© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Preface
This book has been written to fill a gap in the literature of corrosion-protection
coatings by offering a bridge between the very brief account of paints conveyed in
most corrosion books and the very comprehensive, specialized treatises found in the
polymer or electrochemical scientific publications.
I have tried to write this book for the following audiences:
• Maintenance engineers who specify or use anticorrosion paints and need
a sound working knowledge of different coating types and some orientation
in how to test coatings for corrosion protection
• Buyers or specifiers of coatings, who need to know quickly which tests
provide useful knowledge about performance and which do not
• Researchers working with accelerated test methods, who need an in-depth
knowledge of aging mechanisms of coatings, in order to develop more
accurate tests
• Applicators interested in providing safe working environments for personnel
performing surface preparation
• Owners of older steel structures who find themselves faced with removal
of lead-based paint (LBP) when carrying out maintenance painting
The subject matter is dictated by the problems all these groups face. LBP
dominates parts of the book. Although this coating is on its way out, the problems
it has created remain. Replacement pigments of equivalent — even better — quality
certainly exist but are not as well known to the general coatings public as we would
wish. This is partly due to the chaotic conditions of accelerated testing. Hundreds
of test methods exist, with no consensus in the industry about which ones are useful.
This confusion has not aided the efforts toward identification and acceptance of the
best candidates to replace LBP. And finally, the issues associated with disposal of
lead-contaminated blasting debris are expected to become more pressing, not less
so, in the future.
However, not all modern maintenance headaches are due to lead. Another problem
facing plant engineers and applicators of coatings is silicosis from abrasive
blasting with quartz sand. This blasting material is outlawed in many industrialized
countries, but sadly, not all. Even in Scandinavia, where worker health is taken very
seriously, the ban is not as complete as it should be. And, because we all need the
ozone layer, limiting the use of volatile organic compounds where possible is a
consideration for today’s engineers.
The reader will no doubt notice that, while the book provides plant engineers
with a rapid orientation in coating types, abrasives, laboratory techniques, and
disposal issues, certain other areas of interest to the same audience are not addressed
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC