29/6/2016 CoatingsSpecifications,Good,BadorUgly:LouVincentQ&A

CoatingsSpecifications,Good,BadorUgly:Lou
VincentQ&A
BySandyRice,May6,2015

Takeaway:Writingapropercoatingspecificationinvolvesmyriaddetailsthatmustbesitespecific,takingintoaccount
theenvironmentwherethepaintingwillbedone,structurelifeandperformanceaspects,whatcoatingsystemtouse,
andmuchmore.Anewseries.

Pastpresidentof
NACE
InternationalLouisD.
Vincenthas57years
ofexperienceinthe
coatingsindustryand
isawellknown
teacherandthe
renownedauthorof
classicreference
manualsthathave
influencedcorrosion
professionals
worldwidefor
decades.

Overthepastsix
decades,the
development
Experts
Source:ByStaffSgt.NicholasWilson

ofcoatingspecificationbestpracticeshasmarchedinstepwiththeevolutionofprotectivecoatings,informedbylessons
fromthefieldacrossthespectrumofindustriesimpactedbyinfrastructurecorrosion.

Inthisintroductioninterviewfortheseries,WhatMakesaGreatCoatingSpec,Vincentexploresessential
considerationsforanyonetaskedwithwritingacoatingsspecification.

Q:Whatisacoatingspecification?

A:Coatingsspecificationsaresomewhatsimilartorainbows.Theycomeinakaleidoscopeofcolors,frombrilliantaftera
freshspringrain,todullanddrabattheendofagloomywinterday.Wehavenocontroloverrainbows,butwedohave
controloverthequalityofthecoatingsspecificationswewrite.Firstoff,wemustunderstandthetaskinvolvesdetails,
detailsandmoredetails.

Q:Whoisthespecificationtypicallywrittenforandwhousesit?

A:Writingatrulygoodcoatingsspecificationclearlydescribeswhattheownerexpectsinthewayofaestheticsand
durabilityofastructure,inordertoissueacontracttohavethatspecificstructurepainted.

Itmattersnotwhatthestructureisorwhereitwillservetheintentofthecoatingsspecificationistoclearlydelineatethe
ownersexpectations.
https://www.corrosionpedia.com/2/1742/corrosionprevention/applicationmethods/coatingsspecificationsgoodbadoruglylouvincentqa
Inthecaseofacommercialbuilding,theownersmostcriticalexpectationmaybethebrillianceofcolorsinthe 1/3
29/6/2016 CoatingsSpecifications,Good,BadorUgly:LouVincentQ&A

decorativescheme,whereasinthecaseofanoffshoredrillingrigoranFPSO(floatingproduction&storageoperation),
theownersexpectationmaybethattheFPSOwillserveinaharsh,corrosivemarineenvironmentforaperiodof20to
30yearswithaminimumofmaintenancerequired.

Ineachcase,thespecificationwritershouldbecomethoroughlyinformedaboutthatstructureandtheowners
expectationsforthecoatingsprogramonthatstructure.Thisrequiresasubstantialinvestmentofresearchonthepartof
thespecificationwriter,becausedespitethefactthattwostructuresmaybeidentical,theserviceenvironmentcanbe
dramaticallydifferent.

Q:Whatspecwritingapproachwouldyouclassifyasbad?

A:Toomanycoatingsprojectswindupbeingclassifiedasfailuresbecausethespecificationwritersufferedfromwhatis
sometimescalledTheXeroxSyndrome.Simplystated,thatmeansthewritertakesoutanoldspecificationand
changesthewordingtoreflectanewstructurewithoutreallyunderstandingthecomplexityofpaintingthatstructurein
thatspecificlocationatthattimeoftheyear.

Q:Isalotofdetailalwaysrequired?

A:Withanycoatingsproject,thedevilisinthedetails.Thisdoesnotmeanthatlongerspecificationsarebetterthan
shortones.Whatitdoesmeanisthatthespecificationmustthoroughlyaddresstheknowncomplexitiesofthatspecific
paintingproject.

Ontheotherhand,thatdoesntmeanthatthewriterhastocreateadeliberatelycomplex,lengthyspecification.Theold
adage,Howlongshouldapersonslegsbe?isanappropriateanalogy,withtheanswerbeingLongenoughtoreach
theground.

Sohowlonganddetailedshouldacoatingspecificationbe?

Theansweris:Onlyaslongandasdetailedasisnecessarytoclearlyestablishwhathastobedonetopreparethe
structureforpainting,whatcoatingsystemhastobeapplied,andwhatcriteriaarenecessaryforsuccessfulcompletion
oftheproject.

Agoodruleofthumbisthatthemorecriticalthecoatingsystemistotheexpectedperformanceofthestructure,the
moredetailedthespecificationneedstobe.

Whileitisimportanttoincludeenoughdetailtoensurepropercoatingapplication,itisalsonecessarytoavoidbeing
overlydetailed.Contractorsarenotlawyerstheyneedtoknowwhatisexpectedofthemsotheycanorganizethe
necessaryequipmentandmanpowertomeettherequirementsofthespecificationandanygovernmentalregulations
thatcouldapplyinthatspecificlocation.

Specificationsthattrytopineverythingdowntoagnatseyebrowwillonlyleadtoexcessivelogisticspriorto,duringand
afterthecoatingproject.Lossoftimeandpoormanpowerallocationarenaturaloutcomesofanoverlydetailedcoating
specification.

Q:Isitalwaysnecessarytowriteaspec,orcanthepaintingcontractorsimplyapplythecoatingsystemin
accordancewiththecoatingmanufacturerswritteninstructions?

A:Isthisappropriate?Isthisadequate?TheanswerisaresoundingNO.

Manufacturerscannotanticipateallofthecomplexitiesofstructures,orthevagariesoftheenvironmentsinwhichthose
structureswillbepainted,orwheretheywillbeplacedintoservice.Inordertoselltheircoatingsoverthelargest
possiblemarket,oftenonaglobalbasis,coatingsmanufacturersmustbasetheirrecommendationsonbroadlygeneric
conditions.

Itisthecoatingspecificationwritersresponsibilitytoworkwiththecoatingmanufacturerstechnicalservicedepartment
tofinetunethebroadrecommendationstofitthespecificrequirementsofeachparticularproject.

Q:Therearemanychemistriesandbrandsoutthere.Howdospecwritersselectcoatings?
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29/6/2016 CoatingsSpecifications,Good,BadorUgly:LouVincentQ&A

A:Atsomepointinthedevelopmentofacoatingsystemforaspecificpaintingproject,thespecificationwritermust
narrowthepotentialcoatingsystemsdowntoamanageablefew,normallynolessthanthreeforeachservicearea.This
willbetrueunlesstheownerdecidestohavesinglecoatingsourceresponsibleforthatproject,whichrarelyhappens
unlessthereisacarefullywordedwarrantyissuedforthatproject.

Narrowingdownpotentialcoatingssystemstoamanageablefewisoftendoneinoneofthefollowingthreeways:

1.Usingsocalledlegacysystems
Thesearecoatingsystemsthathavebeensuccessfullyusedoverafairlylongperiodoftimewithgoodresultson
similarstructures.Thereisapotentialforfailureswithlegacysystemsbecausewhilethecoatingmayhavethe
samenameandnumberastheonethatpreviouslyperformedsowell,theproductmayhavebeenchangeddue
toenvironmentalregulationssuchasVOCs(volatileorganicconcentrations),toxicmetalsrestrictions(heavy
metalssuchalead,chromium,etc.)ortheunavailabilityofakeypigmentinthepartoftheworldwherethe
coatingwillbemanufacturedforthatspecificproject.Onceagain,thespecificationwritermustdohisduediligence
beforemakingafinalchoiceofanycoatingsystem.
2.Comparativelaboratorytestedsystems
Thisinvolvessubjectingpotentialcoatingsystemstosidebysidetestsinalaboratorythatisdesignedtoreplicate
ascloselyaspossibletheserviceconditionsthatwillbeencounteredineachparticularproject.Whilethisgivesthe
specificationwritersomevaluabledata,hemustrecognizethatitisvirtuallyimpossibletoreplicatealltheservice
conditionsinalaboratoryenvironment.
3.Coatingmanufacturercasehistories
Thiscanbeveryvaluable,butithasitspotentialdrawbacks.Onceagain,thespecificationwritermustresearch
thesecasehistoriestodetermineiftheytrulyrepresentcomparableserviceconditions.Acoatingsystemthat
performsgreatonarigintheNorthSeawillnotperformexactlythesameonanidenticalrigintheGulfofMexico
ortheMiddleEast.

Q:Howwouldyousummarizethisshortintroductiontocoatingsspecificationwriting?

A:Thisarticlefocusesononlyafewcriticalaspectsofwhatseparatesagoodcoatingspecificationfromabadorugly
coatingspecification.Therearemanyotheraspectsofaproperlywrittencoatingspecificationthatmustbeanalyzedand
organizedonasitespecificbasis,whichwillbediscussedforyourreadersinlaterinterviews.

Experiencedspecificationwritershaveextensivecheckliststhattheygothroughoneachprojectinordertomakesure
thatwhattheyspecifytrulymeetstheexpectationsoftheownerand,evenmoreimportantly,isachievablebytheskill
levelofthepaintingcontractorsatthesitewheretheprojectwillbepainted.

***
Moreinthe"HowtoWriteaGreatCoatingSpecification"series:

WhyitsaMistaketoReuseOldCoatingSpecs:LouVincentQ&A
WhoParticipatesinSelectingEqualCoatingProducts?
ConditionSurveyTheBackboneofaGoodCoatingSpecification
DefiningServiceRequirements&EnvironmentalFactorsforCoatingSpecification
DefiningClientObjectivesforCoatingsSpecification
Methods&PitfallsinSelectingCoatingSystemsforSpecification
Tightrope:IdentifyingLimitingConditionsforCoatingsSpecification
ProblemsCausedbytheLackofClarity&DefinitioninCoatingSpecifications
WritingSafetyIntoYourCoatingSpecification

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