Smooth Pipe Coating

“I have a coating machine that I purchased from you at Pipe Lining Supply. I trained with you guys, and in my training the pipe samples we trained on applying the coating came out smooth. In the field however, the surface has ridges. What’s changed? How can I get back to the smooth surfaces I produced when I was learning in the shop?”

Let’s start with the basics. Preparing the pipe for coating is the most important part of producing a smooth coating. Getting the pipe ready for coating will most likely call for more than a single pass through the pipe with a chain knocker.

Have you ever painted house siding that was peeling and other than removing the loose stuff you applied the paint? When it dried you noticed areas where there was no paint and then a slight bump where the old paint hung on to the surface.  The overall result wasn’t satisfying to look at unless you moved 20’ away from the wall where things looked a lot better. If the house had been scraped and sanded to eliminate the rough transition between raw wood and wood that still had paint stuck to it the result would have been more pleasing. The same applies to coating pipe.  While we’re building layers of coating, the left behind rough surface still reflects the scale that hasn’t been completely removed. You may find that after chain knocking you may want to fire up our sanding devices and smooth the rough spots to give you a smoother surface to coat.

The second factor that leaves ripples is a steady hand or the lack thereof. The rein flows at a fixed rate that you set when you start the layering process. If you stop and start the application process and not maintain a steady hand, you will see ripples form in the finished product. The operators who use a steady pull back rate have a much smoother surface than someone who jerks when changing hands as the pull back progresses. If you recruit applicators who are great at video games that require good hand to eye coordination, you will find their finished product much smoother than someone new or not as good with hand to eye coordination.

One final observation regarding your finished product. Many customers take the sanding device and make a final pass after the completion of the coating. This process is similar to sanding down a surface to smooth it after applying a finishing coat to make it look good.

For more information contact us at 888-354-6464 or 714-296-5262. You can also email us at info@pipeliningsupply.com

Tags: blog, chain knockers, Coating, pipe, pipe cleaning, pipe coating, pipe lining supply, sandpaper holders, sandpapers