Coil Coating Tips
WHAT IS COIL COATING?
Coil coating is an automated process designed to reduce operating costs, comply with environmental regulations, and improve the quality of metal you're working with by delivering ready to process material. Put simply, prepainted metal is coated before it is fabricated. The coating is done before it is stamped and formed, so the entire surface can be cleaned, treated, and coated in a flat condition which improves the consistency across the width of the strip and throughout the run. This process creates a finished product that's more durable and resistant to corrosion than metal that is painted after fabrication, at a lower cost.
HOW COIL COATING WORKS
Prior to processing, bare coils are inspected for defects or potential problems. After this inspection, the coils are placed on the line and spliced together while the line is running. The metal is thoroughly cleaned and then chemically treated to provide the best surface possible for painting. Next, the metal is coated on both sides with a primer and cured in an oven at high temperatures. A second coat or top coat of paint is then applied to each side of the metal and, once again, oven baked. The material is then cooled back down, inspected, and wrapped back up in coil form. Since coil coating is an automated process, the metal is treated and painted in a single pass at speeds of up to 600 feet per minute.
Coil coating allows for greater flexibility in the types of pretreatment, paint chemistries, and textures that can be applied. In addition, coil coating provides precise control of the pretreatment and coating thickness. The paint thickness can be measured within a hundredth of a mil (0.00001"), depending upon the substrate and the type of coating used.
CHOOSE COIL COATING
Coated coils can be embossed, formed and shaped after painting. Coil coating also allows for design possibilities that are virtually impossible when metal is painted after fabrication. Printing, embossing, adding patterns like stripes, and other visual effects are possible with coil coated metal.
The primary advantage of coil coating, however, is reducing costs. Manufacturers can eliminate their internal paint finishing operations—which can be large production bottlenecks—by outsourcing this process, as well as storage of materials. This process allows for personnel to be reassigned from hanging or racking parts, floor space to be used for something else, and the reduction of environmental compliance costs for cleaning and painting departments. Coil coating is much more efficient than powder or spray applications with transfer efficiencies over 99% resulting in less paint being used. With virtually no waste, coil coating reduces costs.
Coil coating can be applied to a variety of products, including, but not limited to, the following:
• Building panels
• Metal roofs
• Wall panels
• Garage doors
• Office furniture
• Home appliances
• Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning
• Commercial appliances
• Foodservice equipment
• Automotive panels and parts (fuel tanks, body panels, bumpers)
Whatever your industry, switching to an outsourced coil coating process can help you lower overhead costs and increase your efficiencies.