Steel Surface Treatment
SFS offers a wide range of steel surface treatment. As standard, our structural steelwork and metalwork is supplied finished in a zinc phosphate primer. We can, however, deliver items in a range of finishes to meet your exact requirements.
Range of finishes available include, but are not limited to:
- Zinc Phosphate Primers are formulated with the mineral zinc phosphate that provides inhibitive or active corrosion protection to protect the steel. Read more about zinc phosphate priming here.
- Powder coating applies a powder material using an electrostatic or compressed air method. The powder is then cured (heated to its melting point) so that it flows to form a smooth film. This dries to provide a durable finish that is resistant to cracking, peeling, scratches, UV rays and rust. Read more on powder coating here.
- Hot Dip Galvanised Finish offers longer lasting protection against all conditions. This is ideal for use in a wide range of pipe related applications. Read more about hot dipping here.
- Hot Zinc Spray uses Metallisation Wire 02E Zinc (Zn). Through grit blasting to SA2.5 to provide the best possible key for the zinc layer, surface pre-treatment is achieved. Zinc is applied to spec, normally 50-100 microns. Read more about zinc spray metallising here.
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A Range of Steel Surface Treatments
Steel surface treatment is important, and there are many reasons why steel surfaces are treated, from making them more attractive through to protecting them against scratching, peeling, extreme weather and corrosion. Here we take a brief look at some of the most common steel surface treatments utilised nowadays as well as a few of their many benefits.
Zinc phosphate priming
Steel surfaces can be painted with specially formulated primers in order to improve corrosion resistance as well as boost their visual appeal, with one of the most popular applications being zinc phosphate priming.
Chemical coating
This brilliant technique uses electrostatic or compressed air to apply a specially formulated powdered material to the steel surface, following which it is melted to form a smooth protective film. Steel treated in this way is not only protected against corrosion and UV damage, it is also highly resistant to peeling, scratching and cracking.
Hot dipping
This galvanization method can be used on steel of all shapes and sizes and involves immersing the steel in a bath of molten zinc at temperatures up to 450°C. Steel galvanized in this way is highly protected against corrosion as well as extreme weather conditions and this is a particularly popular approach for pipe related applications.
Zinc spray metallizing
While it doesn’t provide quite the same protection as hot dip galvanising, this technique is highly effective against corrosion and is popular for its smooth finish. Because this is a ‘cold process’ there is no risk of distorting the metal, making it ideal for use on ornate metal components such as railings and fences.
For more information, read our article on Common Types of Steel Surface Treatment
And information on the different types of corrosion:
• Intergranular corrosion
• Crevice corrosion
• Galvanic corrosion
• Pitting corrosion
• Uniform attack corrosion