Enviromentally Friendly Technologies for Surface Preparation
Martin Durcik, Sales Manager, Central Europe, MONTI® Werkzeuge GmbH, Germany The surface texture/anchor profile is >50-120μm Rz (2-4.7 mils) and the used belts can be re-used or recycled. It is a straightforward method by using special patented belts. There are no scratches, there is no hammering effect and no smearing. After checking the cleanliness, this environmentally friendly and grit-free process results in a very thorough cleanliness at the bottom of the newly generated valleys of the surface profile. Once checking for chloride contamination it is a fact that the recoating window is much longer versus loose abrasive cleaning methods in case of rehabilitation and repair jobs. Currently Utility Network Services from Wales utilises grit blasting when undertaking pipework paint preparation, During our presentation at the Novel Construction
corrosion removal and coating damage assessment work.
Session in October in Munich Germany, we demonstrated
This can be cumbersome, produces waste and requires
the advantages of the Bristle Blaster® method which is
a two-person team to undertake it safely. The use of
considered to be a substitute for open grit blasting
the Bristle Blaster® for the above activities is cheaper,
of under-and above ground pipelines, flanges, valves
produces little waste and can achieve the same results as
and fieldjoints.
grit blasting, five times faster, for small surface areas. The unit can be purchased in either 110V/230V cordless and
The method cannot, however, be considered a substitute
electric, pneumatic and waterdriven versions. For fieldjoints,
for close cycle grit blasting over larger areas where it cannot
MONTIPower® offers tailormade solutions based on the
compete on the production rate. In the field, in open air,
Prepper Q4® concept.
more and more asset owners or other regulations demand alternatives to avoid abrasive materials’ waste for CO2
emissions reasons, for example.
Another well-known European utility company did research on coating
The main advantage of the Bristle Blaster® method is that,
adhesion and cyclic
there is no comparison possible versus grinders, needle
corrosion tests for
guns, sanders, polishers or steelbrushes, since using Bristle
three different surface
Blaster®, you can remove corrosion, mill scale, polyethylene,
preparation methods
glue, FBE and other pipeline coatings, in accordance with the
using power wire brushing,
highest cleanliness ISO 8501-1 Sa 2.5.
grit blasting and Bristle Blaster®. Power wire brushes can deliver SSPC SP 11 bare metal finishes; however, surface conditions ultimately lead to adhesion failure of the coatings due to poor anchor profiles or no ability to remove mill scale. In contrast, bristle blasting removes coatings and affords an anchor pattern giving surface profiles similar to grit blasting. Corrosion tests were made under laboratory conditions after applying different coating systems on test specimens. Pulloff tests showed improved corrosion resistance for bristle blasting due to the deeper cleanliness in the valleys of the profile and the surface profile amplitude.
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