The performance of a protective coating is significantly influenced by the ability to properly adhere to the substrate requiring the removal of all oil, grease, old paint and surface contaminants such as mill scale and rust. With proper surface preparation good adhesion between the surface to be protected and the applied coating is obtained which maximizes coating life and therefore overall corrosion resistance. Surface preparation can be done in a variety of ways with shotblasting or sandblasting the most economical and environmentally safe surface cleaning techniques.

The degree of surface preparation is standardized by many international associations with the most commonly used standards established by the American SSPC SP and ISO 8501-11988 with each association defining the different procedures required for proper surface cleaning prior to application of a protective coating.

Peening is a surface treatment technique using steel abrasive impact which can achieve an excellent degree of cleaning and simultaneously establish a particular surface finish on a wide range of metallic and non-metallic parts. It is a flexible system since direction of the abrasive shot can occur in any angle of application. This process is widely used in surface preparation of complex forms or large structures and especially on-site work. The system allows using any type of metallic or mineral abrasive.