Liquid Coating

1 Jun 2006

Automatic Painting

Our inquiry is about whether we should install an automatic spray coating system for applying a shop primer in our structural steel fabrication facility. This system needs to be able to coat sheet metal and structural profiles in different shapes like I, U and so on. Is automatic coating a satisfactory method to paint these parts or shall we coat them manually?

1 May 2006

Painting Large Steel Tanks

We are seeking advice on automating the painting booth. We have turntables to turn the tanks and now plan to automate the process with automatic gun heads. Our initial thought is to use automatic heads with high-volume pumps. We currently use an industrial enamel but would consider newer coatings and processes if they are applicable. Could you provide some practical advice before we start purchasing equipment and planning our production flow?

1 May 2006

Solvent Wiping

I must take issue with your reply to B. L. in the February 2006 issue. Although there is no doubt that he needs to stop using toluene for hand wipe cleaning due to its toxicity and flammability, there are a number of perfectly acceptable alternatives.

1 May 2006

Coating Military Medals

Will the heat of curing them (around 400°F, I understand) damage or discolor them? Most of the badges are brass or silver (some with soldered fittings on the back) and several of the medals are bronze. I know that the heat of soldering brass will usually discolor the brass, but would the heat of a powder coating oven be sufficient to melt the solder or discolor the metals?

1 Apr 2006

Repainting Electrical Panels

We have been asked to recondition and repaint electrical panels. Can you provide the right paint type and specifications for this job?

1 Apr 2006

Alternative Pretreatment

We would like to expand our product line to include larger steel buildings whose sections are eight to ten feet long. Because of the size of our processing tanks, we cannot handle larger sections. We now pretreat the sections in an immersion system, and then paint them with a two-coat finish system consisting of an epoxy primer and acrylic enamel. What alternatives pretreatments are available for these sections?

1 Apr 2006

Painting Stainless Steel Flexible Tubing

I am looking for a method to paint stainless steel flexible tubing for gas and water lines. We have made a few attempts to paint them, however, since the tubing is flexible stainless steel, every time we bend it, it makes a cracking noise, which is most likely the paint cracking from the bending. What methods/processes are there to have this not occur, and what paint is necessary?

1 Apr 2006