. Generally accepted in The Norwegian sector.

ISO 12994 is a gateway document with many different parts to it, however the critical
section that explains how to build a successful paint system is ISO 12994 – 5 - Paints and
varnishes — Corrosion protection of steel structures by protective paint systems.

The Norsok Standard M-501 is set up and laid out as a wholly holistic system which
demands adherence to the system, it details every stage of the substrate preparation to the
eventual coating being applied, and details the painters required experience and
qualifications to the paint inspectors duties, reporting requirements and qualifications, to be
honest it is in my opinion the total package and should be held up as the standard for which
everyone offshore should try to attain.

Let’s now look at the constituent parts of a coating system and why it is designed that way.

What is required to keep steel from corroding, in an offshore environment?

To answer that, we need to ask what we are trying to achieve by designing a coating
system?

Coating systems protect the substrate from corrosion by a combination of one or more of
the following methods.

The barrier principle: The substrate is isolated from the environment which causes
corrosion by using a coating which has low permeability to moisture and air. This may be
achieved by applying a thick coat or having low permeability, e.g., epoxy, polyurethane: or
even better applying a thick low permeability coating.

(Permeability = the ability of a substance to allow gases or liquids to go through it)

Passivation: Corrosion is retarded or arrested by chemical reactions between rust inhibitive

pigments in the primer, and the substrate and/or moisture passing through the paint film.

Cathodic protection: This is achieved by coating the substrate with a paint containing
metallic pigments – usually zinc (aluminium in some cases), which are ignoble with respect
to the substrate. Cathodic protection may also be achieved by means of metal coating such
as zinc galvanising. And of course, tying the coated objects into a sacrificial anode system
would be great, but in practice its usually the jacket on a rig and the hull on FPSO’s etc.
Utilising the ISO 12994 methodology when selecting the appropriate coating system

 Determine the corrosivity category of the environment (macroclimate) where the

structure will be located (see ISO 12944-2).
 Establish whether special conditions (microclimate) exist which can result in a higher
corrosivity category (see ISO 12944-2).
 Look in Annex A for the relevant table. Tables A.2 to A.5 give proposals for different
generic types of paint system for corrosivity categories C2 to CX, while Table A.1
gives an overview of the contents of Tables A.2 to A.5.
 Identify in the table paint systems with the required durability.
 Select the optimum one, considering the surface preparation method that will be
used.
 Consult the manufacturer in order to confirm the choice and to determine what
commercially available coating system(s) correspond to the coating system selected.

The basic components of the coating system.

Binder

Pigments

Solvents

Other Constituents

(This does not mean the coating system is be applied in this order – just that it must have
all the elements to be effective).

Binder

The binder is the film-forming component the vehicle that carries the pigment and then
dries or cures, holding it in place. The binder is also responsible for adhesion, durability,
flexibility, gloss, and other physical properties.

Keeping it simple, there are 2 types of binder, Convertible and Non- convertible coatings.

Convertible coatings can be a single part material, e.g., alkyd, epoxy ester, or two-part
epoxy, polyurethane which when applied and cured cannot be re-dissolved in their own
solvents. – Offshore this is the preferred choice for the reasons stated.

Non-convertible coatings can be defined as coatings that form films solely through solvent
loss and which undergo no significant chemical reaction with time. These coatings remain
permanently soluble in the solvents used to prepare the coating and can readily be
redissolved in these solvents after film formation. Not really useful offshore!
Other Constituents (usually carried within the Binder)

These are choices to compliment the requirements from the coating system, such as to aid
manufacturing process, to increase shelf life, to aid application, to aid film formation, to aid
drying or curing, to repel bacteria or suppress plant growth mechanical durability, UV
protection, acid or alkaline resistance, the list is endless and can generally be
accommodated into the system by liaising with manufacturers when sourcing the coating
system.

Pigments (usually carried within the Binder)

Pigments are insoluble particulate materials that provide colour, opacity, gloss control,
rheological control, and certain functions such as corrosion inhibition, magnetic moment,
corrosion protection and water barriers. Pigment materials usually possess special
properties that provide permanence and stability of materials.

They also reduce the cost of coatings by acting as a volume filler.

A good example to mention is, think of offshore Yellow paint, this is a 2 part high build glass
flake epoxy, the part I want to highlight is the glass flakes (these are microscopic in size) that
are in the mix, when the paint is curing, the glass flakes lay in multiple crazy paving like
layers in the midcoat high build part of the system, these layers of microscopic glass flake
create such an obstacle that when water tries and pass through it renders the coating
system nearly impermeable. This way glass flake can be seen as both a volume filler, which
it is but more importantly as a highly impermeable barrier system.

Solvents

In coating systems, solvents dissolve or disperse the components used in the formulation, to
make paint the desired consistency for application and to avoid clumps or globs, solvents
are added to some spray paints to prevent them from drying in mid-air. The slow
evaporation of this powerful group of solvents means that objects, can get smooth, flawless
applications of paint for a more durable finish.

That is coating and paint make up 101.

The conventional way to build a protective coating system is the Layer system.

Big but simple point to really stress here is that each and all parts of the layer system have
all the parts mentioned above, Binder, Pigments, Solvents and any Other Constituents as
required.

Coating systems may be single layered or multi-layered coatings. A multi-layered coating

system consists of a primer, at least one midcoat (build coat) and a finish (top) coat, each
coat has its own specific function.

Primer

Just to repeat the primer will have Binder, Pigments, Solvents and any Other Constituents.

The function of the Primer coat is to provide maximum and lasting adhesion to the
substrate, to provide a key for the next paint layer and, in most cases, to help retard
corrosion by means of an inhibitive pigment (such as zinc oxide) when the primer is applied
to steel substrates.

Although steel does not have a passivating layer, can we provide it with one? Or at least try
to help it?

Yes, by starting the paint system with a Zinc Oxide rich primer (Base) coat.

Zinc rich paints are primarily used to protect metallic surfaces from corrosion by providing
cathodic protection at the expense of the Zinc (Zinc can act as a sacrificial anode) contained
in these paints. Zinc rich paints and coatings are often used as part of a primer that acts as a
secondary shield to protect the surface from corroding.
Zinc is the most abundant natural ore in the world.

Midcoat(s) Build coat(s)

Just to repeat the midcoats will have Binder, Pigments, Solvents and any Other Constituents.

Midcoats may be standard undercoats or more usually high-build coats containing elements
such as glass particles, when curing the glass particles set in non-regular patterns creating
very difficult barriers for the passage of water. Midcoats being low permeable prevent the
leaching away of the primer, thereby helping to resist corrosion.

No paint coating is impervious to water ingress, so what can we do to stop salty water
ingression to the steel substrate?

Easy answer is to create or build up more effective layers (the coating thickness) in a way
that hinders the salty water ‘getting to’ the steel substrate. And if you have been paying
attention using low permeable coatings, makes sense, eh?
A proven way to do this is to employ an epoxy 2-part system.
An epoxy coating is a coating compound consisting of two distinct elements: an epoxy
resin and a polyamine hardener (also known as a catalyst). When mixed, the resin and
hardener engage in a chemical reaction that creates cross-linking of the elements at the
polymer level as it cures.

Finish (Top) coat

Just to repeat the Finish (top) coat will have Binder, Pigments, Solvents and any Other
Constituents.

The final coat in a system gives its surface its final appearance this could be colour and gloss.
A final coat can have a variety of constituents in the final mix, does it require high UV
tolerance, need to be highly glossy to shed water, need to have toughness to withstand
scuffs and knocks, so the final specification of the finish/ topcoat may be a lot more than
just looking shiny!

In summary

Coating systems needs to be a designed requirement not an afterthought, it must meet

certain operational requirements in the engineered space it has to perform its job, it has to
realise its purpose over a designated lifespan.

It needs to be applied correctly, inspected correctly during application and throughout its
operation working life as it is a protective coating of piping and vessels containing liquids
and gases under pressure and steel structures in extreme environments.

IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING BUT THE WEAKNESSES IN THE SYSTEM ARE USUALLY THE
BLASTER PREPARING THE SURFACE AND THEN THE PAINTER/SPRAYER APPLYING THE
COATING, YOU CANNOT RELY ON THEM DOING THEIR JOBS COMPETENTLY OR THEIR
SUPERVISOR CHECKING THE WORK – IT ALL GENERALLY COMES DOWN TO THE PAINT
INSPECTOR – AND THAT IS WHY A THIRD-PARTY CLIENTS PAINT INSPECTOR IS SO
IMPORTANT.