Automatic Coating Corrosion Protection FAQ

Do all powder coating shops provide masking?

No. ACL has the personnel, equipment and experience to handle masking of any detail.

Can I powder coat only a section of a part?

Yes. With ACL’s masking technology ACL can provide off the shelf masking or customized tooling to ensure the desired areas are free of powder coating.

Do all powder coating shops have grit blasting?

No. Most powder coating shops do not provide grit blasting. ACL has possibly the most extensive grit blasting equipment in house in North America.

Does coating over mill scale and rust effect the longevity of powder coating?

Yes. Failure to properly remove rust and lime scale on existing surfaces will result in premature coating failure including peeling, cracking and bleeding rust. Grit blasting is crucial to a quality finish on corroded products.

Are there different powders for interior and exterior?

Interior coatings if they are for the home or office are generally very simple. Some wear and tear issues and possibly UV from a window make effect the powder choice. Generally low film 2-3 mils hybrids, polyesters or polyurethane's are used Exterior is for more critical. Corrosion and weather ability are important considerations. The location of parts close to roads & freeways, chemical plants, coastal regions or other corrosive environments are critical defying the end use performance. Pretreatment on steel, If the substrate is heavy enough to handle it, grit blasting to sp10, 2 to 4 mil profile is always recommended. A corrosion resistant Base coat and UV resistant top coat are recommended and can greatly very based on the corrosive exposure. For typical steel lawn and garden products a five stage iron phosphate pretreatment and a good quality polyester is generally satisfactory. For typical aluminum extrusion window, lawn and garden products a five stage aluminum conversion pretreatment and a good quality polyester is generally satisfactory.....

Do all powder coating companies utilize the same pretreatment process?

No. ACL differentiates itself from the competition due to its superior pretreatment process. ACL pretreatment for aluminum is world class. ACL utilizes a state of the art six stage pretreatment process, which exceeds AMMA 2604-02 standards. ACL is unique in that its production lines are specialized into separate steel and aluminum lines utilizing specialized chemicals. Most of our competition utilizes a three stage wash on a combined steel and aluminum line which does not provide the quality separate lines afford. In addition ACL utilizes a six stage iron phosphate wash with reverse osmosis rinse which provides superior cleaning, better conversion coating weights deposited to the substrate and a clean rinse with ultra clean. This provides our customers the best possible adhesion and corrosion resistance.

Is there a safer more environmentally friendly pretreatment for aluminum than chromate conversion coating?

Yes ACL has chosen to utilize a non-chrome conversion coating which exceeds the requirements of AMMA 2605-98. Technically there is no requirement to utilize chrome and chrome pollutes our environment.

Will chemical washing remove rust and mill scale?

No. The best way to remove rust and mill scale is grit blasting