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Questions
Answers
Why does Si-COAT Anti-Corrosion
Coating last longer than other coatings?
Si-COAT Anti-Corrosion coating, as with all Si-COAT products,
is impenetrable to UV light. Si-COAT doesn't simply try to
achieve UV stability with UV blockers (like other coatings).
Rather, Si-COAT is naturally transparent to UV light. The
chemistry of Si-COAT and common glass are very closely related.
Si-COAT is basically a rubberized form of glass. Just as glass
will never degrade in UV light (think about how long glass
windows will last -- much longer than the building itself!),
neither will Si-COAT.
The silicon-oxygen bonds that make up the backbone of the
Si-COAT polymer are so strong and tight, UV light cannot degrade
them. Conventional coatings are made from materials that have
a backbone of carbon-carbon bonds. These carbon-carbon bonds
are weaker than Si-COAT bonds. Because they are weaker, UV
light can penetrate these bonds. The UV light then breaks
down the bond over time. This degradation is seen in conventional
coatings in the form of chalking, fading, peeling and embrittling
-- essentially, shorter product life. None of these symptoms
are associated with Si-COAT.
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How does Si-COAT stop
rust creep?
Si-COAT is an elastomeric product with elongation up to 180%.
If any coating is scuffed down to the steel that it is protecting,
the exposed steel will begin to corrode/rust. When steel rusts,
the steel expands up to 12 times its initial volume.
Conventional coatings are not nearly as elastic as Si-COAT.
As exposed steel corrodes and expands next to conventional
coatings, the coating is unable to cope with the expanding
steel and simply "pops" away from the steel, thus exposing
more fresh steel to corrode and expand. This cycle continues
and rust then "creeps" under the surface of the conventional
coating.
Si-COAT, however, is able to conform to the expanding steel.
Coupled with Si-COAT's extremely strong adhesion characteristics,
Si-COAT Anti-Corrosion Coating cannot "pop" away from the
steel. Si-COAT stops rust creep dead in its tracks. Salt fog
chamber tests have revealed that Si-COAT keeps rust creep
to under 2 millimeters (under 4/100th's of an inch).
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What surface preparation
is required for Si-COAT Anti-Corrosion Coatings?
Si-COAT requires minimal surface preparation. In most cases,
abrasive blasting is not required. Simply clean any loose
rust with a wire brush. Any dirt or dust should be removed
with a water wash. If the surface to be coated is contaminated
with any oils or greases, these should be removed using appropriate
solvents. For full surface preparation instructions, please
refer to the Anti-Corrosion Technical Data Sheets.
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How does application
cost of Si-COAT compare to conventional coatings?
Case histories have shown the total installed cost of Si-COAT
to be 50% or lower of the total installed cost of most conventional
coatings.
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Is Si-COAT resistant
to chemical exposure?
Si-COAT is resistant to a wide range of airborne chemicals
in a non-condensing environment. Hence Si-COAT is suitable
for most industrial applications.
Because Si-COAT is transparent to UV light, it will last
an extremely long time. A case history in Brownsville, Texas,
USA has shown that Si-COAT looks as new as the day it was
applied after over 14 years of service in an environment corrosive
enough to destroy galvanized iron in less than 6 months. Laboratory
testing predicts a lifespan for Si-COAT 579 of well over 30
years.
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How long will Si-COAT
last?
Naturally, the service life of a coating is dependent upon
service conditions. Under severe environments (i.e. heavy
industrial with heavy fumes and fallout, rate of steel corrosion
= 76 – 152 microns [3 – 6 mils] per year), Si-COAT
can be expected to last between 15 to 20 years, regardless
of surface preparation by SSPC-SP2/3 or SSPC-SP5 standards.
Service life estimates by NACE (see NACE Paper #335) for the
best available inorganic zinc/epoxy/polyurethane three-coat
systems in an identical environment is 3 to 5 years on an
SSPC-SP2/3 prepared surface and 4 to 8 years on an SSPC-SP5
prepared surface.
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How is abrasive blasting
eliminated by use of Si-COAT?
Si-COAT adheres to the metal via bonds that are much stronger
and more numerous than those employed by conventional coatings
such as epoxies, alkyds, etc. Because of this fact, Si-COAT
can tolerate a surface with greater contamination than can
a conventional coating. Hence, abrasive blasting is unnecessary.
Furthermore, with conventional coatings, the practice of
profiling a metal substrate is frequently employed. The act
of profiling deepens the microscopic crevices in the steel’s
surface and effectively increases the surface area available
for bonding. In doing so, the statistical likelihood that
a conventional coating will form a bond with the metal substrate
is increased. The chemistry of Si-COAT is superior to that
of conventional coatings in that it does not require profiling
as an aid to improve adhesion.
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Si-COAT
579 Material Safety Data Sheet
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