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NON-POLLUTING REPLACEMENT FOR CHROMATE CONVERSION COATING & ZINC PHOSPHATING IN POWDER COATING APPLICATIONS
Citation:
Ferguson*, T D. AND B. Monzyk. NON-POLLUTING REPLACEMENT FOR CHROMATE CONVERSION COATING & ZINC PHOSPHATING IN POWDER COATING APPLICATIONS. COATINGS WORLD.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
Picklex, a proprietary formulation, is an alternative to conventional metal surface pretreatments. Its developers claim that it does not produce waste or lower production rates, and it will maintain performance compared to conventional processes. A laboratory program was designed to compare Picklex with conventional processes in common, large scale, pollution surface finishing operations. This was done using steel and aluminum panels, measuring product coating properties, process operability, and costs. A total of 41 different combinations of substrate, degreaser, pretreatment, converson coat, and powder coat were tested in which qualities such as finish adhesion, bending adhesion, impact adhesion, hardness, and corrosion resistance were evaluated. Results indicate that Picklex pretreated panels performed as well as panels that were conventionally pretreated, and with a simpler non-hazardous process. Picklex is particularly acceptable for powder coated steel or aluminum, replacing chromate conversion coating for aluminum substrates and zinc phosphating for steel substrates. This apper gives results from an actual field study in a powder coating shop and validates the lab results. An engineering assessment indicated that Picklex can have cost advantages as well.