NEWS
Chemco’s Coatings Proving a Hatch Cover Hit

Chemco continue to establish themselves as the go-to, cost-saving coating manufacturer for large marine projects; having recently completed another major hatch cover refurbishment for a well-known shipping company in Germany.

The chosen Chemco system was specified for this project on the back of the success of a similar project in 2018.

29 hatch covers required significant repair work as they were suffering from widespread corrosion and impact damage. The client was looking for a coating solution to combat the corrosion whilst ensuring long-term, high quality performance. Chemco were able to satisfy these demands, with the added value of supplying a system with greater cost-saving and environmental benefits than traditional paint systems.

Chemco’s unique, solvent-free, wet & rust tolerant coating solution allowed both surface preparation and coating work to take place whilst the hatch covers remained in situ; removing the costly and time-consuming process of encapsulation and need for grit blasting. Instead, a combination of water jetting and mechanical preparation was used to prepare the surfaces; meaning nearby hot work – including steel cutting & welding – could continue without disruption.

The corroded areas were given one touch-up coat of Epo-chem™ RS 500P, before one full coat and one touch-up coat of Epo-chem™ RA 500M were then applied. This system was chosen for its exceptional abrasion resistance and tolerance to rust and varying weather conditions.

The entire project was completed within 6 days, with the fast curing Chemco system allowing for quick return to service.

The innovative combination of Chemco’s RS 500P & RA 500M system was able to provide the following distinct benefits:

• Solvent-free
• Wet & rust tolerant
• No grit blasting (and therefore encapsulation) required
• All surface preparation and coating works could take place with the hatch covers in situ
• No humidity or dew point restrictions
• Good UV resistance
• Quick back-in-service times
• No re-coating limitations
• Other work (including hot work) could continue nearby without disruption
• Significantly reduced Health & Safety concerns and Fire Hazard

To learn more about Chemco’s ground-breaking coating system for hatch covers, please contact a specialist coatings advisor today.