Hold Point Prep
Weld & coating inspection · Field explainers
DFT · Holidays · Dew Point · Visual Welds · Daily Reports
Hold Point Prep is a set of unofficial field explainers for people who already stand near welds and coatings. The notes here are about choosing an instrument for the job in front of you, and about the habits that make a number worth writing down.
Nothing on this site is a standard, a code book, or a credential. Acceptance limits, voltages, cleanliness grades, and dew-point margins stay in the current standard, the project specification, and the product data sheet. When those documents disagree with a paragraph here, the documents win.
Gauge guides
Four original buyer's guides. They do not name a best model. Some product links on those pages are paid Amazon affiliate links to example products.
Dry film
Coating thickness gauges
Match the principle to the metal, the range to the film, and the probe to the shape you actually measure.
Read the guideAnchor pattern
Surface profile gauges
Tape, a depth micrometer, and a visual comparator are different methods. Do not average them into a third number.
Read the guideBefore you coat
Dew point meters
Air temperature, humidity, dew point, and the temperature of the steel. A humidity-only gadget is the wrong tool.
Read the guideA path through the film
Holiday detectors
A wet sponge and a spark tester are not interchangeable. The voltage stays in the specification and the data sheet.
Read the guideCourse and videos
Self-paced · $149
Field practice course
Thirteen lessons on a weld day and a coating day. Unofficial. The voice and the pictures are AI-generated.
Course pageShort explainers
Videos
Dry film, holidays, visual welds, the daily report, and dew point. Altered or synthetic content.
Video pageNotebook
The gauge pages carry this sentence before any link, and again beside the product links: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the affiliate disclosure and the privacy policy.