The company should provide the coatings inspector with the most appropriate European standards relevant to the general activities in the surface preparation and painting process.

The Coatings Inspector job is to inspect the prepared surfaces, advise on whether the specified standards have been achieved, and then to accept or reject them as suitable for painting.

Following is a limited range of relevant standards:

SURFACE PREPARATION STANDARD BOOKS that are in common use in the shipbuilding and repair industry.

They are as follows:-

STANDARD ISO 8501 Corrosion Protection of Steel Structures by Painting

This standard is divided into 4 parts.

ISO 8501-1:2007 - Rust grades and preparation of uncoated steel substrates and steel substrates after overall removal of previous coatings.

ISO 8501-2:2001 - Preparation grades of previously coated steel substrates after localised removal of previous coatings.

ISO 8501-3:2007 - Preparation grades of welds, edges and other areas with surface imperfections.

ISO 8501-4:2006 - Initial surface conditions, preparation grades and flash rust grades in connection with high pressure water jetting.

• ISO 8502 series—Tests for the assessment of surface cleanliness.

Covers field methods for sampling moisture, dust, and chemical products and contaminants;

• ISO 8503 series—Surface characteristics of blast cleaned steel;

• ISO 8504 series—Methods for surface preparation;

ISO 1124-1127Abrasives Standards

• ISO 11124 series—Specification Metallic blast-cleaning abrasives;

• ISO 11125 series—Test methods for metallic blast-cleaning abrasives;

• ISO 11126 series— Specification Non Metallic blast-cleaning abrasives;

• ISO 11127 series—Test methods for non-metallic blast-cleaning abrasives; (Note that although some of these standards have been replaced, they may still be referenced in customer specifications, usually with the comment “or latest revision.”)

ISO 4628, Part 1Rating of Paint Defects

The ISO standard is called "Evaluation of Degradation of Paint Coatings—Designation of Intensity, Quantity and Size of Common Types of Defects. General Principles and Rating Schemes."

ISO 4628, Part 2Degree of blistering

ISO 4628, Part 3Degree of rusting

ISO 4628, Part 4Degree of cracking

ISO 4628, Part 5Degree of flaking

ISO 4628, Part 6Degree of chalking

Specific tests (i.e., adhesion pull-off ISO 4624 , cross-hatch ISO 8780-5 & ISO 787/16, paint film thickness ISO 2178 ,ISO 2808-6Aa & ISO 19840 and Measuring Dry Film Coating Thickness According to SSPC-PA2 for PSPC, holiday detection on painted surfaces ISO 2746, (etc.) are covered in ISO standards.

If specified in the customer’s specifications, these standards should be provided by the company when required.

The PSPC denotes to SSPC-PA2 when film thicknesses measurements are stated.
One important aspect of SSPC-PA2 is that it requires readings to be taken on the bare substrate, prior to any paint being applied, since surface varies from point to point as a result of blast-cleaning.
This methodology is designed to provide a consistent way of assessing coating thickness.
The readings are then corrected to allow for the profile / rough surface on the steel.

In addition to previously issued standards for solvent cleaning, hand and power-tool cleaning, abrasive blast cleaning, water-jetting, coating materials, paint and coating application, and related topics, there are new, revised, and recently issued documents for the following topics.

• Wet abrasive blast cleaning, industrial blast cleaning, and chemical stripping

• Newly manufactured, re-manufactured, and recycled metallic abrasives

• Surface preparation and coating of concrete

• Containment of debris generated during coating removal operations

• Sampling of environmental air, soil, and water during coating removal operations

• Application of thermal spray coatings (Metal Coatings)

• Shop, field, and maintenance painting of steel

In addition

• Primary Surface Preparation and Shop Primer Application

• Newbuildings

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Performance Standard for Protective Coatings (PSPC) for Dedicated Sea Water Ballast Tanks In All Types of Ships and Double-side Skin Spaces of Bulk Carriers

IACS have indicated that use of the standards will be mandatory under their Common Structural Rules.

Consequently the coating inspector needs to be familiar with these standards.