CHAPTER 20: COATING DEFECTS
the attempt to repair or overcoat it.
Non-Drying Film (Failure to Cure):
This is frequently caused by simply not adding
the cure to the base, adding the wrong cure, or
not adding the correct amount of cure during
mixing.
Other issues that might cause non-drying or
curing of a coating film are:
Problem with the coating material sent from
the coating manufacturer; a check with the
manufacturer with the batch number in hand
might give a quick answer.
Environmental issues, too cold, too hot, too
humid, all of which are covered in other
chapters in this course.
Wrong thinner or contaminated thinner,
moisture in some generic thinners can react
with the cure.
Blushing (Amine Sweating):
If cured during conditions of cool ambient
temperatures, dropping temperatures or high
humidity, amine-cured epoxy resin coatings can
develop a surface oiliness or exudate,
commonly referred to as amine-blush or
sweating. This is caused by the absorption of
carbon dioxide and water into the coating film
and its reaction with the amine curing agent.
Some of the problems can be:
Surface tackiness or greasiness
Incomplete cure
Poor adhesion
Poor adhesion on over-coating
Coating discoloration over time
Poor gloss retention
The best method of fixing this defect is to avoid
it by strict environmental controls.
Another sometimes recommended solution is
to lengthen induction times. However this
should never be done without the written
approval of both the coating manufacturer and
the project owner. If amine blush does occur,
the coating inspector should consult with the
coating manufacturer and the project owner
prior to making any recommendation regarding
Runs, Sags, Curtains, Wrinkles:
These defects may be caused or worsened by:
Applying the coating too thickly.
Too much thinner or using the wrong
one.
Surface too hot to apply the coating.
Application of coating at the end of its
pot life.
Wrong thixotrope used in
manufacturing.
Improper spray technique.
A run or drip can sometimes be fixed by the
applicator right away by lifting or spreading the
coating with a brush or roller. However, if left to
harden then the inspector should report the
problem to the owner. In some cases the run or
sag may be acceptable but in other cases it will
be necessary to sand down the surface and
reapply new material at the correct thickness
based on the manufacturers recommendations
for repair.
Discontinuity, Skip, Holiday, Missed Area:
These defects are exposed areas of the
substrate or previous coating, caused by poor
application technique, lack of stripe coating,
and/or lack of or poor inspection.
Repair should be based on the repair procedure
in the specification or if not specified, then by
the coating manufacturers recommendations
and with the owners approval.
It should be recognized that the more quickly
misses are found and repaired the easier and
more blended in the repair will be.
Chalking:
Chalking is a powdery, friable layer on the
surface of a coating normally caused by
exposure to UV light but can also be due to
exposure to other forms of radiation including
nuclear radiation.
Chalking is caused by the breakdown of the
bond between molecules in the coating film. It
is most common in epoxy coatings but can be
seen in almost all coatings if left exposed to
causative conditions for a long enough period of
time.
To overcoat, remove the powdery layer by
sanding or pressure washing to a point
acceptable to the project owner.
A test method that can be used is: ASTM
D4214-07, Standard Test Methods for
Evaluating the Degree of Chalking of Exterior
Paint Films.
Cratering:
Cratering is the formation of small bowl shaped
depressions in the applied coating caused by air
trapped in the coating that forms a bubble
which then bursts, leaving the crater. Cratering
is common in coatings that are roller applied or
brush applied by an inexperienced applicator.
Cratering can be caused by air trapped in the
coating during mixing if proper mixing
procedures are not followed.
Air Voids (Vacuoles):
Normally invisible when viewing the coating
finish, these are pockets of air trapped inside
the coating film and will lead to failure in the
near future. They are caused by air trapped in
the coating during mixing. This occurs typically
by running the mixer too fast and causing a
foam or bubbly surface on coating material.
Pinholing:
Pinholes are very small holes in a coating,
typically caused by painting over an IOZ or
metal sprayed coatings. They are caused by air
or solvent trapped in porous film and escaping.
Zinc coatings set up so fast that the small hole
will not fill back in. This defect is easy to avoid
by simply using a mist coat followed by a full
coat.
Repairs for cratering, vacuoles and pinholing are
very difficult since the hole will generally just
re-form in any coating applied over them.
Sanding down to bare metal is the only sure fix.
Discoloration/Staining:
Rust stains are normally not a problem except
as a matter of aesthetics. If necessary these
defects can be cleaned by sanding and over-
coating. The only way to stop this from
occurring is to repair or replace the item that is
rusting and bleeding onto the coating in
question.
Heat-Related Damage:
Heat-related damage can occur during any
project where painting and other work is taking
place; it is very common for someone to weld
over new paint. The repair should take place
(just like any other repair), following the repair
portion of the specification or the
manufacturers recommendations.
Blistering:
Blistering forms a projection of the coating film
away from the substrate typically dome or
circular shaped. The blisters can have an
irregular shape depending on the cause.
They may be filled with pure water, solvent,
caustic, gas, oxygen, crystals, or rust. The basic
cause is a loss of adhesion in localized areas.
They can be any size and distribution, which is
typically classified by using ASTM D 714,
Standard Test Method for Evaluating Degree of
Blistering of Paints.
Many different factors can lead to blistering,
the most common being some sort of
contaminant left on the surface after cleaning.
In atmospheric service the blister may be
caused by coating over oil, moisture, grease,
dirt, dust, soluble pigments, or it might be
caused by retained solvent.
In immersion or buried service it can also be
caused by electro-endosmosis due to an
overactive cathodic protection system, stray
currents, or by osmosis caused by trapped
soluble salts.
The inspector is advised not to break blisters,
unless you are testing them or their contents to
determine cause, since the blister may well be
still protecting the surface. The only reasonable
repair, if it is deemed necessary to repair it, is to
remove and clean the area and replace the
coating system. That is after fixing whatever
caused the blister in the first place.
Cracking and Detachment:
These defects are visible cracks in a coating that
may penetrate down to the substrate or just
through a single coat in a multi-coat system.
The main cause is stress related, either due to
movement in the substrate or internal stress in
the coating as it ages.
Chemically cured coatings that are applied too
heavily are prone to cracking.
Other causes include absorption and desorption
of moisture. An example of this would be an
antifouling cracking when the ship comes out of
the water for inspection or work. Aging can
cause cracks in a coating as sometimes seen in
an older alkyd coating. Once a coating has
cracked it must be removed and replaced,
preferably with a more flexible coating.
Checking:
Checking appears a line cracks in the surface of
a coating, normally only in the topcoat and
rarely through to the substrate. Sometimes they
are so small you may have to use magnification
to fully see them. The fundamental reason is
stress in the coating film.
Causes include incorrect formulation, which is a
manufacturers issue; or the specification,
required a coating not meant for the service or
incompatible with the underlying coating.
The checked coating should be removed and
replace with the proper material.
Adhesion Failures: Flaking, Delamination,
Detachment, and Peeling:
These defects are due to loss of adhesion
between coating layers or the substrate, caused
by:
Contamination on the surface to which the
coating was applied.
Wrong surface preparation specified.
Failure to inspect surface preparation.
Insufficient surface profile.
Exceeding the topcoat window
Application of incompatible coatings
(e.g., alkyd over IOZ)
Applying a coating to a glossy surface
The repair depends on the extent of the failure:
For small areas remove, clean, feather edge and
replace.
In larger areas the coating will have to be
completely removed and replaced; at times this
will include the entire coating system down to
the substrate.
Failure on Welds and Edges:
Unless addressed by using a stripe coat, a
common source of in-service coating failure is
rust that starts at a sharp edge or rough or
spattered weld seam. The fundamental reason
is that coatings will pull away from a sharp edge
and industrial application by spray or roller will
cause the coating to bridge over small
depression is the substrate.
Edges should be ground or rounded to at least a
2 mm radius. Unfortunately this is not required
in many specifications and when that is the
case, the coating inspector cannot require strip
coating to be done. The addition of a stripe coat
will add additional material on the edge, with
the goal being having a coating system with the
same DFT at edges as on the flats surfaces.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO)
performance standard for protective coatings
(PSPC) requires edges be rounded to a 2 mm
radius or a three-pass grinding be performed.
There are special DFT gauges that will measure
DFT on edges; typical gauges will not accurately
measure closer to an edge than 25 mm (1 in).
Welds should be dressed by the welder and
weld spatter removed to the extent called for in
the project specification. However, what is
acceptable for a weld may not be good for a
coating. Rough welds should be coated using a
brush to work the coating into the roughness.
Weld spatter is a separate issue and if not
removed by grinding will cause coating failure
because the coating will not encapsulate the
bead of spatter and abrasive blasting will not
remove it.

Another issue with welds and cut edges of steel

is that the heat from certain types of welding
can harden the steel surface for a short distance
away from the weld.

The hardened steel may not receive the same

profile when abrasive blasted as the
surrounding steel. The coating inspector should
always check profile depth near any area that
may have been subjected to heat from welding,
or cutting prior to abrasive blasting. Flame cut
edges need to be ground down before abrasive
blasting.

Inspection Considerations:
The purpose of having a coating inspector on a
job is to avoid all of the above failures.
However since most jobs are not inspected
100% of the time nor over 100% of the surface,
application-related coating failures will still
occur.
By performing your function diligently and
being at the project at all critical times you will
reduce if not eliminate premature coating
failure.