Coatings on steel poles, steel towers, and their components are more than aesthetic improvements. Coatings are intended to be a barrier of protection to prevent corrosion. When structural coatings fail, the asset is vulnerable to corrosive attack. Since that vulnerability leaves you at much greater risk of asset damage, service interruption, and catastrophic failure, it’s critically important to monitor the condition of protective coatings on a regular basis.
Along with our other corrosion assessment services, Exo is ready to inspect coatings for any sign of damage, and we can remediate any issues readily as soon as they are identified.
How Exo Conducts Coating Assessments
Exo utilizes nondestructive testing (NDT) methods to assess the condition of structural coatings. Most of the time, a simple visual inspection (vt) is sufficient to determine whether coatings have been compromised. But sometimes additional nondestructive testing is required to measure thickness of coatings. If thickness is inconsistent, or has decreased since your previous assessment, your coatings have begun to fail.
Sometimes coatings are below ground line, which means you’ll need to dig below and around the pole or tower to inspect coatings and assess their strength. This type of inspection is very important to the longevity of direct-embedded steel poles. This asset class is particularly vulnerable to corrosion damage and coatings failure, and you may not be able to see some of the most serious damage without utilizing this manner of inspection.
