Industrial painting and abrasive blasting in Sept-Îles

What we do in Sept-Îles

We prepare and protect steel and concrete on industrial and port sites in Sept-Îles: abrasive blasting to the specified grade, anti-corrosion systems for marine environments, metallizing, immersion linings and wear-resistant coatings. Work is carried out by our crews and qualified subcontractors, under one quote and one inspection file.

Coatings are our core business. The system is chosen from the ISO 12944 corrosivity category of each zone, ore abrasion and salt spray exposure, then applied to the manufacturer's data sheet. Every coat is measured and recorded. The service is for industrial sites only: we do not do residential work.

• Protective coatings: systems and inspection
• Industrial painting
• Abrasive blasting

Industrial sectors in Sept-Îles

Sept-Îles is a deep-water port on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where iron ore from the Labrador Trough arrives by rail to be stored, processed and loaded onto ships. Along that chain, the same equipment needs protecting: conveyors and galleries, car dumpers, stackers and reclaimers, hoppers and chutes, ship loading structures, docks and dolphins.

Metallurgy, power plants and port services add fuel and water tanks, piping, building frames and stacks. All this steel lives in the same salt air and the same abrasive ore dust, so the system is chosen zone by zone, from actual exposure.

• Mining equipment painting
• Corrosion protection

Most requested services in Sept-Îles

Mining equipment and conveyor painting comes up most often: gallery structures, frames, hoppers and chutes, with a system that resists both ore abrasion and salt corrosion. Port steel structures and building frames follow, with abrasive blasting to the grade the marine system requires.

Fuel, water and process tanks need an internal lining suited to the liquid and an exterior protection that withstands salt and wind. For the most exposed steel (splash zone, dock structures), thermal spray metallizing, alone or under a sealer coat, provides lasting galvanic protection. Hydro blasting removes ore deposits and old coatings without adding abrasive to recover.

• Mining equipment painting
• Steel structure painting
• Tank and water tower painting
• Thermal spray metallizing
• Hydro blasting

On site or in a shop?

On site. We have no shop in Sept-Îles: our crews arrive with mobile blasting, painting, metallizing, dust collection and heating units, and work on your structures, conveyors and tanks. For fixed equipment, this is the simplest option: no dismantling and no long-distance transport.

For a removable part (chute, hopper, conveyor section), the site's maintenance shop can serve as the work area, with containment and ventilation. The quote states what is done in place.

• Wet vs dry abrasive blasting

Planning travel around a short season

The season suited to exterior work is short on the North Shore, so a trip to Sept-Îles is prepared early from LaSalle. The window is set with the site (planned shutdown, conveyor maintenance, a gap between loadings), then everything is settled remotely: survey from your photos and drawings, product quantities, abrasive, scaffolding or lifts, and the permits the operator requires (confined space, lockout, work at height, work over water).

Equipment and products ship ahead of the crew so that no day of good weather is lost. Interior or enclosed work can be placed outside the season.

• Applying epoxy in cold weather during a winter shutdown

Climate: salt spray, wind and cold

The Sept-Îles waterfront is one of the harshest environments for steel in Quebec: salt spray, constant wind, fog and freeze-thaw cycles. Under ISO 12944-2, coastal structures exposed to salt generally fall in category C5, and the most exposed zones may be classed CX, with ISO 12944-9 then governing the systems. The assessment is made zone by zone.

Salts on steel cause blistering and disbonding under paint: salt contamination is measured after blasting, and steel is washed with fresh water when needed. We also measure substrate temperature, relative humidity and dew point before every coat. If wind, rain or fog prevent proper application, the coat waits.

• ISO 12944 paint systems: C3, C4, C5
• Zinc vs aluminum thermal spray

Standards and inspection records

We apply the owner's specification. Common references are ISO 12944 for system selection by corrosivity, ISO 8501-1 and SSPC/AMPP standards for the preparation grade (SSPC-SP 10, SP 5), ISO 8502-6 and ISO 8502-9 for soluble salt measurement, and SSPC-PA 2 for dry film thickness. At the end of the job, the site receives a file: ambient conditions, preparation grade, salt contamination, thicknesses, adhesion, data sheets and photos.

• ISO 12944 explained
• Thermal spray aluminum