AS/NZS 2312, explained for the people who actually coat the steel.
A plain-English technical reference on structural steel coating — the standard, the environment classifications, and what an inspector actually checks before signing off. Written for fabricators, not chemists.
Dry film thickness
Dry film thickness — the thickness of a coating remaining over the peaks of a rough surface when the coating has hardened.
Blast-cleaned steel is not flat, and a gauge adjusted on a smooth plate reads high on every blasted surface. The article covers the correction values and the acceptance rules.
Six references, each pinned to a standard.
Every article traces back to AS/NZS 2312, ISO 9223 or a published technical reference — and each one has been through technical review.
Environment classes C1 to C5-M, in plain English
What C1 to C5-M actually mean for a steel fabricator — the corrosion rates behind each class, where they come from, and who sets them.
Read the articleAS/NZS 2312.1 vs 2312.2 — when each applies
One standard, two parts. Part 1 is paint, Part 2 is hot dip galvanising. Here is which one your drawing means and why the split happened.
Read the articleWhat an inspector actually looks at
The real checklist behind a coating inspection — the tests, the acceptance criteria, the hold points, and the ones that stop the job.
Read the articleDry film thickness — why it's the number that fails jobs
DFT is measured over the peaks, not the valleys. Here is what that means, the acceptance rules, and why too thick fails as often as too thin.
Read the articleCoating a galvanised substrate vs bare steel
Painting over galvanising is not painting steel with a head start. Different substrate, different preparation, different failure modes.
Read the articleFlash rust, adhesion failure and slow cure — what each usually indicates
Three of the most common coating problems in a workshop, what each one usually points to, and what to check first.
Read the articleTechnical answers shouldn't sit behind a phone call.
Most of what's in this library already exists — in the standard itself, on an inspection sheet, in a rep's head. Getting it out has usually meant becoming a customer first, or waiting on someone else to have time for you. We think reference material this trade needs shouldn't be gated behind either.
Need an answer on something specific, now?
The Paint Audit is seven questions about how you coat steel today. The read comes back on screen, before any call.
Need a TDS, SDS or VOC statement right now? Get in touch or email info@corecoatings.com.au.