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Powder Coating

Parts Cleaning articles from Products Finishing are selected and categorized by application for quick reference:

Pretreatment Before Powder   12/01/08
A customer has just purchased a powder coating plant. The steel is being stored outside and is very rusty prior to powder coating. Please provide recommendations for pre-treatment prior to powder coat.

Cleaning Aluminum Castings   04/01/08
Our customer finishes our aluminum lamp surface with powder. We apply dipped degreasing solution with alkali solution and acid treating of the surface and rinsing. We have had a lot of nonconformity reports about adhesion or other covering problems. I’d like to know what cleaning problems result in bad powder coating, or what tests we can do to ensure good cleaning. We apply a heat treatment (250°C, 14 hr) before cleaning to remove trapped gas from aluminum pores.

Removal Of Cured Powder   12/01/07
I work at a company that is currently exploring ways to remove cured powder coat from steel. We generally use anything from 22-gage to 11-gage cold-rolled and stainless steel. We are looking at blast cabinets but want to be sure that we use an abrasive that won't harm the surface of the steel. We need the steel to remain smooth after removing the powder so we can rework the part. Most of them will have silk screening applied after coating. Can you recommend a blast cabinet and the best abrasive to use?

Sporadic Rust   12/01/07
We have not experienced a rust issue except for the seasonal heat and humidity but now have sporadic rusted parts all year round. Any thoughts?

Removing Teflon Rings   06/01/07
We are chemical strippers and have a client who has a number of alloy units who wishes to remove a Teflon ring from one end. Is this possible?

Clingier Can Be Better   04/01/07
Gel cleaners extend dwell time, provide better cleaning

Removing Rust, Mill Scale And Oils In One Step   02/01/07
We have a small job shop that powder coats. We do parts of varying sizes all the way up to 20 ft in length, made of steel or aluminum, occasional magnesium. The parts we receive, as stated before, are constantly different sizes and shape and some of it is made of HRS steel and has rust and corrosion on it, as well as oil. I always see the typical pretreatment stages to be a cleaner, rinse, phosphate, rinse, sealer, rinse or not. Nowhere do I see anything to deal with the rust and mill scale from the HRS steel. Is there a product that removes the rust, mill scale and oils in one step? Or are there more steps required, I can honestly say most everything I ever read about seems like a perfect world where the only thing the steel has on it is oils. This is not the case in my business. We have a manual spray washing system that we use due to our varied parts, but I can absolutely see the need for a dip tank being a useful tool as well for the smaller parts.

Plaforization Performance   12/01/06
We are looking to install a Plaforization system for ornamental iron and aluminum fence. Do you know how many hours of salt spray we can get out of that system?

Pretreatment of Multiple Substrates   10/01/06
We are currently coating various substrates for aerospace products with various coatings. We are using a Mil-T-81772 thinner via a wipe method to achieve pretreatment for coating. Our coatings are Chromate primers, TT-E-489 enamel, Epoxy primer and Mil-C-22750 Epoxy topcoat. Substrates are SS 300 series steel, alodined aluminum, anodized aluminum, titanium and magnesium. We are experiencing problems passing dry and wet tape tests. And I have been tasked to get us up to a NADCAP audit ready status. Is there any one method and chemical/solvent that could be used to clean all these situations?

Alodine   08/01/06
We use alodine on 5053 aluminum and use a water based coating. We want to change to powder but we are also having to meet the RoHS requirement that does not allow hexavalent chrome in the alodine. Have you found or know of an alternative to the Alodine that would give good adhesion and good Florida exposure.

June Issue   08/01/06
I am a loyal reader of PRODUCTS FINISHING and just finished reading the June issue. You are always very thorough and descriptive. I observed your response to E.P. regarding the phosphate cleaning systems and have some other suggestions...

Pretreatment   08/01/06
I am setting up a new Batch operation and wanted to know which pretreatment to go with. A 3 stage dipping system, or is a 3 stage hot pressure cleaning solution wash, Clear Rinse and sealant? Will the Iron railings benefit from a 3 minute dipping more than a power wash manually?

Nanoceramic Pretreatment   04/01/06
I have been informed about nanoceramic pretreatment prior powder painting. Any experience? Is it really good? Where is the catch?

Passivate Using Different Materials   04/01/06
Can I passivate assembled parts with two different materials? One is 304 stainless steel tube and the other is 303 stainless steel solid. I am using epoxy glue made by 3M #2214 regular. I want to know if the acid will create problems to the glue or harm the parts.

USA Made Alternative to Ecophor   04/01/06
I am searching for a U.S.-produced product to take the place of Ecophor A447 product. Do you know of one or can you direct me to someone who may know of one?

Paint Adhesion on Aluminum   02/01/06
We have an issue with paint adhesion on aluminum. Here is what is going on: Three stage washer: Cleaner Phosphate, rinse, rinse. Phosphate stage specs: pH running at 4.1 – 4.2
Fluoride level at 285 ppm; Temp = 140°F; Time = Uncertain but I estimate 30 seconds. Rinses are overflowing with second rinse cascading into the first.

In Search of a Polymeric Coating   12/01/05
I have an application that needs a 0.005-0.006-inch thick insulative coating on an aluminum sheet metal part. The coating has to withstand a 1,500 volt surge between the circuit card and the metal guides that the card slides in. I have tried powder coat but am not very happy because of a lack of adequate coverage in certain delicate areas due to the part geometry. Are there any polymeric coatings or other materials that are suited for my application that will guarantee a close tolerance on the coating thickness?

Changing from Zinc Phosphate to Iron Phosphate   10/01/05
We have been coating for the last 12 years (supply to a major automotive manufacturer). Since then we have been zinc phosphating the steel products. Would a shift to iron phosphate warrant the same qualities in withstanding salt spray tests?

Powder Coating Over 304-SS Tubing   09/25/04
I want to powder coat over 304 stainless steel tubing. What steps should I consider for surface preparation to get the best adhesion? Are there any special types of powder coating that I should consider?

Powder Coating Over Finished Chrome Parts   09/25/04
We have a four-stage washer with a first-stage iron phosphate wash heated to about 130°F, two fresh water rinses and a final seal rinse. Sometimes we powder coat over new parts that are finished in chrome...

Pre-Powder Coating Treatment   10/01/02
We have recently purchased a powder coater, and I am responsible to come up with a cleaning, rinsing and treating process for steel boxes. On the PF site I read about Plaforization. It sounds very convenient with only one dip station. Our largest box will probably be 2 × 2 × 1 ft. Our boxes are mainly for indoors, but we want a good enough seal and corrosion resistance for exterior use also. Could you please e-mail or phone me with your thoughts on whether Plaforization is right for us? Also, could you get me some pricing and a sample of your product?

WD-40 and Heavy Oil-Based Cutting Fluids   10/01/02
I'm having difficulty in showing my parent company that these products create coating problems and contaminate my wash and pre-treat stages. I need documentation on this problem.

Preparing Brazed Metal   06/01/02
We manufacture aluminum heat exchangers and are planning to implement CAB brazing soon. What type of powder should we use and is there any pretreatment necessary?

Pretreating Laser Cut Parts   01/01/02
Can you recommend a pretreatment cleaning process for laser cut parts? The laser cut edge leaves an oxide area that causes adhesion problems. Often the cured powder coating will chip off these edges when they come into contact with each other. We have a four-stage washer using alkaline cleaning and phosphatizing. Most (98%) of our parts are HRP&O steel, with the remaining 2% being CR and aluminum. We also have heard that if we cut with nitrogen on the laser it will reduce the oxidation of the material; however, nitrogen is also 60% more expensive than oxygen...

Powder Hooks/Rack Cleaning   12/01/01
I am into my third month of study for a new powder coat system for our company. I have just completed reading your June article concerning various cleaning issues. My question is about equipment to clean, burn or plastic media blast our hooks. Can you help me with a list of equipment manufacturers for each method of stripping polyester powder?

Pretreatment of Aluminum for Powder Coating   02/01/01
What is the best way of treating aluminum before powder coating? How can we protect the phosphated parts after phosphating?

Removing Flash and Parting Line   02/01/01
I am looking for an efficient way to remove flash or create a "uniform" parting line on numerous cosmetic parts that are zinc die cast. The parts will be powder coated or plated. Would vibratory finishing work? Do you have any suggestions?

Pretreatment for Florida Environment   06/01/00
I have been powder coating motorcycle parts (used/refinishing) exclusively for 10 years. We are expanding our business to include chrome plating, polishing, welding/fabrication and industrial powder coating for outside as well as our own manufactured products (aluminum and steel). As there are a large number of different types and configurations of products in this area, we are implementing a "pressure washer" type cleaning/pretreatment system. What would be your recommendation for pretreatment to get the maximum adhesion/weather-ablity on aluminum railing for use on the coast of Florida. The opinions vary so much with each supplier that I feel compelled to seek outside help.