Metalizing is now regarded as the premium steel bridge coating with an affordable price tag.

The Federal Highway Administration has long acknowledged that metalizing is a valuable and proven technology. In 1982, a group of FHWA engineers and others gathered to hear a presentation about metalizing as a bridge coating. When asked what research and testing was needed, the FHWA chemist took out a copy of the AWS 19-Year report and said that there was no need for FHWA research on the subject. He simply tossed his copy of that 19-Year report onto the conference table and said that, in his opinion, the research “had all been done”.

At that date metalizing had been used worldwide for more than 60 years.

However, demand for metalizing steel bridges in the U.S. was virtually nil. The concept of a sprayed-metal coating was foreign to U.S. bridge owners and coatings specifiers. Besides, the price for painting bridges was only $1.25 per square foot. The quality of the paint application and paint service life were not major concerns at that time.

The metalizing industry faced the task of making owners aware of what metalizing is, how it works, and how it can improve their maintenance programs. Metalizing application rates had to be improved to break down the resistance to a higher initial cost. We had to take up the banner of life-cycle-cost. It has taken nearly 20 years to make the paradigm shift referred to in “Achieving Long Term Coating Performance”.

The metalizing industry’s concerns are not over. First quality application must be foremost in our minds. Inexperienced “metalizer-wanna-bee’s” can destroy the current momentum by a few poorly applied coatings with subsequent failures. The metalizing industry must police itself.

The metalizing industry must guard against poor workmanship and owners must bear in mind that the cheaper price is usually the most expensive choice in the long run.

We are pleased to present the full text of “Achieving Long Term Coating Performance”. It is located on this website under the section FHWA.