The external surface of these tanks are exposed to chemical fumes, moisture and vapours in the location of their installation. Owing to these working conditions the metal surface of the tank has tremendously corroded, although it has been painted with a conventional paint system. Heavy metal loss is seen over the tank surface which was an alarming situation.
Preliminary arrangement to access the complete surface of the tank was made by erecting a tailor-made scaffolding system abiding to safety norms. First round of blast cleaning was carried out to remove the loose rust flakes and old paint from the surface. Surface was scrubbed thoroughly to foaming using cleaning agents and water washed using a high pressure water jet cleaning. This was performed to neutralize the surface and make it free from the entrapped electrolytic chemical molecules.
The neutralized surface was thoroughly blast cleaned using copper slag abrasive medium to Sa 3 surface profile to an average surface roughness of 100+ microns to near white metal finish ensuring the surface is also free from adsorbed contaminants.
Over the prepared surface, ProCoat coating was applied using synthetic rollers and tynex brushes to the recommended thickness levels not exposing the surface for longer times to the expelled chemicals and prevailing humid environmental conditions. Intermittent checks were made using Elcometer WFT gauge to ensure the desired thickness of coating as per the requirements.
Once the coating was cured Dry Film Thickness was measured using the Elcometer DFT Gauge & checked with Holiday Spark Tester to ensure complete coating integrity. Two such tanks have been coated using ProCoat Advanced Polymer Coating Systems providing the reliable protection to these equipments for almost since year 2013.
Over and above ProCoat coating system, as per the requirement of customer, a polyurethane paint of desired colour was applied for the dual protection of chemical corrosion protection and UV degradation, which also gives a subtle aesthetic appearance.
