Metal finishing Q&As since 1989
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Coating stainless steel part using PTFE dispersion
Q. I'm a grad student looking to coat part of a robot prototype with PTFE. Specifically, I'm trying to apply a PTFE coating to a stainless steel tube by dipping it in a PTFE dispersion (Teflon PTFE DISP 30), and then heating it in an oven.
I've obtained the recommended drying, baking, and melting temperatures (120, 270 , 337 °C, respectively) from the coating manufacturer. However, I haven't found a detailed protocol to use and I don't have any experience working with coatings.
As such, can someone please advise on the following:
1) Does the stainless steel surface need to be prepared/pre-treated before application of the PTFE dispersion (i.e. should a primer, abrasive blast, etc. be applied)?
2) When I heat the tube after dipping it in the PTFE dispersion, what should the duration of the drying, baking, and melting steps be?
3) Other than (potentially) pre-treating the stainless steel tube, dipping the tube in the dispersion, and then heating it at the correct temperatures, are there any other steps I would need to perform?
Thank you for the help.
- Calgary, AB, Canada
March 23, 2024
A. Jonathan,
I somewhat hate to editorialize without have any actual relevant help to give, but to be honest, it's irresponsible of the coating manufacturer to not make this information available to you.
With a product like this, I wouldn't necessarily expect somebody else's generic procedure to apply, unless the manufacture specifically endorses one or states compliance to something like an ASTM standard where such a procedure can be found.
I don't know how much effort it took you to get the small amount of procedure information you do have, but if the manufacturer has a technical support department or phone number, I would make use of it.
Alternatively, if you have not already purchased the coating material, seek out an alternate provider that provides better customer support.
Ray Kremer
Stellar Solutions, Inc.
McHenry, Illinois
Q. Hi Ray. Thanks for the feedback.
I've tried to get more info from the manufacturer for the past 2 weeks, but with little success.
I've found that manufacturers typically sell PTFE dispersions like this by the drum. I'm trying to coat a small part for a grad school project, so instead I'm using a small aliquot I purchased from a re-seller. Given this, contact with the manufacturer is limited.
I was hoping that either yourself or someone else would be able provide me with approximate answers to the questions I indicated above, and then I'll refine the process via trial-and-error.
I know this isn't the ideal way to go about the coating process, but I'm limited by the small-scale and research-focused nature of the project. I'd really appreciate any advice.
- Calgary, AB, Canada
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