Trelawny marine surface preparation tools
Pneumatic surface preparation for hull, deck, tank and hold work - a range built for marine use rather than adapted from an industrial catalogue, and specified here on the manufacturer's own declared figures.
A Surface Preparation Specialist, Trusted at Sea
Trelawny is a surface-preparation specialist with, in their own words, "nearly 80 years of craftsmanship in Surface Preparation Technology", manufacturing its pneumatic and electric tools in the UK at Leamington Spa as part of the Indutrade group. Their equipment is designed to remove rust, scale, marine growth, old coatings and weld slag quickly and safely, the everyday groundwork behind every sound paint job and inspection at sea.
SepcoTech supplies and supports the Trelawny marine range as part of our wider inspection and protection portfolio, so you can source the tools, the consumables and the technical advice from a single partner.
- Specialists in pneumatic surface preparation, not a general catalogue brand
- A dedicated marine & offshore range, not adapted industrial tools
- Vibration-reduced designs to help operators stay within HAVS exposure limits
- Backed by SepcoTech stock, spares and local support
Comparative performance figures on this page are as reported by Trelawny from their own testing; independent test data is available on request.
Engineered for the Hardest Environment There Is
Marine surface preparation punishes tools and operators alike. These are the qualities that make the difference on deck.
Protect your crew from Hand-Arm Vibration
Compare a Vibro-Lo™ tool with the standard Trelawny tool it replaces - same needle count, same handle type, both figures from Trelawny's own spec tables - and the declared vibration at the worse of the two grips falls by 5.2 to 11.5 times depending on the model. On a 28-needle pistol scaler that is the difference between under two minutes of trigger time and 3 h 39 min.
- Longer safe working time per operator, per shift
- Lower air consumption than the standard tool at every size
- Available across needle scalers, chisel scalers and deck tools
Made to keep working where conditions are worst
From shipyard dry docks to offshore platforms, these are heavy-duty tools built for continuous, abrasive duty in wet and salt-laden conditions. Robust pneumatic mechanisms shrug off the grit, moisture and round-the-clock use that destroy general-purpose equipment.
That longevity also lightens your environmental and logistics load. Trelawny report their tools last up to five times longer than typical alternatives, need around 60% fewer consumables and are roughly 28% lighter, meaning less waste, less freight and less kit to carry across a vessel.
- Built for continuous duty, shift after shift
- Simple, field-serviceable mechanisms
- Inexpensive, fast-changing wear parts
Spark-reduced tools for hazardous zones
For work in potentially explosive atmospheres, such as tanks, holds, fuel and gas areas, Trelawny offers spark-reduced, ATEX-rated tool variants such as the SF11EX deck hammer. The right certification, specified up front, removes a major compliance objection on offshore and tanker work.
- ATEX-rated deck hammers and scaling tools
- Suited to tank, hold and confined-space prep
- Backed by the full Trelawny ATEX brochure (below)
More area, no water, no crew to spare
Where high-pressure water blasting forces compromises, mechanical scaling sidesteps them. Trelawny report a deck scaler clears up to 30 m²/hr against roughly 13 m²/hr for 500-bar water blasting, and because no water is introduced, there is minimal flash-rust risk to undo before coating. Plan on the TFP200 datasheet's average of 25 m²/hr at 3 mm per pass rather than the 30 maximum.
- Up to 30 m²/hr versus ~13 m²/hr for 500-bar blasting (reported by Trelawny); 25 m²/hr is the datasheet average
- No water introduced, so minimal flash-rust risk on cleaned steel
- Debris is dust-collected at source, nothing washed overboard
- One operator, plug-and-play, instead of a skilled multi-crew set-up
How much lower, exactly
Trelawny's Vibro-Lo™ tools run between 5.2× and 11.5× lower vibration than the company's own standard equivalents, depending on the model. That is each Vibro-Lo tool's declared vibration at the worse of its two grips, divided by the same figure for the standard tool it replaces, same needle count and handle type. Because permitted trigger time falls with the square of vibration, the difference in the working day is larger still: at the worse grip a 3BPG reaches the action value in under 2 minutes, while a VL303 doing the same job reaches it after 3 h 39 min.
The like-for-like tables and trigger times →
Every Trelawny tool's declared figure, in one sortable table →
Eight Tool Categories for Marine Surface Prep
Every category links through to product detail, full specifications and the matching consumables, ready to drop straight into your quote. Already know the model or IMPA code you need? Search the full product list →
Needle Scalers
Rust and scale removal on welds, edges and irregular surfaces. Low-vibration, standard, TVS, long-reach and kit options.
3 h 39 minVL303 trigger time to the action value, at its worse grip View needle scalers →
Scaling Hammers
Single- and triple-piston percussive hammers for fast removal of heavy scale, slag and stubborn coatings.
3,000 bpmBlows per minute per piston on every SF scaling hammer View scaling hammers →
Deck Hammers
High-impact tools for tough deck and structural surface prep, including ATEX-rated variants.
252 mmSF11 working width, eleven heads, and it reaches to 15 mm from a bulkhead View deck hammers →
Deck Scalers
Multi-head pneumatic and handheld scalers that strip large deck areas quickly with tungsten-carbide cutters.
200 mm / 25 m²/hTFP200 cutting width, and its datasheet average at 3 mm per pass View deck scalers →
Surface Strippers
Scrapers, chisel scalers and floor strippers for removing coatings, deck covering and adhesives.
230 mmTFS230 blade width - an electric stripper, not a pneumatic one View surface strippers →
Dust Control
Industrial dust collectors and extraction that capture debris at source for a cleaner, safer worksite.
Class MA22 and A45 dust class, with an optional H14 filter - not H-class machines View dust control →
Angle Grinders
Pneumatic angle grinders for cutting, grinding and finishing in wet and demanding marine environments.
1.2 m/s²Declared vibration at 10,000 rpm - the lowest of any tool on this page View angle grinders →
Hold Cleaning
The Hydraflex air-assisted wash-down gun off the ship's own services, plus flexible-drive descaling for the steel the water leaves behind.
30 mHydraflex jet reach, per Trelawny, at their recommended water pressure View hold cleaning →Vibro-Lo or standard?
Both ranges are current, both are sold, and the standard range is not obsolete. The question is how long the trigger is held.
When trigger time is long, or the job is daily
Watch-keeping descaling, a rolling maintenance programme, a yard crew on scalers every shift, anything where one operator will hold the trigger for more than a few minutes. At its worse grip, 42.57 m/s² at the front hand, a 3BPG buys under two minutes before the action value; the VL303 doing the same work gets 3 h 39 min. Where the exposure assessment is the constraint, the tool choice is already made for you.
When the task is short, occasional and budget rules
A spot repair, a few weld seams, a tool that lives in the locker and comes out twice a voyage. A standard B-series scaler costs less, does the same cutting work, and a handful of minutes of trigger time a week is not what a HAVS programme is built to catch. Buying Vibro-Lo for a tool nobody runs is money spent on an exposure you do not have.
ATEX and non-spark are not the same thing
This is the distinction most listings blur, and the one that costs money when it is got wrong at the gangway.
A consumable, not a certificate
Fitting beryllium copper needles to a standard tool gives you a non-sparking consumable. The needles will not throw a spark against steel. The tool they are fitted to is unchanged, uncertified, and still a potential ignition source in its own right. Non-spark needles do not make a scaler ATEX-certified and will not satisfy anyone auditing the work.
A certified tool, in Ex form
Trelawny's Ex models are certified equipment. They exist across the VL203, VL223 and VL303 in both needle and chisel form, and they are what a Zone 1 or Zone 21 scope actually calls for. The certificate applies to the tool as a whole, which is exactly what the beryllium copper needle on its own does not give you.
The full ATEX range → · Do you still need a hot work permit? →
Four things to plan around
None of these is a fault in the tools. They are what these tools are, and knowing them before the order is placed is cheaper than discovering them on the second morning.
Vibro-Lo is a vibration control, not a hearing one
The reduction that Vibro-Lo buys in vibration does not carry across to noise in the same way, and the tool most crews actually choose is the loud one. Trelawny declare the VL303 needle scaler at 95.06 dB(A) sound pressure - the 28-needle model, the one specified for heavy descaling. The 19-needle VL203 and VL223 are declared at 77.7 dB(A), and the chisel scalers at 76.3 to 78.2. The standard B-series needle scalers sit at 97.4 to 101.5 dB(A). Moving from a 3BPG to a VL303 solves the HAVS exposure and leaves the noise exposure broadly where it was.
Those are declared tool emission figures, not the 85 dB(A) daily exposure action value in Directive 2003/10/EC - that value describes the operator's whole day, not the tool, so it is not something a single spec line can be compared against. Hearing protection and a noise risk assessment are required either way. If noise is the binding constraint on your job, the point worth knowing is that the 19-needle Vibro-Lo tools are roughly 17 dB(A) quieter than the 28-needle one.
A tool figure is not an exposure figure
Every number in the tables above is a declared value measured under test conditions. A 2.3 m/s² tool used with worn needles, excessive grip force or the wrong air pressure does not deliver 2.3 m/s² - Trelawny's own manual lists low air pressure, poor lubrication and a weak return spring among the causes of high vibration in service. The trigger times on this page assume the declared value holds, which is a maintenance commitment, not a property of the purchase.
The deck scaler cannot finish its own edges
The TFP200's working distance from a wall is 55 mm. That is a hard geometric limit, not a technique problem: it cannot reach the last 55 mm against a bulkhead, hatch coaming or deck fitting. The SF11 deck hammer gets closer, to about 15 mm, and the margin beyond that is hand-scaler work. Every deck job is a two-tool job, and the quote should say so rather than leaving the yard to discover it.
One note on the width while you are planning coverage: the TFP200 datasheet gives a 200 mm working width and Trelawny's web specification table gives 195 mm. We publish 200 mm, in line with the datasheet, but the difference is theirs rather than ours and it is worth knowing before you calculate passes across a deck.
35 minutes of work against a 50-minute charge
On Trelawny's datasheet the 82 V VoltMax TFP200 runs for 35 minutes per battery and recharges in 50, so the two batteries in the kit do not keep one machine cutting all shift. Its vibration, 4.4 m/s², matches the corded machines. The detail →
Built for Marine, Proven Across Industry
The marine segment is our focus, but the same tools earn their keep wherever steel needs preparing.
Marine & Shipping
Hull descaling, deck preparation, ballast and water-tank maintenance, weld cleaning and spot repairs, afloat, alongside or in dry dock.
Offshore / Oil & Gas
Platform and rig maintenance where ATEX-rated tooling, reliability and operator safety are non-negotiable.
Ports & Shipyards
High-throughput surface preparation across newbuild, repair and refit programmes, with dust control to keep yards compliant.
From dry dock to cargo hold, the work gets done faster and cleaner
Trelawny tools are specified on real marine programmes worldwide, from deck re-preparation to hull descaling and weld cleaning, where time in dock is money and operator safety is non-negotiable.
Trusted on Real Marine Projects
How operators have used Trelawny surface preparation tools to work faster, cleaner and safer.
Trelawny, BSO Svendborg & SepcoTech reduce HAVS risk with low-vibration tools
Client: SepcoTech & BSO Svendborg · Aim: Develop low-vibration equipment to reduce the risk of HAVS · Products: Low Vibration & ATEX Needle & Chisel Scalers
The Trelawny, BSO Svendborg and SepcoTech partnership formed from a shared recognition that Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), caused by traditional descaling tools, posed a serious threat to crew health. SepcoTech is a specialist solutions provider with a focus on health and safety, ensuring the best tools reach the right operators and fleets efficiently.
Trelawny designed and developed a range of low-vibration equipment which, in Trelawny's words, "emits up to seven times less vibration than the standard industry alternatives". Measured model against model on the published spec tables, the reduction runs from 5.2× to 11.5× at the worse grip. Their Vibro-Lo™ technology maintains a high-power output for maximum productivity, and its low air consumption reduces wear and tear on equipment. With the support of BSO Svendborg and SepcoTech, multiple fleets were upgraded for companies such as TB Marine and Hafnia.
Results delivered:
- Almost doubles productivity: operators experience less fatigue and work longer
- Provides superior cleanliness levels, extending coating life
- Complies with EU HAVS regulations (EU Directive 2002/44/EC)
“The partnership has allowed us to develop tailored programmes and guidelines that guarantee optimal coating performance and vessel integrity… Together, we’re setting new industry standards that fleets worldwide can rely on.” BSO Svendborg
How to remove corrosion from deck
Anglia Waterblast Ltd, a professional surface preparation contracting company based in East Anglia, UK, were tasked with removing several layers of corrosion, ¼" (6mm) thick in some places, from a 3000 m² ship’s deck prior to re-coating, within just one weekend whilst the ship was docked. Using two Trelawny “Scaleforce Eleven” (SF11) low-vibration multi-headed pneumatic deck de-scalers to break up the thick corrosion, 80% of the whole task was completed with the two Trelawny machines, reducing the anticipated duration, cost and blasting time considerably.
U.N RO-RO İŞLETMELERİS vessels were given a brand new look
U.N Ro-Ro is a Turkish shipping company, established in 1994, operating 12 vessels transporting freight from Turkey to European countries. Freight trucks and trailers weighing between 20 and 40 tons, together with salt water on deck, damage the cargo-deck surface. To resurface the decks and give them a brand new look and feel, they chose Trelawny’s TFP200, for its 200 mm cutting width, precise screw-type scaling-head adjustment and easy-to-manoeuvre design.
Trusted across the world's fleets
Operators and contractors who put Trelawny tools to work, and told us what changed on deck.
“The Trelawny VL303 has been tested and approved on our system as the preferred needle scaler of choice for all Stena vessels, following specific trials we conducted to determine the best and safest tool for our crews.”
Stena
“User friendly with no complicated controls. Changing the scaling drums took less than 5 minutes and we covered approximately 20 m² in around 10 minutes.”
Shell (on the TFP200 deck scaler)
“All Trelawny tools and machines are user-friendly and working perfectly for both small and large deck use.”
DFDS
“Trelawny small- and large-area de-scaling tools are spread across our fleet now, following demonstrations carried out on board one of our vessels.”
P&O Ferries
“Very impressed with the great reduction in vibration compared to the standard needle gun we used to use.”
Keystone Shipping (on the VL303 low-vibration needle scaler)
“Excellent technical support on your end.”
Noble Drilling
Trelawny tools have also been specified on high-profile vessels and projects worldwide, including the scientific drill ship CHIKYU, Shell's Bonga FPSO and the MSC fleet.
Operators that rely on Trelawny tools
Brochures & Catalogues
Download the full Trelawny reference documents, or ask us for product-specific data sheets.
Ordering, IMPA codes and ShipServ
ShipServ
SepcoTech TradeNet: TN 317548
Search TN 317548 on ShipServ TradeNet, or send an RFQ quoting any IMPA code below. The code plus our TradeNet number identifies the exact part, no cross-referencing, no ambiguity. Items added to your quote here carry their IMPA codes through automatically.
Talk to a Specialist
Not sure what fits? Tell us the job and our team will spec the right tool.
Ask a specialistTrelawny tools at work
Official Trelawny footage of the surface-prep range in real marine use.
What is Trelawny's, and what is ours
SepcoTech is listed by Trelawny as an authorised distributor. That means a clean division of responsibility, and it is worth being explicit about which half is which.
The hardware and everything behind it
- The tools themselves, made in Leamington Spa in the UK
- The manufacturer's warranty, handled to Trelawny's terms
- The declared specifications, manuals and conformity documentation
- Design and development of the Vibro-Lo™ and Ex ranges
Getting it aboard, priced and supported
- Stock, so the common tools and consumables are not a lead-time conversation
- A quote in EUR, with no hidden import cost arriving later
- Ordering through ShipServ TradeNet TN 317548, in your normal procurement workflow
- Support in your time zone, from people who have specified these tools on vessels
Everything we supply is genuine, authorised Trelawny equipment, bought through the manufacturer's own channel. Never grey-market, never parallel-imported, and never a look-alike consumable that voids the warranty on a tool you have just paid for.
Frequently asked
Every figure below comes from Trelawny's published specifications or from the arithmetic set out earlier on this page.
How much does a low vibration needle scaler reduce HAVS exposure?
Compared like for like against Trelawny's own standard tools, and assessed on the worse of the two grips, declared vibration falls by 5.2 to 11.5 times depending on the model. Because permitted trigger time scales with the square of vibration, that buys between 27 and 132 times longer at the trigger. In practice a 3BPG needle scaler, at 42.57 m/s² at the front hand, reaches the 2.5 m/s² exposure action value in under two minutes, while a VL303, at 3.70 m/s², reaches it after 3 h 39 min.
What is the difference between ATEX and non-spark needle scalers?
Non-spark is a consumable; ATEX is a certification of the whole tool. Beryllium copper needles fitted to a standard scaler will not spark against steel, but the tool they are fitted to remains uncertified equipment. Trelawny's Ex models are certified across the VL203, VL223 and VL303 in both needle and chisel form, and they are what a Zone 1 or Zone 21 scope requires. Fitting non-spark needles does not make a scaler ATEX-certified.
How much air does a Trelawny needle scaler need?
The VL203 and VL223 use 1.89 l/s (4.0 cfm) at 6.2 bar, and the VL303 uses 2.6 l/s (5.5 cfm). The standard tools use more, not less: 2.6 l/s for the 2B and 2BPG, and 3.8 l/s (8.0 cfm) for the 3BPG. Moving to Vibro-Lo lowers air consumption at every size, so it does not call for a larger compressor.
Do Trelawny tools have IMPA codes?
The consumables and accessories do; the tools do not. Needles, chisels, cutter heads, brushes and the TVS shrouds all carry IMPA codes - flat tip needles, part 453.1110, are IMPA 59.04.89 - but the scalers themselves have no published code and must be ordered by Trelawny part number. A requisition raised purely by IMPA code will return the consumables and miss the tool.
How long does it take to descale a deck with a TFP200?
Trelawny's datasheet gives an average of 25 m² per hour at 3 mm per pass, across a 200 mm cutting width. The "up to 30 m²/hr" figure quoted elsewhere is a stated maximum rather than a planning rate, and it carries no coating type or thickness. Plan on 25, and allow for the fact that the machine cannot work closer than 55 mm to a bulkhead, so the edges need a second tool.
Which needle scaler should I choose for daily use?
For daily descaling, a Vibro-Lo tool. Assessed on the worse of the two grips, no needle scaler in the range stays below the 2.5 m/s² exposure action value for a full shift, but the Vibro-Lo tools reach it after 3 h 39 min (VL303) to 5 h 45 min (VL223), against minutes for the standard B-series. The VL303 is the 28-needle pistol tool and the heaviest cutter, so it gives the most output per operator. Choose the VL203 (pistol grip, 19 needles, 4 h 42 min) or the VL223 (in-line, 19 needles, 5 h 45 min) where the work is lighter, access is tight or trigger time is the constraint. The standard B-series remains a reasonable buy only where the trigger is held for a few minutes at a time.
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