Steps of Offshore Wind Turbine Painting Process

In the harsh marine environment, the structure of offshore wind turbines requires a meticulous painting process to ensure reliable long-term operation under conditions of high humidity, high salinity, and significant temperature gradients. As a supplier of wind turbine painting machines and automatic steel structure painting machines, Zhenyu Company understands the importance of this process and is committed to providing customers with the most advanced automatic spraying equipment and solutions. This article will detail the key procedural steps for painting offshore wind turbines to help companies achieve better coating results in actual operations.

Wind Turbine Painting Steps

Steel Plate Surface Pretreatment

Steel plate surface pretreatment is the first step in the offshore wind turbine painting process. First, a quality inspection of the steel plates used in manufacturing is conducted to determine the degree of surface corrosion. Then, through the steel pretreatment production line, shot blasting is used to remove rust, ensuring the cleanliness of the steel surface meets ISO 8501-1's Sa2.5 grade or above standards. Finally, a workshop primer is sprayed onto the steel plates, controlling the average paint film thickness between 10-15 microns to ensure a uniform coating without missed spots.

Track and Touch-up Painting During Segment Manufacturing

During the manufacturing of wind turbine tower segments, areas with damaged coatings due to welding, back-burning, wear, or corrections should be marked, cleaned, and touched up with workshop primer. The integrity of the coating during segment manufacturing is crucial, so it needs to be closely monitored and promptly touched up to ensure that each part is fully protected.

Segment Painting Process

Segment painting is the core step of the wind turbine painting process. First, grind weld scars, sharp edges, and burrs on the inside and outside of the tower, remove welding slag and spatter, and subject the structure to inspection. Next, protect galvanized and outfitting parts inside the segments by wrapping them. Then, lift the segments onto a dedicated sandblasting painting roller rack for secondary rust removal, targeting areas that have begun to oxidize or rust. Finally, apply anti-corrosion coatings sequentially according to the paint system requirements.

Anti-corrosion Coating Application Method

The application of anti-corrosion coatings uses a high-pressure airless spray method, following steps from inside to outside, top to bottom, left to right, difficult areas first, and crisscross patterns. Paint is applied to the inner and outer surfaces of the tower in 90° cross patterns and to difficult-to-spray areas such as weld seams, structural backs, and edges first to ensure comprehensive and uniform coverage of the coating.

Follow-up Touch-up Painting of Joining Seams

After the assembly of tower segments, clean and touch up the joining seams and faces to remove oxidized or rusted areas and apply primer. At this stage, it is necessary to strictly control the local painting environment of the joining seams, and sequentially apply the corresponding anti-corrosion coatings according to the paint system requirements to form the final complete coating.

Inspection of Finished Coatings

Inspection of finished coatings is a crucial step to ensure the quality of the painting. The inspection includes checking for significant defects on the coating surface, such as peeling, bubbling, holes, unevenness, coarse particles, chipping, and cracking. When minor inclusions are found, they can be scraped out with a small knife; if the defect area is large, it should be removed and repainted to ensure the integrity and protective effect of the coating.

Advantages of Offshore Wind Turbine Painting Process

Adopting the aforementioned offshore wind turbine painting process can effectively improve the anti-corrosion performance of the coating and extend the service life of offshore wind turbines. This ensures the safe operation of offshore wind farms and brings significant economic benefits to enterprises. Zhenyu Company continuously optimizes and perfects the painting process to provide customers with reliable technical support and high-quality product services.

In summary, the offshore wind turbine painting process involves several stages: steel plate surface pretreatment, tracking and touch-up painting during the segment manufacturing process, segment painting, follow-up touch-up painting of joining seams, and inspection of finished coatings. Through scientific and reasonable process methods and advanced painting technology, the anti-corrosion performance of the coating can be significantly improved, ensuring the long-term stable operation of offshore wind turbines in harsh marine environments. Zhenyu Company will continue to promote the advancement of automatic spraying equipment and technology, providing customers with more efficient, environmentally friendly, and economical painting solutions.