How to Use Testex Tape

Surface preparation is the first step in the overall process of applying a new industrial coating. After we use waterjet cleaning or wet abrasive blasting to clean a surface, our industrial painters need to create granular profiles of the surface that we’ll be repainting or recoating. One of our go-to methods for collecting these critical measures is using Testex Tape.

The information we collect about a pipeline’s surface profile helps us determine how much coating needs to be used and where surface imperfections need to be covered. Testex Tape allows us to gather this much-needed data using small test strips and a micrometer. Here’s how we do it.

How We Prepare for the Test

Our industrial painters choose a test site on the surface. Because we want to make sure the test site is completely free of dust and debris, we may use putty to remove any remaining blast materials lingering on the surface.

Then, we choose an appropriate Testex replica tape. Testex produces a wide range of tapes to measure the coarseness of a surface. Commonly, we use one of five types: Medium Grade, Coarse Minus Grade, Coarse Grade, X-Coarse Grade, and X-Coarse Plus Grade. In every roll of Testex Tape, there are 50 test strips.

How We Perform a Test

Once we’ve chosen the Testex Tape type appropriate for our project, we pull one of the test strips from the roll, which reveals an open dot on the paper. One of our industrial painters will press the tape to the cleaned, test surface until it’s firmly glued.

Pushing in a circular motion with a bulbous-tipped burnishing tool, we apply pressure to the compressible foam on the replica tape. It’s important not to let the burnishing tool compress the tape on the open dot. If that were to happen, the Testex Tape will get dislodged from the surface, and then we’ll need to restart the test.

As our industrial painter presses the burnishing tool, the replica tape will darken. Once it has a uniform, dark color throughout the strip, the test has been completed. We’ll peel it back, and transition to measuring the test strip.

How We Measure the Test Result

With the anvils open, we insert the burnished part of the test strip with the adhesion facing down. Then, we slowly close the anvils and take the micrometer’s measurements for accuracy.

Why We Use Testex Tape

The industrial painters at Eagle Eye Services use Testex Tape to measure surface profiles after we prepare a surface. With Optical Grade Replica Tape and a replica tape reader, our team can also develop a three-dimensional look at a surface profile, which your company can keep on file for future industrial painting and industrial coating projects.

The surface preparation measures from Testex Tape are the only method recognized by the International Organization for Standardization, the American Society for Testing and Materials, and the Association for Materials Protection and Performance.

To learn more about the benefits of Testex Tape in industrial coatings projects, contact Eagle Eye Services today.