However, Steelpaint Technical Director Andreas Engert said hydrojetting does not create a new anchor profile on steel, while residual moisture and flash rust can affect coating adhesion and curing.

"If conditions are not ideal, such coatings can fail to adhere properly, blister, crack or break down," Engert said. "Single-component moisture-cure polyurethane coatings like our Stelpant and Stelcatec systems can overcome these limitations."

According to Steelpaint, the one-component systems can be applied at relative humidity levels up to 98% without dew-point restrictions and are suitable for damp surfaces and areas with light to medium flash rust. The coatings are designed for application temperatures from -5 °C to 50 °C and can be used on steel, stainless steel, galvanized steel and aluminum.

"These single-component coatings are well suited to onboard maintenance, where conventional surface-preparation standards are often impractical," Engert said. "These coatings require no mixing and can be applied by brush, roller or spray to damp or manually prepared steel."

The company says the systems can be applied to hydrojetted steel prepared to SSPC-SP WJ/NACE WJ WJ-3 to WJ-2 standards, as well as vapor-blasted and manually or power-tool-prepared surfaces.

Steelpaint Director Frank Müller said combining hydrojetting with moisture-cure coatings can simplify maintenance while reducing abrasive waste. Because the coatings are supplied as one-component materials with no mixing step or conventional pot life, the company also says unused mixed-product waste can be reduced.

Steelpaint's moisture-cure coating technology has been in commercial use since 1982. The company plans to showcase its Stelpant and Stelcatec systems at SMM 2026, Sept. 1-4 in Hamburg, Germany.

Surface preparation and application conditions directly affect protective-coating adhesion, cure and long-term corrosion performance, particularly in marine maintenance. Explore PCI's coverage of Industrial Coatings.