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-----Polyester powder paint finish vs zinc phosphate finish
Q. Hello;
I'm a value improvement engineer in Mexico and I'm analyzing the chance to change the finish for a circular saw shoe. Current finish is polyester powder paint and I would like to change it to zinc phosphate.
I'm looking to save some cents here, so I would like to understand what process is better and less expensive.
Thanks in advance.
- Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Mexico
October 10, 2017
A. Hi Alejandro. Zinc phosphate is a pretreatment used underneath certain finishes like powder coating. Zinc phosphate will be a wholly unsatisfactory final finish. Further, zinc phosphate is primarily for steel or zinc ... are your shoes steel, zinc, or aluminum?
I was once called in by a circular saw manufacturer who had made the mistake of introducing a line with chrome plated aluminum shoes; quite the headache. Polyester powder coating is probably the right finish for this component; but if the shoe is aluminum you might get a price on clear anodizing. The anodizing would probably not look great because diecastings are hard to anodize, but it might have an "industrial" look that becomes accepted. As they say, there's no accounting for taste 🙂
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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October 2017
October 10, 2017
Ted;
Thanks to respond my question. Digging a little bit I found the shoe is made from magnesium and I'm assuming this is made by stamping process. Finish on it as I said before, is more for better looking on saw.
I found we have a similar shoe with different finish: silver paint but let me check with marketing if we can change appearance of shoe.
Regards
- Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Mexico
A. Hi again. You can't discuss finishes independent of what the substrate is; you'll have to find out for sure. While it's possible that it is a magnesium diecasting, I would doubt that it is a stamping. If it is magnesium, our FAQ on Finishes for Magnesium might be interesting to you.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
October 2017
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