With any applied coating, the quality of the surface preparation is the most important factor in determining whether the coating will perform for its expected design life. With paint coatings in particular, almost all failures are due to poor surface preparation. Longer maintenance-free performance is being demanded of protective coatings, and environmental and heritage issues increasingly impact upon surface preparation technology. The specification and quality assurance of surface preparation thus require as much attention as the priming and topcoating systems. There are no shortcuts to good surface preparation and the costs premature failure render the savings associated with cheap surface preparation insignificant. Almost all steel that is coated required some type of surface preparation and the quality of surface preparation is the single most important factor in determining coating reliability. 95% of all paint failures are caused by inadequate or poor quality surface preparation. The environmental responsibilities associated with maintenance painting and the impact of environmental legislation on paint technology will make adequate surface preparation even more important in the understanding of coating performance and the management of corrosion. Extract from INGAL Specifiers' Manual - 3rd Edition. Full manual at www.ingal.com.au .
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