Although paint and primer technologies are developing rapidly, pretreatment development has been largely incremental in recent decades. Traditional phosphate pretreatments are known to be hard to maintain, and generate hazardous waste and rinse water streams that can be costly to dispose. Physical pretreatment methods such as grit blasting rely on surface profiling for paint adhesion but suffer from inconsistent results and rapid degradation of prepared surfaces. Since surface preparation steps are crucial for the success of any coating system, new, innovative pretreatments represent an important step in maximizing performance. The lack of next-generation pretreatments is amplified as new alloys and multi-metal components become more common and are no longer optimal substrates for existing pretreatment technologies. As applicators look for easy solutions that are cost effective to apply and offer high performance, a pretreatment that can comply with regulations and be applied to a wide range of metals will represent a huge step forward in development.
LumiShield’s new aluminum oxide-based surface preparation, Lumidize
®
, represents a new class of pretreatment that is environmentally responsible, while maximizing performance of paint and powder coating layers at a low cost. Lumidize is electrodeposited, making it highly adherent to many types of metal, and presents an ideal surface for painting. The resultant coating stack is adhered to the metal in a strong chemical bond. Unlike other pretreatments, the process is applicable to multi-metal components and a range of paints, requiring a single solution for many situations. Once applied, the aluminum oxide offers corrosion protection of the metal surface, allowing ample time for inspection and painting.