8th May 2024
If you’re a producer of metal goods, then rust is your worst enemy. It spoils your products, damaging them and making them unappealing to customers and can even mean them failing if left for a long length of time. Once beautiful goods, like Juliet balconies and gates, can begin to look disgusting or unappealing when exposed to the environment. If this happens with your supplies, then it reflects badly on your business.
This is why anti corrosion coatings are so important. They prevent rust, increase the lifespan of your metal and leave your customer glowing about your products for years to come. Here is everything you need to know about anti corrosion coatings, and how they can be used in your business.
Coatings to Prevent Rust
There are many coatings available to increase corrosion resistance. On the simpler end, there are anti corrosion spray paints. These aren’t as effective as some of the industrial methods, like hot dip galvanising, but they’re better than nothing and useful for small metal items.
More high-tech methods of protecting bare metal are hot dip galvanising and hot zinc spray. Both of these methods involve coating steel, iron or other metal surfaces in molten zinc to give it an extra layer of corrosion resistance.
How to Coat Steel to Prevent Rust
Firstly, use a professional to get the best results. If you don’t know what you’re doing and use the wrong anti corrosion coatings on the surface of your metal, then you will waste time and money while potentially damaging your products.
The method you use also depends on how long you want your goods to be protected. For example, if you use a metal primer and combine it with an anti corrosion coating, like molten zinc, then your metal products could last for decades. However, if you just use a basic anti rust coating on your metal surfaces, like anti rust paint, then you won’t get the same long-lasting effect.
Types of Anti Corrosion Coatings
You have your shop-bought options, like anti rust paint for coating steel, and you have your industrial options, like hot dip or hot zinc spray, which creates galvanised steel. Industrial methods of corrosion protection are more effective and last longer.
You can also include a zinc metal primer, like powder coating. These metal primers include small amounts of zinc dust. When your metal is sprayed with a zinc primer, the dust acts sacrificially and forms a zinc salt that seals, protecting the metal underneath.
Types of Corrosion Protective Coatings
There are proactive and reactive methods of corrosion protection available. For example, hot zinc spray creates galvanised steel, which can be exposed to the environment for decades before being affected by rust.
If you have a metal item that has already been affected by the environment, then shot or grit blasting is effective. They blast rust, grime and debris off your goods without damaging the metal surface underneath. The item is then ready to be recoated.
If you’re on a budget, then look at easily accessible anti rust coating methods, like anti rust paint. These will save you money, but they’re nowhere near as effective as anti corrosion hot zinc spray.
Anti Corrosion Coating For Steel
The two main options available are hot dip galvanising and hot zinc spray. Both involve coating steel in molten zinc to give it an anti rust coating. You can also use zinc metal primers, like powder coating, to give steel an extra layer of protection.
However, out of the options, anti corrosion coating hot zinc spray is the most effective method for protecting steel from rust if you want a quality top coat smooth finish as it requires no fettling. Some steel products, like bridges and chassis, can be hard to galvanize with hot dip. However, with hot zinc spray, you can get between those small, awkward crevices.
We offer a full range of anti rust coatings to protect your steel products, from powder coating to hot zinc spraying. We are so confident that we can protect your steel that we are the only company to offer a 60-year guarantee. So, if you want a finish that will last, we can spec this for you.
Discover more about how we give your products a long lifespan and make you look good in front of your customers by booking a free quote here.
