Self-Healing Stopaq

 

What “Self-Healing” Really Means in the World of Stopaq

If you’ve spent any time around modern corrosion prevention technologies, you’ve probably heard the phrase “Stopaq is self-healing.” But what does that actually mean in real-world conditions? We recently put it to the test in our shop—and the results were impressive.

A couple of weeks ago, we were experimenting with some Wrappingband on pipe sections that were extremely dirty. (That part isn’t central to this post, but trust me—another write-up is coming that will show just how well Stopaq bonds even when the substrate is far from ideal.) For this test, instead of using the standard Outerwrap PE, we capped the system with a Covalence heat-shrink sleeve.

Once everything cooled, we made a few cuts to see how the system behaved. These were very basic peel tests, and—no surprise—there was full cohesive failure, even though the pipe surface was in awful shape. But here’s what really stood out: the amount of Stopaq Wrappingband that oozed out of the cut. It pushed its way into the opening immediately, exactly as a self-sealing visco-elastic coating should. It was one of those “wow” moments that perfectly demonstrates the material’s nature.

Then we took things further. Using a hammer and a screwdriver, we intentionally damaged the coating system all the way down to bare steel. And within just a few hours, the Stopaq material had already flowed back in, filling and sealing the area that was much larger than a typical pinhole.

That’s the essence of self-healing:
When Stopaq is damaged—during backfill, by a careless worker, by debris, or even by a stray rock kicked up by equipment—it doesn’t wait for someone to come fix it. The material migrates, fills, wets, and reseals the vulnerable area before anyone even knows there was a problem.

This is one of the biggest reasons asset owners trust visco-elastic technology. It delivers long-term protection, even in the messy, unpredictable conditions of real job sites.

More testing photos and details coming soon!