Category Archive: Sun Coatings
At Sun Coating Company, we are often asked by customers how to properly care for industrial coatings to maximize their longevity and return on investment. The truth is that quality coatings can last many years with proper maintenance. Here are some best practices for industrial coating maintenance to help maximize the coatings’ lifespan.
Regular Inspections are Critical
One of the most important aspects of industrial coating maintenance is regular inspection. Coating surfaces, including military coating, should be periodically examined for any signs of damage, defects, or degradation. Look for issues like scratches, cracks, blistering, peeling, erosion, and corrosion. The frequency of inspections depends on factors like the coating type and the harshness of the environment. More aggressive conditions demand more frequent inspections.
It’s recommended to start with a general visual inspection, looking for obvious flaws. For more in-depth examinations, use tools like wet sponge testing, adhesion testing, dry film thickness gauges, and holiday/pinhole detectors. Address any problem areas right away before they can spread or worsen. This will extend the coating’s service life.
Proper Cleaning Prevents Premature Failure
In addition to inspecting coatings, regularly cleaning the surfaces is essential. Allowing contaminants like dirt, grease, oil, salt deposits, chemicals, and other residues to build up can lead to premature coating failure. Use cleaning methods suitable for the coating type per the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Pressure washing and steam cleaning are common cleaning techniques, but take care not to damage the coating surface in the process. Solvent cleaning or detergents may also be used. Be sure to thoroughly rinse surfaces after cleaning. Proper cleaning prevents coating degradation and enhances longevity.
Timely Repairs Extend Service Life
When inspections reveal flaws or damage to the coating, it’s important to make repairs in a timely fashion before corrosion and further degradation can take hold underneath the coating. For minor flaws like pinholes or small scratches, the coating can often be touched up using matching coating materials. Larger damaged areas will require stripping and reapplying the coating.
Catching coating damage early makes repairs much easier. The longer flaws exist, the more likely corrosion is taking hold unseen under the coating. Timely repairs keep things surface level before extensive remediation is required. This extended the coating’s service life.
Proper Surface Preparation for Recoating
When recoating is needed, properly preparing the underlying surface is one of the most vital steps. Existing coatings must be fully removed to reveal a clean, dry, properly profiled substrate. Insufficient surface prep leads to poor adhesion and premature coating failure.
Abrasive blasting is usually required to remove existing coatings and corrosion deposits down to bare material. The surface profile should match the coating manufacturer’s specifications – typically 2-3 mils for industrial coatings. Cleanliness is also critical for good adhesion. Inspect and test the prepared surface per standards before coating. Rushing or inadequate surface prep causes future coating failure.
Preventive Maintenance for Added Protection
For some coating applications like floors, preventive maintenance can significantly extend service life. This involves periodically applying a maintenance coat to high-traffic areas before wear becomes severe. This restores the coating’s protective properties in zones prone to early degradation.
Preventive maintenance should take place well before the coating’s expected life is reached. For floor coatings, this might mean a maintenance coat every 2-4 years. It’s a proactive step to avoid more costly repairs or major restoration later on.
Proper Storage Keeps Coated Parts Like New
For coated equipment, parts, and components that will be stored for a period of time before installation, proper storage practices prevent unnecessary coating damage. Keep parts clean, dry, and away from moisture during storage. Use padding, end caps, racks, and dust covers as needed to protect from abrasion, impact, and other damage.
Take steps to prevent parts from sticking together in storage as well. This avoids coating transfer or peeling injuries. Proper storage keeps coatings in pristine condition so they provide maximum corrosion protection when the parts are eventually installed.
Reach Out to Us to Learn More
With regular inspection, timely repairs, proper cleaning, preventive maintenance, and care in storage and handling, industrial coatings, like hot plate welding coatings, can achieve their maximum life. Don’t let small flaws go unchecked and turn into major failures. Be proactive with coating maintenance for the best return on investment. With the right care, high-performance coatings will serve reliably for years. Call us at Sun Coating Company to learn more.
Industrial coatings have to be applied according to manufacturer specifications and industry best practices. Sometimes, it happens that there’s a failure in the application process, which results in a coating defect that compromises the function of the coating. The unwelcome appearance of a coating defect means that the coating has to undergo a total replacement, resulting in unexpected downtime.
The purpose of an industrial coating is to protect surfaces and keep them free from damage. All coatings need to be applied properly, no matter if it’s a weld spatter resistant coating or coating the inside of pipes in an industrial setting. Here’s a look at the common coating defects, how to spot them, and how to avoid their appearance.
The Surface Was Improperly Prepared Before Coating
Surface preparation is crucial to ensuring the coating adheres properly to the part during the curing process. A surface that didn’t receive proper cleaning and preparation for the coating is likely to result in defects showing up later. When this happens, you’ll see visual cues that include blistering, peeling, and cracking in the coating.
Poor Environmental Conditions During the Application
Coatings need to be applied in an environment that’s recommended by the manufacturer. Environmental factors include maintaining the correct temperature and humidity levels during the application. These factors play a direct role in the ability of the coating to adhere properly and cure to the desired finish.
A major deviation in these factors can cause the coating to fail to adhere properly, even though it looks fine when it cures. In this situation, the defects show up in the same way as poor surface preparation, with cratering being an additional sign.
Poor Formulation of the Coating
Coatings need to be mixed before they’re applied to a surface. The mix requires paying attention to the ratios listed in the instructions in order to get the best result from the coating. Pouring the incorrect ratios results in a material that is applicable and curable, but ineffective. After it’s been applied and cured, the coating looks like it will deliver protection, but it won’t hold up once it’s put into use.
Signs of Coating Defects
A coating defect can show up in a number of ways, and it’s not unusual for multiple types of defects to show up in the same unit. The most common signs include:
- Peeling in strips or sheets
- Checker patterns
- Cracks
- Pitting or cratering
- Fish eyes or small holes
- Orange peel
- Pinholes
- Rust
- Uneven surface
All of these signs show that the coating was improperly applied, and the unit is susceptible to damage. If you see signs of rust, that means the coating has failed and is allowing liquid to reach the metal.
How to Avoid Coating Defects
The best way to avoid coating defects is to send the equipment out to a professional operation. Industrial coating services do the work the right way the first time, ensuring that your equipment functions properly and the protective coating does the job. A coating service has the knowledge and equipment to prepare a surface properly for an application, knows how to mix the coating ratios correctly, and does the work in the proper environment.
Replace a Defective Coating With One That’s Proven to Perform
Once a defective coating fails, there’s no hope of recovery, and it’s time for a replacement. At Sun Coating Company, we can replace the defective coating and replace it with one that meets manufacturer specs as well as your needs. We offer coatings from major manufacturers, and we also formulate custom industrial coatings. All of our products are tested and monitored for performance and longevity to ensure the best performance. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help your equipment go the distance.
Industrial coating provides substrates with a protective barrier that prevents your equipment from getting damaged by frequent motion, harsh chemicals and liquids, and strong force. However, this coating will inevitably wear off or wear down to the point where it’s no longer protective. How long until this happens? It depends upon a wide variety of factors, including how well you maintain your coatings. If you want your coatings to last as long as possible, regardless of what they’re made of, here are a few of our expert tips on how to improve coating longevity with regular maintenance. If you’re ready to coat your industrial components, you can get high-quality coatings and coating services with Sun Coating Company!
Use Cleaning Products That Are Designed or Safe for Your Coatings
Regular cleaning is an important element of maintaining your equipment, so it stands to reason that this level of care will need to be applied to any coating as well. Establishing a regular cleaning schedule will ensure that built-up residue and other contaminants aren’t allowed to stay on the coating long enough to cause damage over time. That being said, you shouldn’t just use any cleaner for your coating. Coatings will have some products they’re unable to come into contact with. Some products may not be so hydrophobic, while others could be vulnerable to salts. These unique properties mean that you need to evaluate various cleaning products to see if certain cleaners could pose a risk to their structural integrity. For example, a Whitford nonstick coating may be suitable to apply water too, as these coatings are advertised as hydrophobic. Check to see what could be a problem with your coating, then look for a specifically designed cleaner or come up with your own suitable solution.
Conduct Regular Inspections to Determine the Need for Overcoating
Are you checking in on your coatings regularly? If you aren’t, you could be missing signs that it’s time to apply an overcoat to certain parts of your machinery. When the coating begins to wear down, it will begin to become powdery and chalky, crack, sink in, and experience a wide range of other issues that will be easy to identify. If your coat is not looking so good but it’s still in fairly good condition, adding an overcoat can help you extend its life without having to strip everything off and apply a new coat. Just take care to make sure that the previous coating is properly prepared and that you’re using a new coating that is compatible with the old one. Also, keep in mind that there may be some scenarios in which overcoating isn’t the best choice. In that case, you can add a new coat and then use these maintenance tips to help it last longer than the previous coating.
Improve Conditions and Employee Training
Certain coatings, like weld spatter-resistant coating, are designed to hold up against harsh conditions. However, that doesn’t mean you should test it to its limit to see how long it lasts before it’s destroyed by its surroundings. Improving conditions so that your coatings experience reduced stress will naturally help them hold up against various manufacturing processes. With that in mind, it’s not always the environment that’s the problem. If your employees aren’t handling coatings correctly, this can wear them down, too. Taking care to train your employees so they know how to handle your coatings will go a long way in helping them last longer instead of succumbing to hazards they shouldn’t be regularly introduced to.
Contact Sun Coating Company for High-Quality Coatings
Coatings are designed to last, but they still depend on you to care for them over their lifetime. If you’re in need of a new coating and looking to take better care of this one, start here with Sun Coating Company. Request a quote from us today!
Surface preparation is a crucial aspect of coating application. Without proper preparation, the risk of the coating failing and then chipping, cracking, or rising up off the surface in blisters increases greatly. That can affect both the operation of machinery and the overall look of the coating. Before assuming a quick swipe with a dust cloth will be enough, you need to know what can happen when unclean surfaces meet coating.
Why Do Surfaces Need to Be Prepared Before Adding Coatings?
The success of a coating depends on its ability to stick to the surface it’s supposed to cover. (Yes, external factors like environment and proper application method affect that, too, but the surface condition is the most important.) Surfaces that are to receive industrial coatings are just like any other surface; they can rust, allow dust to gather, and be subject to other contamination. Older paint and coatings can also prevent newer coatings from adhering correctly.
Removing that dust, old coating, and so on is critical to creating a surface that a new coating will stick to easily. For example, if part of the surface has slightly rusted, and you add a new layer of a coating over the rust, that part of the surface is going to be weaker than the rest — and it may continue to rust. The coating can gradually crack and let in moisture, which leads to more rusting and corrosion. Instead, prepare the surface by removing the rust first to avoid that whole issue.
Why Can’t the Coatings Just Stick to Any Surface as They Dry?
If the coatings themselves are properly mixed, can’t they overcome the occasional speck of dust? Well, no. It may seem like a strong coating could simply trap smaller bits of debris and hold them against the surface. But those small spots are still spots where the coating is not able to touch and adhere to the surface, and that turns them into weak points that can potentially separate and create blisters or flaking that ruin the coating.
What Does Surface Preparation Truly Entail?
Surface preparation is about more than just dusting or wiping down a surface. The exact process depends on the particular surface, the coating, and the environment around them. In general, however, the preparation could include washing and drying, sanding, rust removal, surface repair, removal of old coatings or paint, the use of solvents and abrasive cleaners, and final rinsing and drying. There may be multiple layers of different coatings and primers needed, too.
How Does Surface Preparation Affect Issues Other Than Adhesion?
In addition to helping coatings adhere to a surface, proper preparation of that surface also helps the coating look better. It looks smoother (depending on the type of coating and the nature of the surface, of course) and cleaner, and the risk of the coating failing over time is reduced. With a solid, properly cleaned surface underneath, a coating has the best chance possible of lasting for a very long time. If the coating is supposed to be nonstick, such as with Whitford Nonstick, better preparation and adhesion will help that coating stay intact. Any cracks or chips could interfere with the nonstick purpose of the coating.
Does Using Stronger and More Durable Coatings Matter?
Using stronger and more durable coatings, like corrosion resistance coatings, won’t eliminate the need for proper surface preparation. No matter the coating, you have to ensure the underlying surface is free of dust, debris, and anything else that could create a barrier to the coating reaching the surface. More durable coating might not blister and flake as much as weaker coating that’s been applied over a dirty surface. But you may still see spots, however small, where the coating is beginning to fail.
If you need coatings and want to discuss surface preparation in more detail, contact Sun Coatings Company. When you need a coating to look good and work well, you need durable, long-lasting materials and the right preparation procedure. Give us a call to find out more about how our coatings work.
Factories and other companies that need to apply coatings to equipment and parts have a lot of choices now, and choosing the best coating isn’t always easy. Marketing makes many look very good, but how do you know which one is right for your specific equipment? You’ll have to look at a number of factors to find the best match.
How Feasible Is the Required Surface Preparation?
First, no matter what you apply where surface preparation is going to be essential. And you have to be able to carry out the preparation procedures properly. If the coating requires a procedure that can’t be done given where the equipment (that needs the coating) is located, then that coating obviously isn’t the best. But there are more subtle issues at play as well. Maybe the preparation takes too long compared to how quickly you need to get the parts coated and shipped out. Or, maybe the preparation requires many quick steps that don’t take long, but other coatings only require a few steps for preparation. You have to ensure that the coating you choose isn’t going to end up annoying your employees to the point where they dread working with it.
Is UV Resistance Necessary?
Any parts or equipment that will be exposed to sunlight or UV lights, even indirect light, should have UV resistance built into the coating they receive. No UV resistance means premature fading and drying out, which itself can lead to cracking and chipping. This is one of the easiest choices because you either need the UV resistance or you don’t.
What Is the Coating Supposed to Do?
Coatings are supposed to protect items and make them look better, but that’s not all. Will the coating come into contact with water or another liquid? Is the coating meant more for protection or more for cosmetic appearance? Is the coating supposed to be nonstick, like Excalibur Coating? This may seem like a really obvious question because who’s going to choose a coating that’s not nonstick if they know they need nonstick? But you’d be surprised at how easy it is to overlook a condition or two given how much else you need to evaluate when choosing a coating.
Is the Environment Suitable for the Coating?
In addition to UV resistance and whether it’s going to be exposed to something, you have to consider whether the coating will be on a part that will remain inside in a climate-controlled zone, be outside in extreme temperatures, be exposed to smoky conditions and retardant chemicals (such as in firefighting), and so on. For parts that will sit outside, you even need to consider who might hang around the part; for example, the coating on a handrail by a set of steps leading to a building doesn’t sound like the harshest environment — until a bunch of people with skateboards decides that handrail is perfect for practicing skateboard tricks. There’s a reason so many companies sell skateboard deterrents for handrails.
How Much and What Types of Resistance Are Needed?
Finally, you need a really good idea of what types of corrosion resistance coatings and coating strength you need. Are you looking to prevent basic rusting, or will the equipment be exposed to actively corrosive liquids? Are those UV rays the only issue, or do you need coatings that won’t fail if the equipment bends a bit under stress? The wrong coating can develop cracks, blisters, and more.
Contact Sun Coating Company to find out more about what each coating offers so you can choose the best one for your business. We can help you sort through all the options and find a coating that’s most likely to give your equipment the coverage and protection it needs.
Industrial coatings encompass a wide range of materials, all of which offer their own unique advantages and disadvantages. All coatings are protective, but not all coatings may be appropriate for the manufacturing process or for the final products that you sell to other businesses within your industry. For example, if you work in the food packaging industry, your coating is going to need to have properties that are specific to food packaging needs, namely ensuring that all of the components are resistant to abrasive contact. But if you produce parts for those in the agricultural industry, you may need to make sure that parts are resistant to moisture and UV rays, all of which will be encountered in the conditions those pieces will be in. Fortunately, figuring out which coating to choose for your industry is fairly simple. Here are a few key tips on how to choose the right coating for your industry when you shop here at Sun Coating Company.
Consider the Challenges Your Customers Will Face
The first and most important question to ask when you’re looking for the right coating is, what challenges are my customers going to face? Each industry experiences different challenges, which is why finding the right coating is so essential to the outcome. Let’s imagine that you manufacture parts for military use. A simple coating isn’t going to do the job that your customers need it to do. Military coating will need to be able to withstand high stress, corrosion, chemical agents, and so much more. The coating that you’ll use during manufacturing needs to be able to hold up against anything that might come its way for extended periods. When you’re looking for the right coating for your industry, always consider the benefits your customer demands. This will guarantee you find a coating they will be satisfied with.
Research Both Brand and Custom Formulas
Here at Sun Coating Company, we offer a wide range of protective coatings to choose from, allowing you to fully explore what’s offered out there so you can remain confident that you’ve made the right selection for your manufacturing needs. This brings us to our next expert tip: research both brand and custom formulas. If you’re looking for a fluoropolymer coating, you can always look at established brands like Excalibur coating. These brands are well-known, and you’ll be able to find a ton of information on them as well as online reviews from other manufacturers. However, you should also consider custom formulas like our proprietary coatings, which may offer you a unique array of benefits that you may not be able to find in other solutions. Take your time to research your options so you can compare and contrast what is available to you. You never know what you’ll find until you check what products meet your specifications and compare and contrast each of them until you find the best fit.
Test Different Coats and Note the Results
Testing a coating is important. Even though some coatings may sound like they’re perfect for the applications you need them for, you could always run the risk of applying them to the wrong material. If you apply a coat without testing, this will create problems in the near future. This advice also goes for overcoating. Take your time to learn exactly how to apply the coat (or reach out to us so that we can offer our coating services for you) and learn which factors may cause a problem when trying to apply a protective coating.
Request a Quote Today
Are you interested in finding a protective coating for your industry? We here at Sun Coating Company can help. Contact us and request your quote today!
Equipment needs to run smoothly in engineering applications, and that means you need to do whatever you can to reduce friction. Low-friction coatings are a very good option because they last a long time, reduce the need for maintenance, and help your equipment function more smoothly in general. Low-friction coatings have secondary benefits, as well.
Why Use a Coating Instead of a Lubricant?
If you’ve got two parts that touch during equipment operation, why not just use a plain, cheap lubricant like grease or oil? Why go through the expense of coating the parts?
Sometimes, it’s just not practical to use a liquid lubricant. Maybe you can’t have liquid or greasy substances on the parts, or there’s no way to contain the liquid so that it doesn’t drip onto other parts of the equipment. For whatever reason, using a permanent, dry coating would be better in these cases. Other times, the maintenance needed to replenish the liquid lubricant may be something you don’t want to deal with. In that case, too, a dry coating would be more helpful.
It’s also possible to use both a liquid/grease lubricant and a low-friction coating. That coating acts as a backup just in case something goes wrong with the liquid lubricant, such as a leak that lets it drain away.
Why Is Friction so Undesirable?
Severe friction is obviously a problem, but is a little friction really that bad? Yes, even a little friction can lead to premature wear on parts. That increases your repair costs and takes up more of your time. Friction can also lead to excess heat generation that can damage parts and make the working environment uncomfortable for anyone who has to be near the equipment.
Friction — even a little bit — can lead to more drag on the parts. It makes it more difficult for the parts to move smoothly and increases the energy needed to force the parts through. It may not look like it to you as you watch the equipment work, but the engine can feel it. And that extra effort needed can build up over time and wear down the engine prematurely. That little bit of friction can set off a chain reaction that leads to parts needing more frequent maintenance and replacement.
Can Low-Friction Coatings Protect Against Corrosion?
As long as the coating remains intact, it can protect the surface it’s on from corrosion. This is why you need to apply a high-quality coating that’s appropriate for the particular environment and equipment. You want something that’s durable enough to withstand any contact with other parts of the equipment (e.g., gear trains) and that can withstand environmental conditions.
Is Contamination a Concern?
Any surface can technically be contaminated with different substances, but low-friction coatings release any material that gets stuck to them more easily. If grease or dirt lands on the coating, it should be easier to wipe those away to prevent them from contaminating the rest of the equipment. This is another reason why you want to ensure the low-friction coating you choose is appropriate for the equipment in question. If the equipment is exposed to corrosive liquids, for example, a coating that isn’t resistant to those liquids will only disintegrate and become a contaminant itself.
Low-friction coatings that are also nonstick are terrific for molds, such as polyurethane foam mold coatings, as they’ll release finished parts more easily, too. There’s less of a risk of some of the molded material staying behind when you remove the finished part.
Contact Sun Coating Company if you have equipment that’s in need of low-friction coatings. Whether you need a coating for a structural engineering project or have equipment that needs food processing coating, we have what you’re looking for.
Operating in extreme-temperature environments poses unique challenges for materials and coatings. Whether in frigid arctic conditions or blazing hot furnaces, specialized high-temperature coatings are often required to protect parts and equipment. At Sun Coating Company, we understand the demanding requirements of high-heat applications and offer a range of durable, high-performance coatings to meet your needs.
Withstanding Extreme Temperatures
For components and parts exposed to very high temperatures, choosing the right protective coating is critical. Without proper thermal protection, metals and alloys can experience oxidation, corrosion, and breakdown at elevated temperatures. High-temperature coatings act as a barrier, preventing damage to the underlying substrate.
Coatings for extreme heat applications must maintain their mechanical properties and adhesion at temperature. For instance, a coating that becomes too soft or fluid at high temperatures will drip or peel away, leaving the surface unprotected. Proper formulation is essential. Advanced resins and thermally stable pigments are incorporated so the coating film retains integrity even when red-hot.
At Sun Coating Company, we offer specialty Sandstrom Mil-Spec coatings designed to perform at up to 1000°F. These MIL-SPEC qualified lubricants withstand searing temperatures without burning off or decomposing. The bonded film structure remains intact, protecting critical components like firearms, aerospace parts, engines, and exhaust systems.
Protection Beyond Heat Resistance
While resisting extreme temperatures is the primary function, high-heat coatings offer additional benefits:
- Corrosion resistance – The coating forms a protective barrier inhibiting rust and oxidation at elevated temperatures.
- Wear resistance – Specialized resins and crosslinked structures provide hardness to resist scratching and abrasion.
- Lubricity – Solid lubricants like PTFE or molybdenum disulfide lower friction, preventing galling/wear.
- Chemical resistance – Thermal coatings are highly resistant to oils, fuels, cleaners, and other chemicals.
This combination of properties ensures longevity by protecting against corrosion, friction, chemicals, and abrasive wear – even at extreme temperatures.
Choice of Chemistry
There are a variety of resin chemistries used in high-heat coatings, each with relative advantages:
- Silicone – Withstands up to 600°F. Provides lubricity and release properties.
- Polyamide-Imide – Service up to 700°F. Abrasion resistant.
- Fluoropolymer – Non-stick PTFE types stable to 500°F. Chemically inert.
- Inorganic Ceramic – For very high heat up to 1800°F. Insulating. Hard.
Dry film lubricants like our Sandstrom coatings use specialized PTFE and MoS2 resins to retain lubricity even at 1000°F temperatures.
Understanding application requirements helps guide the selection of the optimal coating chemistry. Factors like operating temperature range, substrate material, corrosion risks, lubrication needs, and abrasion all play a role. Our team can help recommend the best coating solution for your extreme environment.
Application Methods
Proper application of high-temperature coatings is also critical for performance. At Sun Coating Company, we use specialized techniques to ensure a uniform, consistent coating film:
- Spray – High transfer efficiency air spray or airless spray allows for coating intricate parts.
- Dip Spin – Complex geometries are coated by dipping and then spinning off excess.
- Brush – For small repairs or touch-ups, brushing works well.
Prior to coating, surfaces are thoroughly cleaned and often abrasively blasted to promote adhesion. Parts are then coated, allowed to dry, and cured at elevated temperatures to fully crosslink the coating. Strict quality control and testing ensure coatings meet required specifications.
Ready to Learn More? Give Us a Call
With decades of coating expertise, Sun Coating Company understands the unique requirements of high-temperature coatings. Our Sandstrom Mil-Spec Coatings and specialty coatings are formulated to withstand extreme heat up to 1000°F while providing lubricity, corrosion resistance, and abrasion resistance. Strict quality standards and controlled application methods ensure coatings will perform reliably in the harshest environments. Contact our team today to discuss your extreme temperature coating challenges.
Your industrial machinery is the lifeblood of your business. Without your industrial equipment, you would not be able to engage in your day-to-day operations. As such, a lot of work goes into making sure that your machinery is functioning optimally. But one area that you may not have focused on yet is coatings. Industrial coatings offer numerous benefits for industrial machinery, including extending their lifespan. Here’s how coatings can extend the life of your industrial equipment, why it’s essential to apply coatings, and how you can begin preserving and bolstering your machinery with the support of us here at Sun Coating Company.
The Role of Industrial Coatings in Equipment Life
Industrial coatings are coatings that are applied to a substrate to act as a barrier between the metal and the elements that it may encounter when exposed to the environment bare. At the most basic level, industrial machinery is subject to friction and force, which can gradually wear down the metal and cause external damage over time. But there are other threats in the work environment too. These include caustic chemicals that corrode the metal on your machinery, high temperatures (for which we recommend something like Cerakote coatings), and UV rays that machinery in certain industries may face. Applying industrial coatings to your machinery serves to defend your machinery against these common threats, ensuring that the coatings take gradual damage while your machine components remain protected underneath. While your machinery will still fail over time as it’s expected to, it will be less likely to be due to various components of it failing because of the external factors wearing them down to the point where they’re becoming a hindrance. This keeps your machinery running optimally for as long as physically possible.
Why the Life of Your Machines Is Crucial to Your Business
If you haven’t used coatings in your business before, you might be asking, why now? Why is it essential to pursue this additional service?
Applying coatings to your industrial machinery is crucial for several reasons. The first reason that you’ll want to keep in mind when weighing whether or not to get coatings is the cost of having to regularly maintain or replace machinery. With coatings, your machinery is better protected, meaning that it will function for much longer stretches of time without component failure. But if you don’t have these additional coatings on your machinery, your machinery will likely get run down faster due to corrosion and abrasion. This will require you to replace parts or even replace whole equipment before you should need to. This is costly, and it’s going to have a major impact on your bottom line.
The second reason why coatings are crucial to your business is that they help to reduce downtime associated with machinery repairs. If your industrial machinery begins to degrade rapidly because of environmental conditions, you need to take time out away from production in order to address these repairs. This only becomes more problematic and impactful when you need to replace entire equipment because it has become worn down and non-functional. Productivity is necessary to maintain. With industrial coatings, you can prevent yourself from having to conduct regular repairs so that you can keep the manufacturing process running smoothly and relatively unimpeded. Just take care to select the right coating for your equipment, be it Sandstrom coating or other coating options. Choosing the wrong coating can result in more problems rather than fewer!
Protect Your Industrial Machinery With the Help of Sun Coating Company
Your industrial machinery is only as effective as the care you put into it. Sun Coating Company can help you extend the life of your machinery and bolster your operations with high-performance industrial coatings. Reach out to us today to request a quote!
Any item that comes into contact with food or that even sits near food in a processing plant has to be safe for that purpose. That means that any coatings on the equipment and furniture, including noise and squeak reduction coatings, and anything else in the plant must be approved to be in that environment. This is to protect the food and any packaging or other food-adjacent items that pass through. Not using the right coatings can create a major safety problem that affects not only consumers but also your company’s future.
Food Processing vs. Food Packaging and Equipment Manufacturing
Two types of approvals for food-safe items exist. One is the USDA, which handles the processing of actual food, while the other is the FDA, which covers packaging, dishware, utensils, and many other food-adjacent products, such as the processing equipment itself. If it’s going to touch food or be near food but not actually be an ingredient, the FDA likely has oversight.
Prevention of Chemical Leaching and Physical Flaking
Why is the use of FDA-approved coatings so important? If the company making the coating has a great track record, isn’t that better than a company that was FDA-approved but still had problems? No, it’s not because you still don’t know what standards that company’s manufacturing process is trying to meet. An FDA-approved coating has been through stringent evaluation, and you can be reasonably sure that this coating won’t leach chemicals or flake into food, for example. With an FDA-approved coating, you know that the food that will eventually go into that packaging will be as safe from contamination as possible.
Lack of Immediate Effects Doesn’t Mean Lack of Long-Term Effects
One of the issues with getting people to accept that they have to use FDA-approved coatings is that they don’t often see immediate effects from using the wrong product. This is not usually an issue with larger companies, but for smaller operations that are just investigating what they need to set up their business, FDA coatings may seem like one more rule among many. But they’re very important.
A paperboard box holding cookies doesn’t appear to do anything to the cookies, so people assume the box is safe to use with food. However, the lack of immediate effects that you can see right on those cookies does not mean that the person who eats them won’t have long-term effects. If the coating on the inside of the box leaches into the food, you aren’t going to know what it will do for a while. You could find months later that people were ingesting coating chemicals because the lining on the box was faulty, and that’s the sort of stuff that leads to class-action suits. You’re much better off finding FDA-approved coatings for your packaging so that you reduce the risk of something like that leaching.
Compliance With Changing Regulations
One more reason to use FDA-approved coatings is that the companies that make them have to stay aware of any regulatory changes. If the FDA makes a requirement more stringent, the coating manufacturer has to follow those guidelines. There’s no guesswork about whether the polyurethane foam mold coatings you’re using are up to the latest standards. Coatings from companies that try to avoid FDA regulations could be woefully out of date.
At Sun Coating Company, we want your food-adjacent items to be thoroughly safe to use in processing food. Contact us to learn more about different coatings and how to apply them. You want your products to be safe and durable, and ensuring you use an FDA-approved coating is one of the best ways to do that. No matter what you manufacture, if it’s going to be near food, use FDA-approved coatings to keep your customers and consumers overall happy with each product.
