Chapter 5
Surface Preparation, Finishing & Coating Methods
Surface Preparation:
• Introduction
• Methods
Sand Blasting
Shot Blasting (Ball Blasting)
Surface Finishing:
• Introduction
• Need
• Importance
• Methods
Chipping
Grinding
Brushing
Flame Cleaning
Solvent Cleaning
Surface Coating:
• Introduction
• Need
To increase corrosion resistance
To control friction or wear
To change physical dimension
To change physical characteristics (reflectivity, colour,
conductivity, etc.)
Surface Coating:
• Methods:
Surface Colour Coating Using Brush
Surface colour coating by Rollers
Application of Spray for Surface Colour Coating
Air Spray
Airless Spray
Electrostatic Spray
Air Spray:
The basic function of an air atomizing spray gun is to use compressed air to
break up material into small droplets and give these droplets direction. The
spray gun itself provides two convenient valves to start and stop the flow of
compressed air and fluid. The mixing of air and material can take place
outside the spray gun between the “horns” of the air nozzle. This is
described as “external mix atomization”. If the mixing of air and material
takes place inside the air nozzle of the spray gun, we use the term, “internal
mix nozzle”. Material can be brought to the spray gun by creating a vacuum
at the face of a siphon type external mix nozzle. This vacuum draws the
material through a tube coming from an open top material container to the
air nozzle of the spray gun for atomization. This method of atomization and
material delivery is called “siphon spraying”. When heavier fluids or higher
production rates are required, the material can be pressurized and forced
up to the air nozzle for atomization. This method is then called “pressure
feed spraying”.
Air Spray:
Airless Spray:
Airless spray is a method of atomizing paint without the use of
compressed air. The paint is pumped under high pressure through a
supply line to an airless gun. The paint is forced at high pressure
through a small opening at the front of the valve, called the orifice, or
spray tip. The tip restriction (orifice) forms a spray pattern. The break-
up of material into small droplets is called atomization.
Airless Spray:
Advantages of Airless Spray
1. Airless has less overspray or “bounce back” of material than air
2. More efficient than conventional spray. Airless has transfer
efficiency of 60% to 90%.
3. A thicker coat of material can be applied in a single pass. With
the high pressure of airless spray, high viscosity materials can
be atomized without costly solvent reduction.
4. Airless accommodates faster production line speeds. More
paint can be applied at a heavier mil thickness.
5. Good penetration can be attained on recessed areas of work
pieces.
Electrostatic Spray Painting:
Electrostatic painting is a process of using a magnetic field to apply
paint to metals and various types of plastics. It is based on the principle
that “opposites attract”. By giving the object to be painted a positive
charge and the paint a negative charge, the attraction is created and
the result is a durable, smooth, hard paint finish that is plated on.
Electrostatic Spray Painting:
Electrostatic Spray Painting:
In electrostatic painting, the item to be painted receives a positive charge
from a positively charged electrode that looks similar to a battery cable. The
paint has a negaive charge, and it is sprayed on using a revolving nozzle. The
positive and negative charges attract the paint like a magnet, to the metal
surface. The paint seeks grounded objects and “wraps” around the object being
painted. This occurs because the attraction between the opposing charges is so
strong that the charge will draw the paint around the object, completely covering
the surface. The paint is attracted statically to the metal from every direction so
there isn’t any mess from overspray. Imagine how this might work with painting a
wrought iron fence, for instance. The paint would be sprayed on and it would
wrap around and adhere to the back of each part of the fence. There would be
no mess on the surrounding area and there would be very little, if any, paint lost
or unused,
since there is no overspray.
Electrostatic Spray Painting:
Advantages of Electrostatic Spray Painting:
• There are several benefits of using electrostatic coatings:
• Makes a stronger bond to cover an object more evenly, even if the
object has many angles.
• This method saves paint by ensuring more paint lands on the charged
object than the surfaces around the vehicle.
• Creates a better looking finish because the paint is distributed more
uniformly.
