There are a few limitations of detonation spraying, these are:
* Detonation spraying creates a coating that is mostly mechanically bonded as opposed to being metallurgically bonded, which is a much stronger type of bond.
* Detonation spraying is a line of sight process meaning that components generally need to be coated before being put to use or assembled. This is because the detonation gun needs to be able to access the surface to be able to apply an effective coating.
* The coatings despite being considerably strong in compression are weak under tension, meaning they can't be applied to malleable or expanding components.
* The coatings tend to fatigue under pinpoint loading.
*Detonation guns are quite large and loud.
*Detonation spraying has to be performed at a location specifically designed for it, as the gun is reasonable large and it is a loud process that produces substantial noise. For this reason, it is usually installed in a sound-proof room (with concrete walls 45 cm thick).
*The process involves a considerable amount of mechanisation and automation because the operator can't be in the room whilst the D-gun is in operation.