Control of Trivalent Passivates
Stephen Roberts of Columbia Chemical discusses ways to better control passivate solutions to improve quality.
Avoiding Tank Failure
Gary Kriesch leads the business unit at Tri-Mer Corp. that specializes in turnkey anodizing, electrocoating and other metal finishing systems. In this helpful article, he offers insights into the design, selection and maintenance of tanks that are the heart of those systems.
Moving Your Shop to the Next Level
New technology can be both enticing and threatening. Steve Schneider of John Schneider & Associates, Inc. offers insights for evaluating potential investments.
Can a Flawless Liquid Coating Finish be Achieved?
What are the best practices to achieve a flawless liquid coating finish? J.B. Haydell from Accudraft shares the details on avoiding dust, debris and other contaminants while spraying.
What Impacts Transfer Efficiency?
Powder coating consultant Rodger Talbert discusses measuring transfer efficiency (TE) and determining ways to improve.
What Causes Increasing DC Rectifier Voltage for Ecoating?
Frederick Hess of UFS shares troubleshooting advice for electrocoating and why ecoat DC rectifier voltage requirements may keep increasing.
Considerations for Selecting an Aircraft Paint Booth
Global Finishing Solutions offers insights into selecting a paint booth designed for aircraft.
Blistering Defects and How to Avoid Them
Verney Denerville of TIGER Drylac discusses recommendations for avoiding or mitigating blistering defects in powder coatings.
Minimizing Defects in Polyester Wrinkle Powder Coatings
Axalta Coating Systems architectural segment leader Michael Withers discusses mitigating defects in polyester wrinkle powder coatings.
Longer, Cleaner Plating Bath Life
Angelo Magrone of Bales Metal Surface Solutions suggests adding an agitation and filtration system to keep plating pretreatment tanks cleaner, longer.
Understanding the Hidden Costs and Benefits of Anodizing
Anodizing has capital costs and benefits beyond the machines — companies evaluating in-house systems should examine them carefully before committing.
Mitigating Water Condensation
Mike Bonner of Saint Clair Systems discusses how to avoid paint defects caused by condensation resulting from compressed air used for atomizers.
Managing Gold Plating for Electrical Contacts
With electrical contacts continuing to grow smaller, platers need to know how to manage the three key considerations of gold plating: thickness, purity and underplate chemistry.
How to Prevent Outgassing of Iron Castings
Verney Denerville of TIGER Drylac outlines the procedure used to mitigate the outgassing of iron castings.
A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Custom Masking
Is a custom masking design worth the investment? John Gill of Caplugs outlines the considerations to keep in mind when choosing between an off-the-shelf masking solution or a custom-made one.
Troubleshooting Powder Coating Issues with SIRE Methodology
Steve Houston of Vitracoat Inc. describes the SIRE method he employs for troubleshooting powder coating lines that produce faulty parts.
How to Reduce Waste for Two-Component Coatings
John Owed of Carlisle Fluid Technology suggests fluid metering equipment to reduce solvent and coating waste for multiple-component coatings.
Plating with Zinc-Nickel: Benefits and Challenges
Chad Murphy of Columbia Chemical speaks about the benefits of various types of zinc-nickel alloy, and provides tips for manufacturers about the zinc-nickel plating process.
How to Minimize Plug Loss and Leakage During Coating
Custom Fabricating and Supplies offers several tips to manufacturers having trouble with plug loss and leakage during coating.
3 Tests to Ensure Parts are Clean Prior to Plating
Making sure that all of the pre-processing fluids are removed prior to plating is not as simple as it seems. Richard Held of Haviland Enterprises outlines three tests that can help verify that your parts are clean.
How to Choose the Right Atomizing Spray Nozzle
Choosing the correct atomizing spray nozzle for your needs can be difficult. Thankfully, the engineers from EXAIR Corporation have designed a simple guide for choosing the nozzle you’ll need.
Paint Booth Exhaust Filter Disposal
Steve Love, parts and filters sales manager, Global Finishing Solutions, discusses proper paint booth filter disposal.
Color is Key: Getting Color Right in Powder Coatings
What do powder coaters need to know about color management? Rik Mertens of Datacolor explains how digitalization helps save time and avoid error.
How to Troubleshoot and Fix Nickel Show from Hex-Chrome Baths
Nickel show on parts from hexavalent chromium baths can have many causes. Adam Blakeley of MacDermid Enthone lays out potential causes and how to fix them.
When to Use Air Spray Guns or Rotary Bell Atomizers for Robotics
For automated finishing, are air spray guns or rotary bell atomizers better? Mark Dion from Dürr Systems explains the pros and cons of both for robotic painting.
How to Design an Effective Racking System
Well-designed racking is an important part of any finishing operation. Richard Lang, who handles technical sales for EPSI’s racking and hanging division, offers insights for designing an effective racking system.
How to Handle and Eliminate Powder Coating Defects
For powder coating operations, an error report can turn defects and imperfections into an opportunity to improve.
How to Choose Between Sulfate and Chloride-Based Trivalent Chromium
There are several factors to consider when choosing between sulfate and chloride-based baths for trivalent chromium plating. Mark Schario of Columbia Chemical discusses the differences and what platers should keep in mind when evaluating options.
