Specialized Surface Preparation

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The complex nature of specific surface preparations have made the QP 1 guidelines vital to the longevity of applied protective coatings. The program is designed to provide facility owners and specification writers a means to determine whether the painting contractor has the capability to perform surface preparation and coating application in the field on complex industrial structures. Let our fully certified experts perform surface preparation today.

Experts in the Field

QP-1 certification is a nationally recognized program that evaluates the practices of industrial painting contractors in key areas of business. These standards are considered the minimum level of service and quality for today’s coating industry. The program is designed to provide facility owners and specification writers a means to determine whether the painting contractor has the capability to perform surface preparation and coating application in the field on complex industrial structures.

To be certified by the SSPC, industrial contractors must demonstrate competence in several key areas such as management procedures, quality control, safety and environmental compliance, and technical capabilities. These areas are evaluated through a series of submittals to SSPC describing the contractor’s business operations.

Then an impartial, on-site audit of a representative active job site, and headquarter offices is performed to verify that programs and practices are in fact implemented and used. The QP-1 certification was originally organized to answer an industry need voiced by contractors, owners, and others who hire industrial painting contractors. At that time, the industry did not have a national standard to evaluate the primary capability of the contractor prior to a contract award.

Safety and Certifications

Environmental, health, and safety are ingrained into our culture. At Coatings Unlimited, we firmly believe that no job is worth the life and wellbeing of any one of our team members or the community around us. For nearly seventy years, our team has worked diligently to create and sustain a culture of safety by taking a proactive approach to task-specific training, education, and responsibility. We believe safety is a responsibility we all share.

Compliance with industry certifications lowers the risk shouldered by facility owners when selecting a specialized contractor. We are proud to meet the Society for Protective Coatings requirements for QP-1, QP-2, QP-8, and QS-1 certifications, and more, meaning we are cleared to prepare surfaces, apply industrial coatings, as well as to remove and manage potentially hazardous materials

Frequently asked questions

The complex nature of industrial applications makes proper surface preparation absolutely vital to the long-term bond and longevity of protective coatings. Even the highest-quality coating system will fail prematurely if the substrate is not properly cleaned, profiled, and freed of contaminants.

The industry created the nationally recognized QP-1 certification precisely for this reason. It provides facility owners and specification writers with a clear, verified means to determine whether a painting contractor has the true technical capability, equipment, and safety programs to perform complex surface prep in the field.

Organized by the Society for Protective Coatings (AMPP), the QP-1 program evaluates the actual field practices of industrial contractors. To earn it, we must demonstrate competence in management procedures, safety and environmental compliance, quality control, and technical capabilities.

It is not just a paper application. Earning and keeping QP-1 status requires passing a series of technical submittals, followed by a rigorous, impartial on-site audit of both active job sites and our headquarters. This ensures the programs we write on paper are actively implemented and strictly enforced in the field.

Environmental, health, and safety are thoroughly ingrained in our operations. We operate under the firm belief that no job is worth compromising the health and safety of our team members, site personnel, or the community around us. We rely on a proactive approach to task-specific training and strict containment strategies to keep hazardous risks at zero.