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Ceramic Coating for Abrasion Resistance

I am looking to "coat" one surface of a Stainless Steel paddle with a ceramic finish because it gets quite a lot of abrasion . Any suggestions? I need to use SS as it is a corrosive environment to begin with. Is there a right versus wrong type of coating?

John Williams
Purchase - Toledo, Oregon
May 27, 2009

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First of two simultaneous responses --

A lot depends on your tolerances, number of components to be processed, and specifics of the eroding material. If you don't have serious tolerance issues, you might go with a thermal or plasma spray coating -- such as HVOF tungsten carbide. If you have very serious erosion problems, or tolerance issues, PVD coatings might be best. Generally speaking, PVD coatings have higher adhesion. The coatings generally are very thin, but thick PVD coatings are used to protect turbine compressor blades on helicopters from sand erosion in Iraq and Afghanistan, a technique originally developed by the Soviets when they were fighting in the latter country. However, PVD is a batch process, so it only makes sense to go that route if you have fairly large numbers of parts to coat.

Jim Treglio - scwineryreview.com
PVD Consultant & Wine Lover - San Diego,
California
May 28, 2009

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Second of two simultaneous responses --

If it is small, will old fashioned porcelain work? If it is large, one of the thermal spray coatings might work. Best if applied with a high energy system. Plasma would be an absolute minimum.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
May 28, 2009