5.

What factors influence the

selection of a paint system?

Table of content

Section Title Page

5.1 Selection of paint: Involved parties’ selection criteria 5.2

5.1.1 Authorities 5.2
5.1.2 Customer 5.3
5.1.3 Yard / Contractor 5.4
5.1.4 Coating manufacturer 5.4

5.2 Product documentation and quality assurance 5.5

5.3 Check list for coating selection 5.6

Section 5 : “What factors influence on selection of a paint system” Page 5. 1

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5. What factors influence the selection of a paint
system?
There are many factors influencing the choice of coatings for protection of a structure or
part of a structure. Selection of a coating system is in most cases based on owners own
experience and on recommendations given by applicator / yard and coating manufacturer.
This will be a mix of the legislative requirements, cost, usage and coating properties.

5.1 Selection of paint: Involved parties’ selection criteria

5.1.1 Authorities
The authorities have influence on selection of coatings through the legislation and by
recommended practices. This includes:

• Safety
• Health
• Environment
• Technical recommendations

The most important organisations are:

• National authorities
• IMO (International Maritime Organisation)
• Classification societies

Section 5 : “What factors influence on selection of a paint system” Page 5. 2

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Examples where legislation and recommendations from authorities affects coating selection
and paint application are: Work procedures related to welding, Anti-foulings, Soft coats in
seawater ballast tanks and restrictions regarding use of tar-containing paint

5.1.2 Customer
The ultimate goal for a customer is to select a system in such a way that the lowest lifetime
cost is achieved. The customer’s prime interest therefore concerns:

• Cost-effective systems
• System to perform according to specified lifetime
• Easy inspection
• Easy repair / maintenance
• Light coloured products in tanks and void spaces
- Easy: application, inspection and maintenance

5.1.3 Yard / Contractor

The most important player in the game of corrosion protection is the yard.

The main interest of the yard is to have a cost effective production. This means that, to
have a fast production rate, they prefer to operate according to established yard
procedures, where they can use their own experience, available technology and the skills of
the personnel. This will reflect their coating selection criteria:

Section 5 : “What factors influence on selection of a paint system” Page 5. 3

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 • Cheap solutions
• Prefer to use his own standard specification
• Easy application, few coats
• Capacity and speed of production.
• Long overcoating intervals
• Quick drying/cure
• Low-temperature application
• Surface tolerant products to reduce pre-treatment quality
• Solvent-less or solvent-free
• Type of facilities available for: Blast-cleaning, Water-jetting, Paintwork and curing
• Light coloured paints

5.1.4 Coating manufacturer

In many cases both the owner and the yard have preferred suppliers. They all have to agree
upon which system to be used. Basically the coating manufacturer is interested in selling a
system which is fit for the purpose. He should therefore investigate all technical aspects
that will have an influence on the coating performance / lifetime.

• Customer’s expectation regarding performance and life time for the protective
system.
• Exposure conditions during application, curing and operation
- Environment (humidity, temperature etc.), cargo, mechanical wear
• Surface treatment
- Blast-cleaning, powertool cleaning, water-jetting, electrolytic descaling
• Newbuilding/new construction
• Building method
• Quality of shopprimer. Intact, total removal or spotblasting ?
• Maintenance
• Existing coating system and breakdown
• Adequate paint film thicknesses to be used
• Cathodic Protection as additional protection
• Check that application and drying/curing conditions are in line with the paints’
technical data sheets
• Experience and level of qualification of personnel. (Will they require education?)

5.2 Product documentation and quality assurance

Today, the society in general as well as the industry itself is very conscious about quality of
products. Several products are commercially available. All paint manufacturers are required
to supply documentation of the properties of the coatings. A paint system can be selected
/ rejected on the basis of the supplied or the lack of documentation. Required
documentation includes the manufacturers’ technical and commercial material, health and
environmental data. In addition, documented experience from previous projects,

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Copyright© 2010 Jotun Paints South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. All rights reserved.
independent test certificates/reports as well as other relevant documentation concerning
quality and suitability are of interest.

1. Product data. All information concerning individual products must be available in the
form of manufacturers’ technical data-sheets.

2. Health and environmental data. The manufacturer is obliged to ensure that all
information concerning the effects of using the product on health and the environment
is available. The tin containing the paint should be labelled and safety data sheets must
include all relevant information and precautions.

3. Practical experience. The customer’s own experience of the suitability and protective
properties of the products play a significant role in the choice of systems in the future.
All such information, including economic aspects, ought to be collected systematically in
a database.

4. Pre-production test. It may be appropriate to carry out pre-production tests before the
work is started. The aim is to demonstrate that the yard / subcontractor has sufficiently
qualified personnel, equipment and product knowledge to be able to do the job. Pre-
production tests should be checked and approved by representatives of the customer,
contractor and paint manufacturer. During the pre-production test the subcontractor
carries out steelwork, surface treatment and paint work on large test-pieces in
accordance with the specifications.. The test-pieces are used as reference objects in the
case of disputes. Destructive tests such as the adhesion tests, measurements of cross-
sections, etc. can be carried out on the test areas.

5. Pre-qualification testing. Pre-qualification or test documentation will be based on tests

carried out by:
• Independent test institutes
• Classification Societies (usually approvals)
- Type approvals, recommended generic types
• In-house testing

and in accordance with:

• Standards from Standardisation organisations etc. (ISO, NACE, SSPC )
• Industry standards (NORSOK etc.)
• Tests generally recognised by industry

The industry often requires practical experience to be backed up by test results from
laboratory studies. In most cases these tests are standardised test methods, but can also
be generally accepted tests. Today, the most important test methods include:

• Condensation chamber, based on standardised test methods.

• Salt fog cabinet, based on standardised test methods
• Cyclic testing in seawater/humid air
• Testing carried out under simulated, realistic exposure (Test cabinets)
• Field testing (On board a vessel, on platforms, in industrial areas)

Section 5 : “What factors influence on selection of a paint system” Page 5. 5

Copyright© 2010 Jotun Paints South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. All rights reserved.
6. General information on guarantees. Most faults are caused by poor pre-treatment or
poor conditions when the primer coat is applied. For this reason, it is reasonable for the
company doing the work (contractor or yard) to guarantee its responsibility vis-à-vis the
owner. The coating manufacturer is willing to discuss guarantees as long as there is a
certain standard of the pre-treatment (Usually blast cleaning to Sa 2 ½) and provided
that their specified coating system is used. Faults may appear in the coating or they may
occur as a result of wrong information being given regarding use of the product
concerned. For this reason, it is important to note the production (batch) number of the
coating material, and it is therefore in the manufacturer’s own interest to retain samples
of the coating in case a claim should be made.

5.3 Check list for coating selection

As can be seen from the sections above selection of a paint system is rather complex and
must be done on a case to case basis. It is therefore impossible to put up one complete
procedure applicable for all cases. However, a few general points can be used as a check
list:

• Make sure that all legislation relevant for the application, use of coating and use of
construction unit is known before the coating is selected.
• Have all relevant precautions for protecting applicators and the surrounding
environment been made? Remember SHE (Safety, Health, Environment)
• Has the contractor facilities and skills for doing a good job with the selected system?
• Is the required / expected lifetime of the system clear and is the proposed system
capable of meeting this requirement?
• Is the pre-treatment compatible with the paint to be applied?
• Is the paint system well defined and in line with technical requirements given in the
data sheets?
• Is the proposed paint system suitable for protecting the structure / unit in question?
• Have you selected multi-coat treatments with coatings layers of contrasting colours
for improving conditions of application and inspection?
• Is the maintenance frequency, methods and routines possible to meet with the
selected system?
• Will Cathodic protection be used to back up the paint system?. If so, the coating
system selected for the protection must be compatible with the supplementary
cathodic protection system.
• Are the products accompanied by detailed technical- and safety specifications?
• Are satisfactory performance records, appropriate test data and other required
documentation available?
• Is the manufacturer capable of providing adequate technical services?

Section 5 : “What factors influence on selection of a paint system” Page 5. 6

Copyright© 2010 Jotun Paints South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. All rights reserved.