Top 10 Downloaded SSPC Standards in 2017

The following lists the top 10 downloaded SSPC standards.

These standards address a wide range of needs in the coatings industry, including surface preparation and dry film thickness measurement. The standards are listed below for reference and summaries of their significance and use are provided. 

1.  PA 2, Determining Compliance to Required DFT (January 26, 2015, editorial revision March 15, 2017)
PA 2 is used by painting contractors and inspectors to ensure the film thickness of a cured coating falls within the range required by the project specification or the coating manufacturer. It includes requirements for and descriptions of verification procedures to ensure that the gages used to measure the coating thickness are operating properly, as well as procedures for averaging individual gage readings to determine if the film thickness of a coated area falls within the required range. In order to facilitate obtaining measurements over large areas of applied coating, PA 2 provides criteria for reducing the number of measurements based on increasing sizes of the coated area. It also contains seven non-mandatory appendices that provide supplemental information and suggestions for obtaining measurements on commonly encountered structural components such as steel bridge beams, coated test panels, exteriors of pipe bundles or spools, and edges of coated objects


2.  PA 1, Shop, Field, and Maintenance Painting of Steel (June 1, 2016)
PA 1 provides basic requirements for best application practices for industrial/marine protective coatings to coated or uncoated metallic substrates. It is intended for use by both specifiers and contractors, either in its entirety or by referencing specific sections. It focuses on the coating application process and application-related items that are included as one element of the contractor's work plan or process control procedures. The scope of this standard includes specific as well as general requirements for the application of liquid coatings applied by brush, spray, or roller. PA 1 is intended to complement the information often contained in a coating manufacturer's product data sheet to ensure the contractor applies the coating in accordance with best industry practices.

3.  SP 1, Solvent Cleaning (April 23, 2015, editorial revision August 10, 2016)
SSPC-SP 1 is used to specify removal of visible deposits of oil, grease, and other soluble contaminants from metal surfaces before additional mechanical means of surface preparation are employed. All SSPC surface preparation standards require solvent cleaning to SSPC-SP 1 prior to performing any additional cleaning required by the project specification. Removal of heavy deposits of oil, grease, and dirt is important because power tool or dry abrasive blast cleaning can push these contaminants into the surface profile. The type of solvent used must be compliant with local environmental safety and health regulations and must be capable of removing deposits of soluble contaminants on the surface that are visible with the unaided eye.  A non-mandatory appendix lists additional methods for verifying cleanliness that the owner may choose to include in procurement documents.

4.  SP 10/NACE No. 2, Near-White Blast Cleaning (2007)
SSPC-SP 10/NACE No. 2 defines the cleanliness of a steel surface prepared to the near-white level by dry abrasive blast cleaning. This level of cleanliness requires removal of all visible deposits of contaminants.  It is commonly specified for preparation of steel substrates for application of coatings which require a high level of surface preparation, such as inorganic zinc primers.  

5.  AB 1, Mineral and Slag Abrasives (January 12, 2015, editorial revision March 15, 2017)
This standard contains performance requirements for non-metallic abrasives such as coal and nickel slags, garnet, and silica sand. It defines levels of crystalline silica content and also includes requirements for minimum hardness, chemical cleanliness, and determining the various size ranges of media. The standard is intended to be used by manufacturers to qualify new media and by contractors to confirm cleanliness of recycled media. 

6.  SP 2, Hand Tool Cleaning (November 1, 1982, editorial revisions November 1, 2004)
Hand tool cleaning is specified to remove loose deposits of corrosion products, mill scale, and coating from a steel substrate using hand-held tools without power assistance. It is not intended to remove tightly adherent contaminants, coating, or mill scale. Solvent cleaning in accordance with SSPC-SP 1 is required for removal of visible deposits of oil and grease prior to the hand tool cleaning process. A revision of SSPC-SP 2 is in preparation and should be available by November 30, 2017.

7.  SP 3, Power Tool Cleaning (November 1, 1982, editorial revisions November 1, 2004)
This standard is similar to SSPC-SP 2, but permits the use of power-assisted tools such as power wire brushes, needle guns, rotary sanding discs, and other hand-held powered tools to remove loose deposits of corrosion products, mill scale, and coating from a steel substrate. Like SSPC-SP 2, SP 3 requires solvent cleaning in accordance with SSPC-SP 1 before beginning the hand tool cleaning process. A revision of SSPC-SP 2 is in preparation and should be available by November 30, 2017.

8.  SP 11, Bare Metal Power Tool Cleaning (July 19, 2012, editorial revisions November 11, 2013)
Bare metal power tool cleaning is the highest level of power tool cleaning. It requires removal of all visible contaminants and coating from the steel surface, with the exception of trace amounts of material in the bottoms of pits if the steel is pitted. It also requires the cleaned surface to have a minimum 25 µm (1 mil) profile. This level of cleaning is frequently specified as an alternative to SSPC-SP 10/NACE No. 2 in areas where abrasive blast cleaning cannot be performed due to limited accessibility or other restrictions.

9.  SP 6/NACE No. 3, Commercial Blast Cleaning (2007)
Commercial Blast Cleaning requires removal of all visible contaminants from the cleaned steel, but allows for a higher amount of staining to remain on the cleaned surface than is permitted by SSPC-SP 10/NACE No. 1. It is commonly specified for maintenance coating work when the effort required to achieve near-white blast cleaning is not considered necessary and the coating to be applied is tolerant of a lesser degree of cleaning.

10.  SP WJ-4/NACE WJ-4, Light Waterjet Cleaning (March 10, 2012, editorial revisions January 5, 2017)
This is the lowest level of cleanliness for a metal surface preparation using pressurized water as the cleaning mechanism. It requires removal of all loose contaminants and loose coating from the cleaned surface, but allows tightly adherent residual material, including thin coatings, to remain. Due to the mechanism by which it removes contaminants, waterjet cleaning will expose an existing surface profile, but will not create a new one. Waterjet cleaning is often specified to control dust or when abrasive residue is a concern. It will also reduce levels of soluble contaminants on the surface.