Industrial Painting

Corrosion is a natural process where steel turns into Iron oxide because of humidity and oxygen working together. It can be prevented by painting a barrier onto the steel. Painting a surface stops the humidity and oxygen working together and causing corrosion. The resistance of paint to corrosive atmospheres is controlled by the chemicals it is made from.

The thickness of the layer is very important. The thicker it is, the more difficult it is for oxygen and humidity to reach the metal and cause corrosion

Types of Paints

Primers

First layers of paint in direct contact with the surface and strongly pigmented. They have a low binder content and provide a good surface for the adhesion of the next layer of paint. They help to avoid corrosion on metallic surfaces because of their anti-corrosive pigments.

Intermediate Coats

Painted on top of the primer, they help to increase the total thickness of the painting. This saves from painting too thick finishing coats. The pigment to binder ratio is lower in intermediate coats than in primers, but the ratio is higher than in finishing paints. Modern processes use very thick intermediate coats, with thicknesses up to 100 - 200 microns. This saves money in the painting process.

Finishing Coats

These are the last coats of paint to be applied. They can be painted on top of primers or intermediate coats. They are made with a low pigment/binder ratio to give good water resistance and to make them very hard. They are normally glossy, though satin and matt finishes are getting more and more popular

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Clearcoats

Clearcoats are paints, not used for opacity, i.e. made from binder and solvents. Used to protect and improve the look of metals, plastics and woods, etc.

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Epoxy Coatings

Two component epoxy coating systems are available for use in a variety of thicknesses and cure at room or elevated temperatures. They are commonly used to coat the following substrates:

• Aluminum
• Carbon steel
• Galvanized steel
• Fiberglass
• Polyester
• Ceramics
• Copper
• Zinc

Key industrial markets include:

• Construction equipment
• Machine tools
• Pumps
• Compressors
• Farm equipment
• Oil and Gas pipelines