Blog : Products Finishing

Metal Processing International Earns Texas Award

By: Tim Pennington 7. May 2012

Metal Processing International in Mission, Texas received the Texas Manufacturing Star Award from the Texas Workforce Commission at a business conference May 4.

The business will received the award during the conference’s opening ceremony at the McAllen Convention Center. Debbie Pitts, TWC communications representative, said the Mission company was honored for keeping jobs in Texas.

“It is given to employers that made the effort to train their workers, to keep jobs in Texas,” Pitts said. “Rather than having them go overseas and cut their labor force, instead they actually grow and have trained their workforce to make that possible. That is the reason they were chosen.”

The company, which provides innovative electro-coating of manufactured metal components, has grown from 33 employees in 2007 to nearly 130 in 2012.

New Mexico School Features Eco-Friendly Anodized Walls

By: Tim Pennington 4. May 2012

The first new elementary school in New Mexico's Bernalillo Public Schools district in 30 years features anodized storefronts and curtainwalls that send 90 percent less waste to landfills.

Linetec finished the storefront and curtainwall systems' aluminum framing members for Bernalillo Elementary School applying paint on the interior and clear anodize on the exterior. This eco-friendly anodize process sends 90 percent less waste to landfills than traditional anodizing.

The eco-friendly etch process creates an aesthetically appealing "frostier" appearance that helps hide small defects, such as die lines, flow lines, minor corrosion and scratches, that may occur on the aluminum surface of architectural products. Although neither conventional caustic nor acid etch removes all irregularities in the aluminum, acid etch does a better job of concealing them. This gives the material a better aesthetic finish on both primary and secondary (recycled) billet.

Linetec's eco-friendly anodize process meets or exceeds all AAMA 611 specifications. Standard warranty of 5 years and optional extended 10 year warranty apply.

Painted finishes also are applied and controlled in an environmentally effective manner to minimize, or even eliminate, volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These architectural-grade finishes help minimize maintenance and further protect the entrance systems' rigorous operation.

Bernalillo Elementary School serves approximately 450 third- through fifth-grade students and faculty. Previously, these students attended Carroll Elementary, which was built in 1980 as the district's last "new" elementary. The kindergarten through second-grade students attended Roosevelt Elementary. When the new elementary opened in August 2010, Carroll became the kindergarten through second-grade campus and Roosevelt transitioned to administrative offices.

PPG Aerospace Coatings Create ‘All Black’ Livery For Air New Zealand

By: Tim Pennington 2. May 2012

“Green” coatings by PPG Industries’ aerospace business were specified by Air New Zealand for the black livery on four airplanes that are part of the airline’s sponsorship of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and the world champion All Blacks rugby team.

Air New Zealand has taken delivery of a new Boeing 777-300ER airplane and subsidiary Eagle Airways has had two Beechcraft 1900D airplanes repainted with PPG Aerospace’s environmentally responsible coatings system: DesoGel EAP-9 metal pretreatment, DESOPRIME CF/CA 7502 epoxy primer and DESOTHANE HS topcoats. Eagle Airways also plans to have a third Beechcraft 1900D turboprop repainted in the black livery.

Air New Zealand commissioned the dramatic livery, featuring an all-black fuselage with a silver fern (symbolic of New Zealand) overlay across the rear of the aircraft to celebrate sponsorship of the All Blacks through 2015.

“New Zealand is crazy about rugby,” said Richard Wilkinson, PPG sales manager at the aerospace application support center in Tullamarine. “As the national carrier, Air New Zealand and its Eagle Airways subsidiary are keen to protect New Zealand’s unique natural environment. Using these PPG Aerospace products enabled them to do so without compromising performance.”

Instead of using chromates for metal corrosion resistance, DesoGelEAP-9metal pretreatment and Desoprime CF/CA 7502 primer inhibit corrosion with a chromate-free formulation, Wilkinson said. Additionally, he said Desothane HS topcoats by PPG Aerospace contain less volatile organic compounds than conventional paints to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “Drying times for these topcoats can be accelerated with thinners, minimizing energy consumption compared with other paints that rely on heat to speed up the drying process. This is especially important when applying markings,” Wilkinson said.

Air New Zealand and Eagle Airways will maintain the glossy appearance of their black aircraft with Desoclean Green dry wash and polish by PPG Aerospace, which reduces the amount of required wet washing. Eagle Airways opted for the additional protection of a clearcoat.

Aviation Painting Services (APS), Hamilton, New Zealand’s newest full-time aviation painting operation, painted the Eagle Airways Beechcraft 1900D airplanes, while Boeing painted the Boeing 777 at its Everett, Wash., facility.

According to Phil Byrne, APS general manager, the project was a challenge because a complex livery had to be applied in a limited timeframe.

“Some of the pressure was reduced with the knowledge that Air New Zealand had chosen PPG products, which are known to be great to apply,” Byrne said. “Plus they are backed up with the PPG promise of technical support.”

ASK THE EXPERT: Solving 'Sandpaper Finishes' in Plating

By: Arthur S. Kushner 30. April 2012

Q. Our company produces oven racks. The base material is a low-carbon steel (SAE 1006/SAE 1008). The racks are nickel-chromium plated, and the process we use for the plating is as follows:

Hot degreasing
Acidic etch
Cathodic degreasing
Anodic degreasing
Acidic pickling
Semi-bright nickel plating
Bright nickel plate
Chromium activation
Chromium plating

After the process is completed, the plating has the feel and look of sandpaper, and we must have a bright, smooth finish. Can you give me any suggestions for solving this problem? F.A.

A. I agree that a sandpaper-type finish might have applications in certain areas, but not in decorative plating. Based on the information you provided, I can’t give you a definitive answer to your problem, but I certainly can give you some guidelines for troubleshooting.

The first thing I would do is inspect the parts after each step of the process. Are they smooth and not pitted after the degreasing and acid pickling steps? If yes, then these steps are not at fault. Do the same after each of the plating steps and, if you find the parts have roughness, for example, after the semi-bright nickel plating step, then that step should be investigated in more detail. If the roughness appears after your decorative chromium step, then the chromium plating bath must be investigated.

Assuming that by using this approach you can pin down the step that is giving you the roughness, you will now have to determine what the cause is. In most plating baths, roughness is usually caused by suspended materials in the bath. There are a number of possible causes for this. Start by looking at your filtration system. Filter cartridges do not last forever and must be changed on a regular basis. The cartridge you are using may not filter out the smaller particles that show up in plating baths.

If the baths are only used for short periods of time, they should be covered to keep out dust and grit that can fall into the tanks from the environment. Sometimes particulate matter is due to defective anode bags. The anodes should always be bagged and the bags inspected on a regular basis for tears. Another cause of particulate matter in the plating bath can be parts that have dropped into the tank or fallen off the rack during the plating process. If the drops are not removed promptly they may start dissolving, causing a rough deposit.

Other possible causes of rough deposits in your nickel baths are:

Current is too high.
Boric acid is too low.
pH is out of control.
Chlorides may be too low.
Organic impurities from decomposition of brighteners and wetting agents.

If you determine that the roughness appears after the chromium plating steps, there are a couple of possible causes: Your current may be too high or suspended particulate matter may be present.

ASK THE EXPERT: Powder Coating Color Change

By: Rodger Talbert 27. April 2012

Q. Are color changes for powder that are under one minute really possible? I spray all manual in one booth, but I have automatic guns in the other one, and we do reclaim some of our colors, but not all of them. M.G.

A. A single powder gun can be color changed by one person in less than one minute. It requires the right equipment to be able to quickly purge the gun interior and switch over to the new color, but it is possible. You can use a box feed system and clean the gun up, change the box and then start the new color. Or, you can use a manifold with a switch system and a series of dedicated feed hoppers for even-faster color change times.

Keep in mind that the actual color change time is partly dependent on how close the parts are racked. You may be able to physically change the gun over, but you cannot discharge a color too close to a part that is not supposed to be that color. If you are cleaning the gun and next part is only a couple of feet away, you will get some of the powder on that fresh part. Or if a coated part is still leaving the booth, you could get some of the new color on the trailing edge. Realistically, you can change the gun in around 20 or 30 sec, but the spacing is most likely going to be greater due to the risk of cross contamination.

Now, if you have the clean the booth walls, or if you have automatic guns, or if you intend to recover the colors for reuse, the game changes. Automatic guns can be purged automatically using a manifold system and a color-feed center. Booth walls can be cleaned more quickly if the booth construction is designed for fast color change. In a best-case scenario, you can go from reclaim color to reclaim color in 10 to 15 minutes with automatic guns. You can go much faster if you do not reclaim. These booths use cyclone recovery systems to avoid the time involved in moving collectors for reclaim colors. The cyclone itself does not necessarily speed up color change time unless it is fitted with the right features.

It all depends on what you need in terms of reclaim and what equipment you buy. You can get some very fast times if you invest in the right equipment.

Metal Processing International Earns Texas Award

New Mexico School Features Eco-Friendly Anodized Walls

PPG Aerospace Coatings Create ‘All Black’ Livery For Air New Zealand

ASK THE EXPERT: Solving 'Sandpaper Finishes' in Plating

ASK THE EXPERT: Powder Coating Color Change

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