High-Performance Surface Treatments

Vanchem’s surface treatments reduce corrosion and boost paint adhesion

Vanchem Performance Chemicals sells surface treatments that improve the durability, appearance, and paint adhesion of the substrate our product is placed on. The surface treatments we provide also go by the name metal finishing.

The metal finishing solutions in our surface treatments lineup can be further divided into two categories. There are three types of metal finishing surface treatments: zinc phosphate, iron phosphate, and new green technology non-phosphate polymeric reactive films.

Zinc phosphate surface treatments deposit a coating on steel or aluminum alloys that provides excellent corrosion protection. These surface treatments are best suited for the auto sector and other industries that demand the toughest protection and strongest paint adhesion available. Iron phosphate surface treatments are designed for less demanding applications not exposed to outdoor elements.

A notable advantage of iron phosphate surface treatments is that they do not contain heavy metals such as zinc, nickel, and magnesium, which require specific waste water pretreatment. The disadvantage is that iron phosphate does not perform as well as zinc in the field. Because of this, iron phosphate is used on parts that require less performance than zinc. However, iron phosphate technology has come a long way in the past ten years in terms of better field performance. In fact, for environmental and cost reasons, iron phosphate is slowly replacing zinc as the leading surface treatment method.

Vanchem’s FOSTEX 11 process is used by companies such as Rockwell International and MTD Products who manufacture goods that are exposed to the outdoor environment. Our testing shows that with the FOSTEX 11 process, an iron phosphate, we consistently achieve 1000 hour salt spray testing – equivalent to 5-years outdoor exposure. This is the same quality metric used by the automotive industry. Iron phosphate is more environmentally friendly than zinc phosphate, costs less to purchase, requires less maintenance to maintain and produces far less phosphate sludge.

Green technologies like our GREENCOAT RF will be the future of surface treatments. Although superior in terms of environmental stewardship, green technologies still suffer from a perception problem as inferior. This will change with time as new products come to market with bolder claims and better performance.

Based in Burlington, Ontario, Vanchem is committed to providing the surface treatments that your industry needs. We have a variety of chemicals in our surface treatments product guide that can meet the needs of any customer. Contact us so Vanchem can put thoughts into action.

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