Expected Service Life and Cost Considerations for Maintenance and New Construction Protective Coatings

Abstract This paper is an update to “Expected Service Life and Cost Considerations for Maintenance and New Construction Protective Coating Work” by the authors in 2024.1 The paper is designed to assist the coatings engineer or specifier in identifying candidate protective coating systems for typical service environments and provides: 1) commonly used generic coating systems; 2) practical maintenance time for each system and service environment; 3) current material costs; 4) current field and shop painting costs; and 5) guidelines for calculating approximate costs of the installed systems. Guidelines for developing long-term life-cycle costs and number of paintings for the expected life of the structure are also included. The basic elements of economic analysis and justification are addressed together with guidance on the preparation of a Present Value Analysis. Examples are provided to aid the reader in the proper use of the information. Updates to the paper include coating system revisions for atmospheric exposure, new discussion related to maintenance painting strategies and new cost information.