Measuring the thickness and porosity of anti‐corrosion protective coatings — a matter of confidence

The importance of anti‐corrosion coatings has recently been high‐lighted by the news media with reefrence to recent discoveries of corrosion on North Sea oil pipelines. Most people are aware of the need for protection, but the question remains as to how critically the actual coatings being applied are controlled. Quality control costs money and because the benefits are not always readily seen, these costs are often amongst the first to be cut when production budgets have been exceeded. Undoubtedly, checks are made, but are such checks repeatable, reliable and searching enough?