Letter 28068

Hardware coating/plating options  

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We are an ice skating rink mfg and request assistance in selecting the best overall coatings for our application. Much of our hardware is electroplated and begins to corrode once installed outdoors. We prefer to discuss the various available options to this problem and several others, as it related to mild steel coatings.

Regards,

TIM ELGIN
ICE SKATING RINK MFG. - JOHNSTWN, PA, USA

If this hardware consists of screws driven into plastic or wood, I believe that some of the new "paint type" dip-spin finishes may work. If you go to a large home improvement / hardware store you will see this commercially available as green or grey deck screws, with assertions that they outlast plated screws. You can certainly try some.

If you have metal to metal joints, as in nuts & bolts, tapped holes in metal, etc., you probably need metal hardware not painted hardware. Stainless steel hardware might be an option. Galvanized hardware might be an option (heavier coatings than plating affords). But there are many plated finishes and metallic dip spin coatings available that are more corrosion resistant than the least expensive zinc plated commercial hardware: quality zinc alloy plating, electroless nickel plating, etc.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

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