How Single Visit Coatings Help Offshore Operators Save Big
From the initial coating process to scheduled fabric maintenance, the threat of corrosion lurks around every corner of assets in the offshore space. Inter-coat washing and blowdown are considered tedious, yet mandatory steps in coating application routines to rinse away chlorides and keep corrosion at bay… but is it really all that necessary?
Imagine: what if there was no wait time between coats? How much could be saved by eliminating inter-coat prep altogether? There’s no need to wonder about it, because we’ve already run the numbers, and crafted a solution that works.
What’s long been dismissed as a coating gimmick has been made not just possible, but drastically more cost-effective than its traditional counterparts. This solution is driven by Tesla NanoCoatings’ 2×1 Wet Edge™ process, which allows for coats to be applied wet on wet– eliminating the need for costly, time-consuming washing and blowdown steps.
Washing Down Chlorides– And Manpower
We understand it’s fairly bold to challenge the necessity of inter-coat washing and blowdown operations as a whole. After all, these are critical steps to clearing away any chlorides from a coating’s surface between coats, an occurrence which is all but guaranteed to take place with exposure to the balmy offshore air. So, why single out these steps? The reason is in the research, conducted for our latest publication. Let’s take a quick look at the numbers.
Time-On-Tools Data
In 2024, we published the white paper, Achieving FM Productivity, which compiled the findings of 10 years’ worth of offshore fabric maintenance research. In this publication, we shared what we found out about Time-On-Tools (T-O-T), or the time that contractors actively spend performing labor. Of total T-O-T, coating application itself only took 15%; meanwhile, inter-coat washing and blowdown took a staggering 25%. By the numbers, more time is spent on preparation between coats than is spent actually applying the coating system.
“…if all coats could be applied in a single day or a single visit, a 33% improvement in productivity would be immediate while reducing inter-coat contamination.”
– An excerpt from Achieving FM Productivity
A Workday Without Inter-coat Washing
With that in mind, think of the possibilities that come with cutting out inter-coat washing and blowdown from the application process altogether. Not only does the contractor team move with up to a 25% increase in productive T-O-T; that time saved on labor costs helps keep money in your own pocket.
“As we work with our customers, we continue to gain more and more understanding about their corrosion challenges. The advantages of a same-day, two-coat system, compared to the old three-coat products, are tremendous pluses for those facing the demands of minimal downtime and reduced maintenance budgets.”
– Todd Hawkins, President of Tesla NanoCoatings
How TESLAN Makes It Possible
The TESLAN® system allows contractors to complete a coating application in not days, but just a fraction of a day. This places TESLAN® into a class all its own as a true single-visit system, in which the entire coating can be applied before lunch. But how does it work? There are two advantages at play: the two-coat system, and our patented 2×1 Wet Wedge™ technology.
The Two Coat System
Where most coating systems can require as many as 3-5 individual coats, TESLAN® systems require just two: a primer and a topcoat. Thanks to our proprietary formula containing high-strength carbon nanotubes, our coatings can achieve greater strength than competing systems with fewer coats. The advantage of the two-coat system on its own slashes wait time overall, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle.
2×1 Wet Edge™ Technology
The other piece is 2×1 Wet Edge™ technology. This patented process is another feature that makes TESLAN® systems stand out against a sea of similar coatings. With Wet Edge™, the top coat can be painted over the primer as quickly as 30 minutes after the initial application. Generally, this means that painters can apply the primer, prep the topcoat, then immediately apply the topcoat without any additional wait time. Applying each coat in rapid succession like this typically doesn’t work with traditional systems (at least not without major defects) but thanks to 2×1 Wet Edge™, TESLAN® makes coating application quick and simple without inter-coating prep.
“Our 2×1 Wet Edge process offers double the corrosion protection at approximately half of the cost compared to all other products on the market today.”
– Todd Hawkins, President of Tesla NanoCoatings
After Application
The advantages of the 2×1 Wet Edge™ process are two-fold. Not only does it condense application time to less than a day’s worth of labor; it allows on-board personnel to return to work faster, too. A case study conducted in the Gulf of Mexico demonstrated that, under the same conditions, an asset painted with TESLAN® 1101 Primer and 3100 Topcoat was ready to be fully utilized again after 17 hours. In stark contrast, an asset painted with a competing traditional system which required inter-coat washing and blowdown was not usable again until 35 hours later. That’s an 18-hour difference– 18 whole hours that you don’t need to spend watching paint dry.
Maintenance is complicated enough. There’s no need to wait for washdown. For more information on how TESLAN® helps simplify maintenance, reduce life cycle costs, combat corrosion, and extend the life of your offshore assets, visit the Tesla NanoCoatings newsroom for all the latest.
