Keeping the cost of pipeline maintenance at its lowest has become an even greater priority in pipeline companies as the pressure to keep to cost of operations minimized in today’s operating environment continues. The process of recoating a pipeline and its resultant coating selection is one way to economize without compromising the quality of the job. Hot-applied Microcrystalline Wax (Micro-wax) coating for pipeline reconditioning has been available for over 50 years in the pipeline protection market place. With the pipeline industry becoming more cost conscious over the last 10 to 15 years, hot-applied Micro-wax has been increasingly viewed as a cost competitive alternative to more expensive coating systems for in-the-ditch pipeline coating rehabilitation. In order to understand its economy, the nature of the coating and how it is applied needs to be explored. The ease of application and low surface preparation requirements facilitates the low costs associated with Micro-wax, when it is used as a rehabilitation coating for pipelines. It’s in the field performance that has been documented and scientifically analyzed, through excavation and examination, which lends credence to its use as a “long-term” coating.
KEY WORDS: Micro-wax, recoating, flood-coating, outerwrap, kettle