Surface preparation
There are two standards governing the different methods of surface preparation and it is recommended that these are clearly specified. The relevant standards are as listed below:
| Description | American Specification SSPC SP |
British Specification BS 7079 Part A1 |
|---|---|---|
| Solvent cleaning | SPPCC SP | - |
| Hand tool cleaning | SSPC SP2 | ST2 |
| Power tool cleaning | SSPC SP3 | ST3 |
| Flame cleaning new steel | SSPC SP4 | - |
| Blast cleaning white metal | SSPC SP5 | SA3 |
| Blast cleaning to near white metal | SSPC SP10 | SA2.5 |
| Blast cleaning commercial grade | SSPC SP6 | SA2 |
| Brush-off blast cleaning or sweep blasting | SSPC SP7 | SA1 |
| Chemical cleaning (pickling) | SSPC SP8 | - |