Discipline

Failure Analysis

Blistering, delamination, amine blush, pinholes and more — how to recognize, diagnose, repair and prevent coating failures.

23 articles

Why coatings wrinkle, shrivel or lift into ridges — thick films, heat, strong solvents and recoat timing — and how…

Why corrosion creeps under coatings from damage, edges and welds, how to measure undercutting, and how to repair and prevent…

Why coatings lift around holidays on cathodically protected steel, how to confirm cathodic disbondment in the field, and how to…

What causes pinholes, bubbles and outgassing in coatings over concrete and zinc primers, and how to detect, repair and prevent…

Why coatings peel from substrates or between coats, how to diagnose adhesion failure with field tests, and how to repair…

Why coatings yellow or change color — UV on aromatic epoxies, alkyd dark-yellowing, heat, exhaust gases, chemicals — and how…

Sags, runs and curtains in coatings: causes like excess wet film, over-thinning and cold, plus how to diagnose, repair and…

Orange peel in sprayed coatings: what it looks like, why poor atomization, viscosity and fast solvents cause it, and how…

Osmotic blistering in coatings: how salts and soluble material draw water under the film, how to investigate blisters, and how…

A step-by-step method for investigating coating failures: records review, site survey, field tests, sampling, lab analysis and root-cause reporting.

Why alkyd and oil-based coatings turn soft, sticky and peel on concrete, galvanizing and zinc primers, and how to diagnose,…