Page 40: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2022)

GREEN TECH FEATURE COATINGS a higher thickness than traditional epox- with traditional systems. These factors ogy for better quality control. This for- ies, the material requires more care to all contributed to fast shipyard through- mulation features an optional additive ensure proper mixing and that lines and put for Conrad Shipyard. that provides visual feedback for appli- gun tips don’t get clogged. In addition, to streamline activities, cators and inspectors. OAPs embedded “We did not have experience with this reduce waste and save money, Conrad in the coating will ? uoresce under eye- particular system so we had some reser- Shipyard used cartridge systems – fea- safe ultraviolet (UV) lighting, allowing vations as to what it would take to apply turing the same coatings they applied applicators to shine a light on the single- per the speci? cation. But the learning with equipment – for any necessary coat lining while it’s still wet and eas- curve was faster than we expected,” said repairs or touch ups. The cartridges ily spot coating de? ciencies so they can

Robert Sampey II, Vice President Busi- dispense properly mixed coating mate- touch them up then. After coatings have ness Development for Conrad Shipyard. rial on demand, allowing applicators to cured, inspectors can do the same, easily “The representatives from all involved make minor touchups without having to spotting any non-? uorescing areas that worked together to get our crews trained mix small batches of coatings by hand, indicate a pinhole, coating discontinuity up and comfortable with the applica- some of which may be wasted if appli- or thin area. The technology helps in- tion.” cators mix too much. crease the likelihood of having holiday-

Pump operators and applicators eas- All steel was shipped to Conrad free ? lm builds, while also accelerating ily picked up the nuances of working Shipyard already surface prepped to an the inspection process.

with the 100% solids epoxy, noting how SSPC-SP 10/NACE NO. 2 near-white For the exterior of The Providence’s quickly they were able to apply high metal blast cleaning and primed with freeboard and pontoons, Conrad Ship- ? lm builds in a single coat. There was Zinc Plate Ultra II PCP, a two-compo- yard applied a single coat of FastClad no difference at the gun for applica- nent, inorganic preconstruction zinc ER topped by a high-gloss ? nish using tors in spraying this material other than shop primer applied at 0.5- to 1.2-mils Sher-Loxane 800, a versatile, high- slowing their passes down to enable the DFT. Applicators at the shipyard then performance epoxy siloxane hybrid that thicker builds compared to when spray- sprayed FastClad ER directly over the combines the properties of both a high- ing traditional systems. They were also primer after constructing the vessel, performance epoxy and a polyurethane. able to touch up coatings quickly due to building up other coating layers on top This high-performance ? nish will retain the product’s one-hour recoat window. as needed. the high gloss and radiant color of the

Inspection timing could also be stream- Inside the vessel’s ballast tanks, ap- vessel’s Biblia Blue and Biblia Gray lined, as the coating can handle foot plicators spray applied a single coat of colors, as well as its white logo and let- traf? c in three hours, which is much FastClad ER featuring Opti-Check opti- tering. Using this high-gloss ? nish was faster than the six- to eight-hour wait cally activated pigment (OAP) technol- important to enhancing Biblia’s image,

The deck of The Providence features 14-foot tall wing walls painted in Biblia

Blue and Biblia Gray and ? nished with high-gloss Sher-Loxane 800.

Photos courtesy The Sherwin-Williams Company 40 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • May 2022

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