The most important part of our process is proper preparation. All parts to be processed require some form of cleaning or other preparation.

CLEANING: The most common cleaning methods we use are:

• Solvent Clean: Depending on the properties of the part and the coating to be applied, we may use certain solvents to prepare for the coating application.
  
  
• Steam Cleaning: When solvents are not appropriate for the part or when we are applying coatings On-Site at the customer's facility we frequently steam clean to prepare the part(s) for coating.
  
  
• Pre-heat: Our large ovens uniformly heat under controlled temperatures. Pre-heating is used only for applications in our plant. It is the technique of choice with baked coatings and ambient cure applications. The temperature for pre-bake is determined by part type, design and base material.
  
  

• Grit Blast: This is a method by which sharp particles of Aluminum Oxide in specific mesh size are propelled via pressurized air at a surface to remove scale and surface contaminants. This also roughens the base material in preparation for the coating to be applied, which helps attain the maximum bond to the base material. We normally specify our blasters to attain a "white metal" standard, and a coating must be applied within 4 hours from the grit blasting process.
  
  When processing large rolls or rolls and drums On-Site, we use a vacuum system that minimizes media loss and reclaims, separates and reuses grit.
  
  
• Bond Enhancers: We sometimes use additives to provide increased strength and uniformity to surfaces.