“Coating gratings in paint booths with a new 2K material simplifies paint removal and increases service life”: This is how the newspaper “besser lackieren” reported on February 3, 2012. We are documenting the report verbatim.
A contract coater has recently started coating its gratings in the paint booths with the 2K material "Fematop" from Ensutec Products GmbH. The product, which is designed as a multiplex sacrificial layer, significantly extends the service life of the gratings and thus significantly reduces the effort and costs of paint stripping.
The heavy-duty gratings in the paint booths of a large contract company with a welding shop and painting system for large components up to 15 m long and 10 t in weight were previously cleaned in a recurring cycle at least once a month - externally by thermal paint stripping.
By using the new 2K material "Fematop" from Ensutec Products GmbH, the personnel and cleaning costs previously incurred are now reduced, downtimes are avoided and the burden on the environment is also significantly reduced. In this case, the plant operator was able to reduce costs by more than 80% and extend the service life to more than twelve months. In comparison to conventional thermal, chemical and mechanical processes such as sandblasting or water/steam blasting, cleaning the gratings now requires significantly less effort. Only manual cleaning by sweeping or brushing in a weekly cycle is necessary to maintain the functionality of the gratings in the paint booths in the long term, so that the extraction performance does not noticeably decrease - as is usually the case towards the end of the grating service life - but remains constantly the same.
3 questions for Thomas Mayer, owner of Ensutec Products GmbH
What types of coating materials can the new system be used for?
The 2K coating material is applied to the gratings as a protective layer. As a multiplex coating, it consists of a large number of scale-like plates lying on top of each other, which peel off layer by layer as soon as forces are exerted by a strong mechanical impact such as the cleaning process. In this case, only the top layer with the paint mist deposited on it peels off and the functionality of the gratings is fully guaranteed again.
In terms of its effectiveness, it is ultimately irrelevant what kind of paint system is used. We have already had positive experiences with many paint systems where the effect is unrestricted - whether water-based paints or solvent-based paints, whether epoxy, polyurethane or zinc dust paints, whether primers, base coats or clear coats.
How does the energy consumption compare to conventional methods?
In principle, no energy is required. The coating is very easy to apply: the two components are mixed with water and the gratings are usually coated using a dipping process. During operation, the gratings are then cleaned in the necessary cleaning cycles by sweeping or brushing, thus maintaining the optimal function of the extraction system. Some users now clean the gratings weekly, which saves little time, and thus maintains optimal functionality. Whereas previously energy-intensive cleaning steps such as chemical or thermal paint stripping or blasting outside the company may have been necessary every two to four weeks, these are now largely eliminated.
Experience has shown that the gratings only need to be recoated after one to 1.5 years. The service life is extended and energy consumption is therefore significantly reduced. This has a significant impact on the environment. The use of chemicals in the corresponding processes used is also reduced. When steam or water jet technology is used, drastically less energy is also required - and the disposal quantities and costs of the resulting water and sludge, which have to be disposed of as hazardous waste, are no longer necessary.
Can the 2K coating also be used on other devices such as hooks, which also need to be stripped of paint regularly?
The system can be used on all components where there is a risk that contamination from paint mist that builds up during the continuous painting process will require complex, costly and environmentally damaging paint stripping. Of course, the booth walls, painting hooks and, in particular, special painting frames and skids can also be coated to achieve the effects that the product offers.
However, it must also be clearly stated here that a cost-benefit analysis must be carried out to determine the extent to which the use is appropriate. It can be advantageous to use "Fematop" particularly for expensive special devices, as external paint stripping requires significant follow-up costs such as downtime or the investment in the much larger number of devices required.