TRAIN THE PAINTER SILVER

Our Train the Painter silver course (TTP Silver) is the next step up from the introductory bronze training, allowing students to tailor their painter training though the selection of either the Abrasive Blasting or Spray Painting module on top of the mandatory qualified coatings applicator module.

Abrasive blasting (also known as grit blasting) can be used to remove coatings, corrosion and/or contamination from a surface. The terms refers to the forcible propelling using air and a high pressure stream of abrasive media material in order to;

• Clean and prepare a surface
• Create a texture on a smooth surface often refered to as profile
• Remove contaminants such as paint or rust

There are typically three essential equipment components within an abrasive blasting system;

1. A abrasive blasting container (such as a blasting pot or blast kettle).
2. A propelling device (for air feed blasting, this is normally an air compressor).
3. A blasting house and blast nozzle.

As with all industrial painting and blasting tasks, the first stage involves the correct planning and ensuring the right safety critical paperwork has been completed, usually refered to as RAMS. 

Following this, a setup of the worksite with the correct blasting and painting equipment can begin. Before beginning an inspection of what steel surfaces are to be blasted should be undertaken. There may be some areas that require protecting due to the blasting output. Only then can the operative begin to remove the oils/chlorides or other contaminents etc through various methods, depending on the specification.

Blasting operations can then begin to initially remove the old or exisiting coating, subsequently moving to profile the substrate being blasted to the desired result.

Drying and/or dusting down the surface once complete, before the application of the new protective coating. All steps will differ from project to project and the RAMS documents along with a Coating Specification and Inspection Test Plan (ITP) will always be the superceding step by step guide for any industrial painting operation.

There is no golden rule to how long is best to leave a substrate unprotected. A well written coating system or paint specification will usually document a "Prep to Prime Time" and the painting industry generally accepts best practice to not exceed 4 hours in order to provide the best result.

The drying and curing of a industrial coating is very complex and therefore should not be underestimated. It involves paint films undergoing a chemical or physical change such as the evaporation of solvent, or the reaction with oxygen and/or moisture. 

If the coating isn't allowed to correctly cure according to the paint manufactures' technical data sheet then the application of any subsequent paint coats are extremely likely to cause a variety of issues within days, weeks or months, depending on the paint product in use.