{"id":5453,"date":"2016-11-04T08:05:09","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T14:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=5453"},"modified":"2016-11-14T14:00:01","modified_gmt":"2016-11-14T20:00:01","slug":"pc-metal-surface-treatment-the-key-to-successful-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/5453\/pc-metal-surface-treatment-the-key-to-successful-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Metal Surface Treatment \u2013 The Key to Successful Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DiscoverNo matter what surface needs to be painted, performance begins with proper cleaning and surface preparation<\/a>. This article will concentrate on the essential issues in the manufacturing process necessary to ensure successful metal treatment<\/strong><\/em> and resultant coating performance. As there are hundreds of surface treatments, we will address the major factors that influence phosphate metal pretreatment<\/a> which are one of the most widely used pretreatment chemistries. Phosphate treatments are used on steel, zinc and aluminum substrates.<\/p>\n

The pretreatment process<\/strong><\/em> for metal surfaces provides multiple benefits as it is the foundation of the paint layering system. A quality metal treatment process enhances adhesion<\/strong><\/em> between the metal and paint layers by providing a more uniform surface and provides greater corrosion resistance<\/strong><\/em><\/a> with less undercutting of the paint film.<\/p>\n

Table I \u2013 Typical Spray or Immersion Process involved in Phosphate Pretreatment<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Process Step order<\/th>\nPurpose<\/th>\nChemicals<\/th>\nPotential problem(s)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1. Cleaning (see Figs I & II<\/a>)<\/td>\nRemove soils, mill oil, lubricating oil and drawing compounds, dissolution of metal oxide(s), precipitate hard water deposits<\/td>\nAlkaline Cleaner<\/a><\/td>\n\n
    \n
  1. Incomplete removal, synthetic oils can be more difficult to remove than natural oils<\/li>\n
  2. Contaminated cleaning process, cleaning chemicals spent<\/li>\n
  3. Temperature too low<\/li>\n
  4. Poor tank maintenance<\/li>\n
  5. Inadequate mechanical action<\/li>\n
  6. Change in time, temperature, pressure (for spray cleaner) or cleaner concentration<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2. Water rinse(s)<\/td>\nRemove residual detergents and deposits<\/td>\nQuality tap water and\/or reverse osmosis (R\/O) water<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  1. Drag out water sensitive deposits from the cleaning process<\/li>\n
  2. Tap water that contains hard water may deposit moisture soluble compounds on the metal surface<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3. Rinse Conditioner (see Fig III<\/a>)<\/td>\nFor Phosphate- Aids in the development of the proper phosphate crystals on the metal surface<\/td>\nColloidal Titanium Salts and additives<\/td>\nDestabilization of the Ti Colloid:<\/p>\n
    \n
  1. pH too low or too high<\/li>\n
  2. High heat<\/li>\n
  3. Contamination<\/li>\n
  4. Poor water quality (too hard)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4. Phosphate Step (See Fig IV<\/a>)<\/td>\nForms a microcrystalline coating to enhance paint adhesion and corrosion resistance<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  1. Phosphoric and nitric acid<\/li>\n
  2. Zn, Ni, Mn Fe cations<\/li>\n
  3. Fluoride, Surfactants and accelerator<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n
\n
    \n
  1. Must continually remove iron phosphate sludge for proper control<\/li>\n
  2. Ensure optimum recirculation rate for tank process or spray nozzle pressure for spray process<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5. Rinse<\/td>\nStops the chemical reaction on the metal surface<\/td>\nWater<\/td>\nWater must be clean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6. Post Rinse<\/td>\nFill voids in pretreatment<\/td>\nHexafluorozirconqic acid<\/td>\nProper control of pH, time , temperature and pressure (spray)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7. Deionized (D.I.) Rinse(s)<\/td>\nRemove any residual chemicals and to provide a clean surface for coating<\/td>\nD.I. Recirculating rinse, followed by a D.I rinse<\/td>\nCarry over of chemicals and other contaminants from previous steps. Must ensure that D.I. water quality is maintained<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Surface
Fig I. Surface of metal before cleaning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Surface
Fig. II. Surface of metal after cleaning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Phosphate
Fig. III. Phosphate nucleation sites formed by rinse conditioner step<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Fig
Fig. IV. Phosphate crystal structure on metal surface<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Step 6, the rinse step, is essential to stop the reaction on the metal surface, with the subsequent post rinse utilizing hexafluorozirconic acid to seal the spaces between the Zn Phosphate crystals.<\/p>\n

This post-rinse step helps to pacify the metal surface and thus ensure that optimum corrosion resistance is possible. Due to chrome toxicity, hexafluorozirconic acid has replaced chromic acid in many cases to properly seal the gaps in the phosphate crystals.<\/p>\n

The ultimate phosphate crystal size, composition and morphology (nodular or crystalline) varies with the substrate selected, and whether the treatment process is spray or immersion.<\/p>\n

For example, there are multiple forms of Zinc Phosphate<\/a> with different chemical compositions and effectiveness when it pertains to corrosion resistance. The forms of Zn phosphate include hopeite, phosphophyllite, phosphonickellite and phosphomangallite, with hopeite offering the least corrosion protection as it is more soluble in an alkaline environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No matter what surface needs to be painted, performance begins with proper cleaning and surface preparation. This article will concentrate on the essential issues in the manufacturing process necessary to ensure successful metal treatment and resultant coating performance. As there … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[198,221],"ppma_author":[1249],"class_list":{"0":"post-5453","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-paint-coatings","8":"tag-coatings","9":"tag-application-overview","10":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nMetal Surface Treatment \u2013 The Key to Successful Performance - Prospector Knowledge Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"No matter what surface needs to be painted, performance begins with proper cleaning and surface preparation. 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Lewarchik, President and CEO of Chemical Dynamics, LLC, brings 40 years of paint and coatings industry expertise to his role as a contributing author with the Prospector Knowledge Center. As a contributing writer, Ron pens articles on topics relevant to formulators in the coatings industry. He also serves as a consultant for the Prospector materials search engine, advising on issues related to optimization and organization materials within the database. Ron's company, Chemical Dynamics, LLC (www.chemicaldynamics.net), is a full-service paint and coatings firm specializing in consulting and product development based in Plymouth, Michigan. Since 2004, he has provided consulting, product development, contract research, feasibility studies, failure mode analysis and more for a wide range of clients, as well as their suppliers, customers and coaters. He has also served as an Adjunct Research Professor at the Coatings Research Institute of Eastern Michigan University. 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Lewarchik, President and CEO of Chemical Dynamics, LLC, brings 40 years of paint and coatings industry expertise to his role as a contributing author with the Prospector Knowledge Center. As a contributing writer, Ron pens articles on topics relevant to formulators in the coatings industry. He also serves as a consultant for the Prospector materials search engine, advising on issues related to optimization and organization materials within the database. Ron's company, Chemical Dynamics, LLC (www.chemicaldynamics.net), is a full-service paint and coatings firm specializing in consulting and product development based in Plymouth, Michigan. Since 2004, he has provided consulting, product development, contract research, feasibility studies, failure mode analysis and more for a wide range of clients, as well as their suppliers, customers and coaters. He has also served as an Adjunct Research Professor at the Coatings Research Institute of Eastern Michigan University. As such, Ron was awarded a sub-grant from the Department of Energy to develop energy-saving coating technology for architectural applications, as well as grants from private industry to develop low energy cure, low VOC compliant coatings. He taught courses on color and application of automotive top coats, cathodic electro-coat and surface treatment. His experience includes coatings for automotive, coil, architectural, industrial and product finishing. Previously, Ron was the Vice President of Industrial Research and Technology, as well as the Global Director of Coil Coating Technology for BASF (Morton International). During his fourteen-year tenure with the company, he developed innovative coil coating commercial products primarily for roofing, residential, commercial and industrial building, as well as industrial and automotive applications. He was awarded fifteen patents for new resin and coating formulas. From 1974 to 1990, Ron held positions with Desoto, Inc. and PPG Industries. He was the winner of two R&D awards for coatings utilizing PVDF resins, developed the first commercial high solids automotive topcoat and was awarded 39 U.S. patents for a variety of novel technologies he developed. He holds a Masters in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and subsequently studied Polymer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Ron lives in Brighton, Michigan with his family. Contact Ron via email\u00a0or through his company\u2019s web site at www.chemicaldynamics.net to learn more about his consulting services\u2026","sameAs":["https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com"],"url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/author\/ron-lewarchik\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":1249,"user_id":12,"is_guest":0,"slug":"ron-lewarchik","display_name":"Ron Lewarchik","avatar_url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2014\/05\/Ron-Lewarchik_avatar_1399393591-96x96.png","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5453"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}