INFORMATION SHEET

Enabling Objectives
1.7
Unaided, the participant will correctly describe
different surface conditions.

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part i
Describe Different Surface Conditions

There are a variety of material attributes leading to

surface conditions which can affect the efficacy of a
visual examination, these include: cleanliness, color,
condition, geometry, size, temperature, surface
texture, type of material and any surface coatings
present.

CLEANLINESS of TEST SURFACE

The component or part to he tested must he
adequately cleaned prior to inspection. A dirty surface
will make the surface finish appear different, obstructs
visual assessment of a surface and could mask
defects. The cleaning method most suitable to use
depends on various factors including the properties of
the test-piece, the contaminants to he removed, skill
required, access and cost.
Examples: a large fixed component will not be able to
be dipped in a tank of solvent; hut could be cleaned
by brush. Aluminum will react with alkalis, so basic
cleaning agents cannot be used with aluminum
components. Certain solvents will dissolve the testpiece or may cause corrosion. Abrasive cleaning may
damage the surface of the-test piece.

Methods of Cleaning
The surfaces may have adherent materials or surface
contamination requiring different methods for removal.
The main cleaning methods are as follows:

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1. Dry abrasive blasting

2. Wet blasting
3. Wire brushing
4. Grinding
5. Scraping
6. Needle gunning
7. Flame cleaning
8. Paint stripper
9. Vapor degreasing
10.

Solvent cleaning

11.

Detergent cleaning

Dry Abrasive Blasting

Abrasive blasting either dry or wet, is carried out with
a concentrated stream of small abrasive particles. The
abrasive can be either metallic or mineral and
includes sand, slag, steel or chilled iron grit and shot,
slag and bead.
These are blasted at the surface to remove surface
scale, rust or paint that is adherent to the surface.
Grease and oil must be removed prior to blasting.
The action of abrasive blasting results in a clean
surface which may, depending upon the abrasive
used, produce a rough surface finish which may he
required for adhesion purposes if a subsequent
coating is to be used. When used on steel, some
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abrasives (especially shot) plastically deform and

work harden the surface.
Small surface-breaking defects may he peened over
and hidden from view. Wet blasting Wet blasting
methods are good for removing chlorides from
surfaces and are good for the removal of toxic
coatings, e.g. red lead paint films, because they do
not create dust.
However, all wet blasting methods have similar
disadvantages over dry abrasive blasting, including:
the availability and drainage of water, the production
and disposal of sludge (particularly with abrasive
injection), the extra cost of supplying and mixing a
substrate inhibitor and the problem of drying a large
surface area.

High-pressure Pure Water Blasting

Operates at pressures up to 35,000 psi (pounds per
square inch) which can be extremely dangerous. The
advantages of this method are as follows:

Simple to operate

Highly flexible and mobile in use

Suitable for removing soluble contamination

Will remove mill scale at high pressures

High-pressure Water Pus Abrasive Injection

Operates at pressures up to 20,000 psi which can be
extremely dangerous. The advantages of this method
are the same as for high-pressure pure water
blasting, but will also remove firmly held
contamination and will leave a surface profile.

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Low-pressure Water Plus Abrasive Injection

Operates at 100 psi. It is claimed that this technique is
very controllable and will remove one coat of paint of
a multi-coat system if required. Disadvantages include
high cost and low efficiency.

Steam Cleaning (with or without abrasive

injection)
Operates at approximately 100 psi. This method is
ideal for surfaces contaminated with oil, grease, etc..
Disadvantages include high cost and low efficiency.

Air Blasting with Water Injection

Water with or without an inhibitor is injected into an
air/abrasive stream.

Wire Brushing
Hand and power wire brushing is an effective method
of removing the majority of the less adherent
materials but not as effective as abrasive blasting for
scaled and painted surfaces.

Grinding
The action of grinding removes the surface
metal/material in a localized area and is useful for
spot dressing. Full surface grinding is when all the
surface is dressed with machine grinding producing a
uniform surface compared to hand grinding which
tends to produce undulations.
Belt or disc sanding is a less severe method than
grinding for surface dressing.
Some materials, i.e. those that can be hardened, are
susceptible to grinding cracks caused by the heat
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generated by the friction and the subsequent rapid

cooling related to area effects.

Scraping
Hand or power tool cleaning with scrapers remove
lightly adherent material from the surface without
significant metal removal, except when employed on
soft materials.

Needle Gunning
The needle gun consists of numerous air-operated,
reciprocating needles that are used to clean areas
difficult to reach by other methods, welds and rivet
heads.

Flame Cleaning
The method of applying an oxyacetylene flame to the
steel surface to be cleaned is an efficient method of
removing rust, mill scale and other contamination. The
effectiveness of the process is due to a combination
of factors:

Differential expansion The mill scale, on

contact with the intense heat, expands at a faster
rate than the steel to which it is attached and
flakes off.

Dehydration Rust is a combination of iron

oxide and moisture. As the moisture is rapidly
driven off, the rust is dehydrated and converted to
a dry powder which can then be removed by wire
brushing.

Heat penetration The heat from the flame

penetrates all the surface irregularities and

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removes all traces of moisture, oil, grease etc. The

flame cleaning of any form of fastener, e.g. rivets
or bolts, should be avoided as a loss of
mechanical strength may be caused.

Paint strippers
One of the most effective methods of removing paint
coatings without mechanical damage to the base
material is paint stripper or paint remover. The painted
surface is softened and may then be removed by
either scraping or washing. Paint strippers are
solvents and blends of solvents specially formulated
to remove different types of paint. They do not clean
dirt, scale, grease etc. effectively.

Vapor degreasing
True vapor degreasing is the immersion of the
component for cleaning in a solvent vapor of 1, 1, 1
trichloroethane or similar. This is regarded as the
most effective method for the removal of grease, oil
and semi -adherent surface debris. This method
requires specialist equipment and is most useful for
components in a factory house situation. It requires a
special tank/heater and condensation tubes to
prevent the vapor from spilling out of the tank.

Solvent Cleaning
Solvents which are capable of breaking down grease
and oil-based surface contamination are very effective
in removing lightly adherent surface contamination.
Application by immersion, brushing, or wiping must be
thorough and may require repeated applications on
heavy deposits. No special equipment is required,
although good ventilation is essential for safety. This
method can be used on large or small test-pieces and
can be employed in or out of doors. Care must be

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used to ensure that the solvent does not react with

the test material.

Detergent Cleaning
Detergents are either alkaline or acid based and are
generally used to remove light surface contamination.
Grease or oil-based deposits, especially heavy
deposits, are very difficult to remove. Detergent
cleaning is a relatively safe method of cleaning.

SURFACE PROFILE and FINISH

This section deals with the shape of a surface and its
texture. Defects can be difficult to identify in a rough
surface and rough surfaces can cause problems with
magnification. The roughness of a surface is
governed by the peak to trough height, the density of
texture, mainly peaks and troughs and shape of the
undulations. The peak to trough height (amplitude) or
appearance of a surface may be assessed by a
number of methods, including the use of a surface
profile needle gauge, surface replica tape or a surface
comparator.

Figure 1
Shape of a Surface

Amplitudes are often measured on blast surfaces

prior to coating application, but for most other surface
assessments a judgment is made by eye, sometimes
with the aid of a comparator. Comparators are
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available for a variety of surface textures including

machining and blasting.
Replication is a method of copying the surface
condition of components for analysis remote from the
test item. Methods of replication range from plaster
casting to cellulose acetate films, the latter being used
for metallographic examinations.

Areas
A common method for grading a surface texture,
especially on machined or ground components, is to
use the arithmetical mean deviation from a reference
line drawn midway between the peaks to trough
height. The values, measured in microns, are suffixed
with the R? parameter. This measurement was
previously known as the CLA or Center Line Average.

Figure 2A

Figure 2B
Grading a Surface Texture

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Another method is to use R, which is the 10 point

height parameter, which is defined as the average
distance between the five highest peaks and the five
deepest valleys within the sample length, measured
from a line parallel to the reference line.

Surface Finish
The surface finish of a test item immediately after
processing will typically be as follows:

As Cast
Cast surfaces vary from a poor to excellent finish. The
degree of fine detail that can be detected is
dependent upon method of casting and condition of
the moulds or masters. Surface roughness ranges
from about 1.0 ? m R? on die castings to 25 m R
for sand castings.

Sand casting - generally rough surface finish.

Shell mould - smooth, good surface finish.

Die casting - smooth, very good finish.

Investment casting - depends on the master,

but can be a very good finish.

Hot worked
Hot worked surfaces invariably have an oxide layer
and, in some instances, grain boundary penetration of
oxide which is part of the high-temperature scaling
mechanism. Examination for fine detail on such
surfaces is not possible without dressing (grinding,
sanding etc.) either a small area or the whole surface,
in order to remove the oxides. Surface roughness on
hot rolled surfaces is between 12.5 to 25 m R, and
3.2 to 12.5 m for R forged material.
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Hot rolled - scaled finish, surface quality

depends upon the finishing temperature.

Hot rolled de-scaled - surface condition

depends upon roll surface condition.

Cold rolled - generally very good surface finish.

Hot forged open scaled, moderate surface

finish.

Closed die forging - scaled good surface finish.

Cold forged (cold heading) - usually very good.

Machined
Machining introduces plastic deformation into the
machined surface which tends to smear the surface
layer, so masking fine detail. Machined surfaces vary
from 0.05 to 1.6 m R

Rough machined - coarse surface finish.

Fine - good surface finish.

Polished - very good/excellent surface finish.

Mirror excellent surface finish.

Sawn
The roughness of a sawn surface falls within the
range of 3.2 to 25 m R.

Circular - rough surface finish.

Bandsaw - fine surface finish.

Ground
Depends upon the grit used for grinding; fine to
coarse.
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Polished
The surface produced may he by mechanical
methods, fixed abrasion, slurry/paste, or
electropolished. Excellent surface finish, typically from
0.02 to 1.0 m R.

Blasted
Finish depends on the hardness of surface, abrasive
characteristics (density, size and shape etc.), and
angle of impingement, but amplitudes vary from a few
microns to greater than 100 m.

Temperature
The temperature of objects for visual inspection would
normally be at room temperature (approximately
20C). However, there are instances where this is not
possible and may create dimensional problems and
possibly a health hazard. Objects with temperatures
below freezing or above about 60C can inflict
damage on unprotected hands thereby producing a
health risk. Dimensional stability is also affected since
calibration is usually at 20C and a component
temperature that varies from this will produce
inaccuracies in both component and measuring
equipment.
Visual inspection of very hot objects from a distance is
a frequent event in manufacturing to observe the
condition of plant and product. Furnace hearth and
ladle lining conditions are examined between casts,
soaking pit and reheating furnace every shift for
refractory damage or burner problems. During the
manufacturing process, inspection of ingots takes
place above 900C, and of hot rolled and forged
products between 960C and 1 250C. In-service

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inspection of engines, hollers etc. takes place at the

elevated working temperature.

Surface Coating
The visual examination of a surface coating is a
subject by itself where specialist knowledge would be
required. Within the scope of this unit, surface
coatings are relevant because they interfere with the
visual examination of the metal substrate. There are
many types of coating such as organic paints and
metallic coatings. Anodized surfaces may also be
encountered; this is a very thin surface finish, 1-2
microns, consisting of an oxidized layer which can
easily he destroyed.
Surfaces should be visually examined prior to coating
for surface defects and also for the correct finish for
coating adhesion and coating durability purposes. It is
worth noting that the degree of surface preparation
often governs the service life of the coating.
Sometimes the visual examination of a coated surface
is a requirement in order to detect and measure
corrosion. To determine the full extent of corrosion the
surface coating must be removed in the vicinity of the
problem area. It must not be assumed that organic
paints can all be removed with a solvent. There are
many types of paint and some can only be
successfully removed with abrasive blasting or
heating, scraping, and power brushing.

Color
A strong contrast of color and patterns such as black
and white, red and blue, or red and green should be
avoided as this may cause physiological problems
and interfere with perception.

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The color of a surface is considered in terms of its

three chief qualities: hue, lightness, and saturation.

Hue
Colors are divided into groups having the same hue,
i.e. into reds, yellows, greens, blues, purples etc.. In
ordinary speech this quality is often vaguely called
color.

Lightness
The lightness of a color is determined by the
proportion of light which it reflects, irrespective of hue
and saturation. Corresponding terms used are value
and reflectance value.

Saturation
Colors of similar hue and lightness may differ in
colorfulness or intensity of color. This quality, termed
saturation, may be defined as the intensity of any
particular hue when compared with a neutral grey of
similar lightness, the spectrum colors being the most
intense or of highest saturation. The terms chroma
and intensity are also used in a similar sense.

The Munsell system

The Munsell system of color coding shows in a
convenient manner the relationship between the three
chief qualities of color. The circular band represents
the hues in proper order, the vertical axis is the scale
of value and the paths protruding outwards from the
center represent the degree of chroma which
increases in intensity in the direction of the arrow.

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