FINISHES

Mil-Spec Coatings

CARC - The acronym for Chemical Agent Resistant Coating is a paint system developed by the Army to permit detoxification of camouflaged equipment with harsh chemicals with no deleterious effect to the coating. We are touted by the military inspectors (QAR) for our expertise in applying this difficult coating system.

Mil-P-20689 (AA59464) Plastisol - Hot dip or spray application of PVC to provide good electrical and thermal insulation, excellent chemical resistance, and good outdoor weatherability.

1. Available in clear and various colors including custom tints.
2. Custom built tanks to accommodate an array of product sizes.
3. Pneumatic dip control of immersion, dwell and extraction to provide better thickness control and uniformity.

Mil-C-5541 Chemical Conversion Coatings - Because of its propensity to oxidize rapidly, aluminum alloys should be treated to passivate the surface before painting. The preferred method is covered by MIL-C-5541 which provides for two classes:

1. Class 1A - For maximum protection against corrosion when surfaces are to be painted.
2. Class 3 - For protection against corrosion where lower electrical resistance is required.

Mil-C-490 Pretreat - To assure adhesion to ferrous metals and improve the corrosion resistance of the coating applied. The several MIL-c-490 pretreatments that we are prepared to supply are as follows:

1. Method I - Blast cleaning
2. Method II - Vapor degreasing
3. Method III - Hot alkaline immersion or spray
4. Method IV - Emulsion
5. Method V - Alkaline derusting
6. Method VI - Phosphoric acid
7. Type I - Zinc phosphate
8. Type II - Iron phosphate
9. Type III - DOD-P-15328 organic coating

Industrial Coatings

Fluorocarbon (Teflon/Xylan/Halar) - coatings are touted for their non-stick properties. A multitude of fluorocarbon coatings are available for diverse applications. Here are salient characteristics of a few that we apply:

PTFE - has the lowest coefficient of friction and highest temperature resistance of any of the fluorocarbon coating systems. PTFE-based products can typically withstand temperatures of 550°F (290°C) continuous and 600°F (315°C) intermittently, PTFE coatings are very good electrical insulators, and are inert to almost all chemicals.

FEP- based fluorocarbon coatings have superb release, and are frequently used as mold release coatings. They melt flow to smooth, non-porous film, and are thus more chemically resistant than PTFE coatings. FEP coatings have lower heat resistance than PTFE coatings (400°F/200°C).

PFA - based coatings combine the high temperature resistance of PTFE coatings with the ability to archieve a non-porous, chemical resistant film like FEP. Films can be built to 25 mils with multiple coats, and are quite tough and abrasion resistant.

ETFE - coatings offer extremely tough, abrasion resistant films with high tensile strength. Films up to 1000 mils can be built, but ETFE is limited in temperature resistance (300°F/150°C) and provides only fair release compared to PTFE, PFA, and FEP.

Nylon II - Foremost among the many desirable characteristics of this thermoplastic material is its machinability. To avoid the costly labor intensive masking of surfaces that must be free of coating, many customers prefer to have us coat all over. Afterwards, they machine away the unwanted coating. Thermoset coatings such as epoxies are too brittle to permit subsequent machining. Nylon 11 wear resistance is also superior to most coatings. In Tabor Abrasion Resistance Testing, the weight loss of 33 to 38 milligrams. The lubricity of this oil-based coating gives it a low coefficient of friction which makes it more cost effective than some of the fluorocarbon coatings. Nylon 11 also has unusual solvent resistance, and good chemical resistance.

Architectural Coatings - A multi-stage aluminum pretreatment system conforming to AAMA (American Architectural Manufacturers Association) 603/605 prefaces the spray application of a complete line of architectural coatings to assure meeting stringent architectural performance requirements for long term color and gloss retention, and film integrity.

Alumina Ceramic - Our ceramic metallic water-based slurry coating system is spray applied and heat cured at 660°F for up to one hour, and is effective at thicknesses as low as 0.5 mil. The coating provides protection to metal surfaces against atmospheric and chemical corrosion, thermal oxidation and pitting. The coating will withstanding exposure to 2,000 plus hours of 5% salt fog, and temperatures up to 1200°F. It is popular in the automotive industry as protection for mufflers, exhaust pipes, manifolds, etc. In the chemical process industry, it provides protection to stream valves, pipes, and other high temperature applications.

Dry Film Lubricants - Our coating is a lacquer-like film containing molybdenum disulfide and corrosion inhibiting pigments. Typically cured at 400°F for one hour, the coating promotes wear life and lubrication while protecting against corrosion, galling, seizing, and fretting. It is available to meet several military specifications, E.G., MIL-L46010, MIL-L-8937, and MIL-L-23398.

Conductive Coatings RFI/EMI Shielding - The coating is a sprayable metallic system using a specially formulated non-oxidizing copper as the conductive element. This was developed for use as an RFI/EMI shield for plastic electronic equipment housings. It can be used on acrylics, ABS and structural foams, e.g., Noryl, Valox, etc., as well as solvent sensitive substrates such as polycarbonate and polystyrene. Attenuation is more than 75 db form 1 MHz to 1 GHz. Surface resistivity is <0.05 ohms/sq. @ 1 mil dry film thickness and <0.025 ± 0.005 ohms/sq. @ 2 mils dry film thickness.

Epoxy - An array of powder coatings is available as an environmentally friendly solution to the need for corrosion inhibiting products. The coatings have appealing aesthetics, and the ability to withstand wear, impact, and corrosive environments.

Most powder coatings will withstand 120 to 160 inch pounds of impact, and can easily exceed 4000 hours of exposure to 4% salt fog with no effect. With corrosion responsible for 5-1/2 million dollars damage to metal parts and structures in the United States each year, the popularity of powder coating has increased phenomenally in the last decade.

Epoxy is considered the work-horse of the industry. As a thermoset material, epoxy possesses high resistance to deformation under load and retains its strength at elevated temperatures. Epoxy coated parts have been immersed in toluene or gasoline for 30 days at 77° F with no softening. Coated parts have been immersed in 25% sulfuric acid or 15% sodium hydroxide for 90 days at 77° F with no attack. See chart for greater detail.

Properly cured epoxy coating will perform satisfactorily at temperatures, up to 350° F continuous and 450° F intermittent.

One of our epoxies carries an Underwriters Laboratories” yellow card listing of Class B (130 C) insulation. The material has a dielectric strength of 700-900 volts per mi. The coating applied by electrostatic spray at 2 to 3 mils has an insulating value of 1400 to 2700 volts. Greater insulating value can be attained by building thickness with a fluidized bed to 15 to 30 mils for 10,500 to 27,000 volts dielectric strength. Our Q.C. for dielectric strength is hi-pot testing.

The abrasion resistance of epoxy powder coating is a combination the toughness of the coating and the thickness of the deposit. With Taber Abrasion Resistance testing the coating is subject to 1,000 cycles of grinding under 1,000 grams load. Weight loss is typically 33 to 38 milligrams of an epoxy coating. The minimal wear is highly desirable to avoid erosion of the coated substrate in many applications, e.g., metal tool handles.

Polyester - Polyester resin based coatings are renown for their weatherability. After 13 months exposure to salt and sun at a Florida outdoor test station, the loss of gloss drops from an initial 85% to a 77% gloss level. Otherwise, the coating appearance is unchanged. Impact resistance and salt spray resistance are comparable to epoxy.