Dowding & Mills’ thermally sprayed coatings get Lloyds approval

Dowding & Mills’ BESCOTE® thermal coating system has received Lloyds Approval for use in refurbishing marine equipment. The approval enables Dowding & Mills to carry out class-approved repairs, refurbishment and corrosion protection, quickly and cost-effectively, on a range of marine equipment including stern tube seal sleeves and hydraulic rams. These coatings are particularly effective on equipment susceptible to a high degree of wear or use in hostile environments.

Lloyd’s Register is the world’s premier ship classification society, serving the marine, off-shore and land-based industries. It provides classification, certification and verification services, packaged to meet the safety, quality and environmental requirements, as well as specific business needs of customers in these industries.

As part of the approval process, Dowding & Mills had to demonstrate the suitability of the thermally sprayed coatings for the marine environment, particularly as an alternative to the more traditional deposition of electroplated chromium. The extensive testing and monitoring programme covers the performance, safety and quality of the system.

The BESCOTE® system offers the very latest in thermal spray technology, enabling Dowding & Mills Engineering Services to provide high performance coatings with extremely high bond strength and virtually no porosity. It is ideal for both on-board and dry dock repairs and can be used on any type and size of vessel throughout the world. The cost-effective system speeds up repair time and provides improved surface properties to enhance performance and extend working life. As the coating is chosen or adapted to suit the specific environment that it has to work in, taking into account temperature, corrosion, as well as the substrate material, it will last far longer than traditional coating techniques.

Frank Waring, marine industry specialist at Dowding & Mills, commented: "We have been repairing industrial equipment for a number of years using spray coatings – but there were issues surrounding the use of sprays on propulsion equipment. Without the Lloyds Approval we couldn’t carry out thermal spraying procedures on this type of safety critical equipment.

"By using surface engineering technology, we can make equipment last longer than the original design through the application of hard wearing surfaces. We also encourage customers to incorporate modifications at the time of the repair, where possible, to improve the design of equipment and prevent recurrence of the problem.”

In addition to the BESCOTE® system, Dowding & Mills offers a broad range of services for the marine industry including the rewinding of motors, generators and transformers, as well as marine electronics and the repair and calibration of electrical, electronic and mechanical instruments. This, coupled with the facilities and expertise available within the Group, ensures that Dowding & Mills can offer all aspects of on-board and in-house repairs to the ship owner.