Thursday Flashback: When R&D Teaches the Hardest (and Most Valuable) Lessons

 

After a brief holiday break, our Thursday Flashbacks are back — and this one takes us all the way to July of 1973.

At that time, Raychem was working to solve a challenging problem: how to effectively protect corrugated steel pipe from water ingress and corrosion. Their approach was ambitious. Engineers developed a heat-shrink sleeve with an exceptionally thick mastic layer and even packed additional mastic into the ridges of the corrugated pipe, aiming to create a truly waterproof barrier.

On paper, it seemed promising.

However, anyone familiar with shrink sleeves understands a fundamental limitation when it comes to corrugated surfaces. Shrink sleeves naturally tend to “bridge” across the peaks of corrugation. When that happens, a spiral leak path is left behind in the valleys — exactly where water is most likely to travel.

Despite extensive evaluations and testing, the solution simply didn’t perform as intended. Ultimately, the entire project was scrapped.

And that’s where the real value of this story lies.

Raychem devoted a significant portion of its revenue to internal research and development. When you invest millions of dollars into R&D, not every project will become a market success. Some efforts result in breakthrough products. Others fall into a different category: not a great product — but a great lesson.

This 1973 experiment was one of those moments. While the product never made it to market, the insights gained helped shape future technologies and reinforced an important truth in our industry: understanding why something doesn’t work can be just as valuable as finding something that does.

Sometimes progress comes not from success, but from the lessons learned along the way.

Stopaq Wrappingband

 Stopaq Wrappingband: The Best Option You’re Probably Not Using (Yet)

If you’ve never used Stopaq Wrappingband on a project, there’s a very good chance you already have applications where it wouldn’t just work—it would be the best possible choice.

Wrappingband often gets overlooked, not because it lacks performance, but because many teams are accustomed to more traditional coating systems. When you step back and look at real-world jobsite conditions—time, labor, surface prep, and shutdown constraints—Wrappingband starts to make a lot of sense.

Why Wrappingband Works So Well

Stopaq Wrappingband was designed to simplify coating work without compromising long-term protection. Some of its key advantages include:

• Minimal surface preparation required
  No sandblasting, no extensive prep—clean and dry is often enough.

• No anchor pattern needed
  Unlike many conventional coatings, Wrappingband does not rely on surface profiling to perform.

• Excellent adhesion
  Bonds to the vast majority of substrates and existing coatings, even on irregular geometries.

• No creep, no cracking
  The visco-elastic nature of Stopaq allows it to remain stable and flexible over time.

• Wide temperature range
  Available options perform from -45°C (-49°F) up to 95°C (203°F), covering nearly any environment.

• Real cost savings
  When you factor in reduced labor, shorter shutdowns, and eliminated blasting and scaffolding, total installed cost is often significantly lower.

Where Wrappingband Excels

Wrappingband is not a niche solution—it’s a highly versatile one. It performs exceptionally well in applications such as:

• Field joints

• Risers

• Rehabilitation projects

• Elbows, tees, and bends

• Reducers and complex geometries

These are exactly the areas where traditional coatings struggle due to access, shape, or schedule constraints.

A Smarter Way to Protect Pipe

The reality is simple: Stopaq Wrappingband is an outstanding coating option for many pipeline and plant applications. It delivers long-term corrosion protection while reducing installation complexity and total project cost.

If you’re curious where Wrappingband might fit into your projects, we’d be happy to talk it through. Let’s set up a call or a lunch-and-learn and explore some real-world use cases.

Stopaq: Back to Basics (Part 2)

 

Stopaq: Back to Basics (Part 2)

For more than 30 years, Stopaq visco-elastic material has set the standard in visco-elastic corrosion protection technologies. In an industry where surface preparation, labor, and access can quickly drive costs, Stopaq has earned its reputation by doing something simple—and doing it exceptionally well.

At its core, Stopaq is designed with practicality in mind. Minimal surface preparation, excellent sealing capabilities, and straightforward installation make it an attractive option for a wide range of applications. When you factor in the reduced need for abrasive blasting, significantly lower labor requirements, and minimal scaffolding, the overall economics become even more compelling.

From a materials standpoint, Stopaq is a fully amorphous, non-crosslinkable Polyisobutene (PIB) composition. Once applied, it is totally impermeable, forming a continuous barrier that protects steel from water, oxygen, and other corrosion-driving elements. This visco-elastic behavior allows the material to conform to the substrate, maintain intimate contact with the surface, and continue sealing over time.

Where Stopaq really shines is in repair, rehabilitation, and recoating work—especially for “inside-the-fence” plant and refinery applications. These environments often demand fast turnarounds, limited surface prep, and safe, efficient installation methods. In these scenarios, focusing solely on material price can be misleading.

Instead, the smarter approach is to evaluate the total job cost. When reduced prep, faster installation, and long-term performance are taken into account, Stopaq frequently proves to be one of the most cost-effective solutions available.

If you’re involved in repair, rehab, or recoating projects and aren’t at least considering Stopaq as your primary repair material, you may be doing yourself—and your budget—a disservice.