Feature Articles

Powder Chipping off Glass
Question: We have a powder coating system that coats perfume bottles.

Nothing but Net: Safety First
As the Internet matures and e-commerce becomes more mainstream, each of us must guard ourselves when providing credit card numbers and private information.

Durable Clear Coatings for Brass
Question: Our company makes a wide range of brass architectural products, such as hand railing, public guidance posts and kitchen household fitting.

Fisheyes
Question: We’re having a problem with fisheyes and need some advice.

Painting Plastic
Question: We are trying to paint a cover made of Cycolac ABS plastic.

Painting for Infrared Measurements
Question: We paint bare die electronic assemblies to create a uniform emissivity in order to perform infrared camera thermal measurements under power.

What Causes Outgassing?
Question: I read with interest your comment regarding powder coating over galvanized surfaces in the April issue of Products Finishing.

Pickling or Solubilizing?
Question: I am in the business of cleaning metal stampings.

Updating Plating Specifications
Question: We are in the process of installing an ISO 9002 quality assurance system.

Assembling Parts Before Electrocoating
Question: I have heard that parts can be assembled before electrocoat.

Vacuum Deposition of Selenium
Question: We vacuum deposit selenium on 3003 and 6063 aluminum alloy drums for copy machines.

Controlling Water Soluble Enamel
Question: The coating process used in our facility is a flow through system using a water soluble enamel.

Sizing an Oven
Question: What size burner do I need to heat a 3,000 ft3 oven?

On My Mind: Powder Coating Trends
For those of you that didn't make it to the Powder Coating '00 show, I thought I would fill you in on the latest trends.

Making Wrinkle Finishes Wrinkle
Question: Getting a good wrinkle finish is just about as easy as painting with any aerosol type finish.

Blackening of Ferrous Metals
The reasons for installing an in-house cold blackening system are many and varied.

Electropolishing: A Chemical Alternative

Southeastern Electro-Polishing uses chemicals rather than manual buffing and polishing equipment to achieve a polished finish on stainless steel. What are the advantages of this process?

Consolidating Electronics Plating Lines

ITT Industries, Cannon reviewed its plating setup and developed a strategy for the plating department. Its first step was to consolidate the pr'ous metal plating lines into one automated line...

Removing EN from Steel
Question: What is the best way to remove electroless nickel from a steel substrate?

Cleaning Chemicals Software
Question: My new process development lab director is in search of software.

Making Pollution Prevention Work

Pollution prevention requires that chemicals that produce VOCs not be incorporated into certain products. For coating job shops, this means eliminating solvents from their plants. UV/EB coatings can help them do this...

Masking for Electrocoating
Question: Can electrocoat be masked like powder or liquid coatings?

Immersion Gold on Copper
Question: I have a project involving the deposit of gold on a printed circuit board that is “copper finished.” Can this be done with immersion plating?

Copper Strike on Zinc Diecasts
Question: We are experiencing problems with our copper strike on zinc diecasts.

Perspectives: Death, Taxes, Finishing and Elections
Forty years ago Milt Stevenson Sr. founded Anoplate Corporation, Syracuse, NY, to offer plating to a small, locally based machine shop industry.

Lawn Mower Blades
Question: We produce lawn mower blades for after-market sale.

Preventing Oxidation and Decarburization
Question: Can I prevent oxidation and decarburization during hardening of 1055 steel at 860C with super-heated steam at 550C using pretreatments?

Acid Recycling at Plating for Electronics

Saving money, streamlining production, reducing waste and improving worker safety were some of the goals Plating for Electronics aimed for when it started investigating diffusion dialysis...

Anti-Tarnish Products
In the July 2000 column, a reader was asking for information on a product called Pasa-Jell 107.

Stripping Anodic Coating
Question: What is the best way to strip an anodize coating?

Analyzing a Waterborne Paint Line

To the outside world, Jervis B. Webb's paint line was performing just fine. But, the line's acceptable performance was masking some critical issues that needed attention...