Specify a STRIPE COAT (sometimes referred to as Seam Treatment)

When writing a specification for the painting of a tank interior, make sure you specify a stripe coat. Stripe coats help to provide a much tighter and better coating system interior and will improve the tank's resistance to corrosion in weld seam areas that have a tendency to prematurely corrode. Here's an example of how to implement stripe coat into the language of the specification. The stripe coat language is in bold below (Call me when you are writing the specification so that the language is articulated correctly, as it is often times is not).

1. Spot Prime: After spot blasting, all surfaces cleaned to bare metal shall receive one spot coat of Induron PE-54 Epoxy Primer applied at a rate to achieve 3.0 - 5.0 dry mils. Color: Tan.

2. Stripe Coat/Seam Treatment: Following spot prime coat, all weld seams, ladders, sharp edges, and any other difficult to coat areas shall receive one additional coat of Induron PE-54 Epoxy Finish applied, by brush, at a rate to achieve 2.0 - 4.0 dry mils. Color: White.

3. Intermediate: After proper cure of the Prime coat, all interior surfaces shall receive one full coat of Induron PE-54 Epoxy applied at a rate to achieve 3.0 - 5.0 dry mils. Color: Gray.

4. Finish: After installation of the intermediate coat, all surfaces shall receive one full finish coat of Induron PE-54 Epoxy applied at a rate to achieve 3.0 - 5.0 dry mils. Color: White.

5. THE INTERIOR COATING SYSTEMS SHALL HAVE A TOTAL DRY FILM THICKNESS OF NOT LESS THAN 12.0 DRY MILS OR GREATER THAN 15.0 MILS.