Magnesium Treatment
Question: We are a company that makes parts of aluminum as luminaries, car rearviews, TV tables, etc.
Question:
We are a company that makes parts of aluminum as luminaries, car rearviews, TV tables, etc. We are mainly dedicated to making public lighting, so we have special interest in making luminaries with magnesium AZ91. The problem is that the parts are on the street and have to bear hard conditions of corrosion. We need 1,000 hours of corrosion resistance in a salt fog. Is there, at present, any treatment for magnesium for this kind of conditions? R.P.
Answer:
Do you need 1,000 hour performance for aesthetics or performance? Some plating alternatives may give you a functional coating, but may not hold up aesthetically for 1,000 hours. Some paint systems could possibly hold up to the 1,000 hours. An electrocoat with a powder topcoat may be capable of meeting these requirement. An epoxy electrocoat would give you the best corrosion resistance, while the topcoat would have to be something else such as an acrylic or polyester so that it would not fade in the outdoor exposure.
Finally, although I do not have direct experience with this, I have heard of people anodizing magnesium, similar to what is done for aluminum. A strong, hard anodic coating may also hold up well to these conditions.
Related Content
-
Robots, AI and Superb BMW Surfaces
There isn’t an automotive paint shop in the world that doesn’t have post-paint inspection and defect processing. But BMW is doing this with levels of technology at a plant in Germany that exceed all other paint shops in the world.
-
Ecoat — An Entrepreneurial Approach
Job shop style approach for a captive ecoat line encourages ownership, innovation.
-
Enhanced Functionality, Commercial Viability
Nano-particle additives modify coating performance to protect sensitive electronic devices.