finishing talk newsletter - may 2008

8/14/2019 Finishing Talk Newsletter - May 2008

1/16

From the Forum:

Inside This Issue:

finishers.

Our downloadable me-dia kit features our ad-

vertising opportunitiesand pricing for this year.We offer print andonline ads, and evenepisode sponsorship forour IPTV show. And forthose of you who areinterested in contribut-ing to our monthly pub-lication, the new sitemakes it easy for you tosubmit articles and edi-

torials to our newsletterstaff.

For additional informa-tion, you can contactthe site administratorGriffe Youngleson byphone at (828) 287-3353 or by e-mail [email protected].

We are pleased toannounce the premiereof our brand new web-site. The old site willhave retired at a youngage - a mere two yearsold - but growing de-mand and an expansionof services made it nec-essary to remodel andupdate the websitesooner than expected.To accommodate itsgrowth, Finishing Talk

2.0 features new webpages highlighting eve-rything from ourmonthly newsletter toour 2008 media kit foradvertisers, and evenlinks to our forum-fueled internet televisionshow, Finishing Talk

Live, a production ofthe IPTV network Fin-ishing.TV.

The Finishing Talk fo-rums, the focal point ofthe website, have alsobeen revamped as partof the website overhaul.Simplicity was the goalthroughout the designprocess, and the siteadministrators hadhoped to create acleaner and more user-friendly interface to ap-

peal to both existingand potential forummembers. With a rap-idly growing member-ship - nearing 3,000and counting - thisfledgling community isproving to be the newinternet hub for metal

M A Y 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4

F I N I S H I N G T A L K . C O M A N N O U N C E S N E W L O O K

O U R N E WW E B S I T E !

1

I N D U S T R Y E V E N T S

2

N E W S & N O T E S

3

F I N I S H I N GS P O T L I G H T

4

F R O M T H EF O R U M

6

T H E L A S TW O R D

1 5

C O N T E N T S

Marketing Trends:Tapping

into New Media Outlets

(Page 15)

Finishing

Spotlight:

Interview w ith Paul Fisher

and Paul Skelton of Finish-

ing Talk Live (page 4)(page 6)

Heaters

Plating Up


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Page 2F I N I S H I N G T A L K

May 13-16:

ET 2008

Orlando, FL

www.et08.org

May 14-16:

Electrocoat 2008

Indianapolis, IN

www.electrocoat.org

May 20-22:

EASTEC 2008

W. Springfield, MA

call (800) 733-4763.

May 20-22:

RAPID 2008

Lake Buena Vista, FL

www.sme.org

June 3-4:

Powder Coating School

Chicago, IL

surfacefinishingacademy.com

June 3-5:

American Coatings Show

Charlotte, NC

american-coatings-show.com

June 16-18:

SUR/FIN 2008

Indianapolis, IN

www.sur-fin.net

June 21-24

CCAI Annual Meeting

Clearwater Beach, FL

www.ccaiweb.com

July 8-11

PDA Applicator Spray Course

Houstan, TX

www.pda-online.org

July 14-18

MST Conferences

Orono, ME

www.mstconf.org

August 5-6 :

Powder Coating School

Mystic, CT

surfacefinishingacademy.com

Have an upcoming event? Tell

us about it at:

www.finishingtalk.com!

I N D U S T R Y E V E N T S 2 0 0 8


3/16

Page 3V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 4

N E W S & N O T E S

Trenton, NJ Surface Technol-ogy, Inc. has developed an elec-troless nickel-PTFE plating bathfeaturing a plating rate of 2-3

times the industry standard. TheNiSlipTM 515 system features aplating rate of about 20 micronsper hour, vastly greaterthan tradit ional EN-PTFEbaths that plate at only about 7microns per hour. In addition tothe revolutionary speed, the NiS-lipTM 515 system saves time, en-ergy, and labor, increases pro-ductivity and provides the oppor-tunity for thicker EN-PTFE de-posits. For further informationplease contact: Heidi Kellner ofSurface Technology, Inc. at 609-259-0099 or by e-mail [email protected].

Manchester, England Ian Sel-lars, the owner and managingdirector of Elcometer, and one ofthe founders of the moderncoating inspection industry,passed away April 10, 2008. He

was 70. Under his leadership,Mr. Sellars has introduced to thecoatings industry a number offirsts.

Midwest The Powder CoatingInstitute (PCI; Alexandria, VA)and the Chemical Coaters Asso-ciation International (CCAI; Cin-cinnati) recently joined efforts tomake sure trade shows are con-ducted with strategic marketing

and occurrence. Each companysent 7 individuals to a 14 mem-ber working group, who willmeet regularly to design a showstrategy to be integratedthrough 2013. After analyzingshow data and industry trends,the groups have decided an an-nual show or event is necessary

to promote industry productsand services. Initial talks havecentered on a large CoatingShow to be held in the Midwest

in the fall of even years. Cur-rently the associations are gear-ing up for Coating 2008, to beheld in Indianapolis this Septem-ber. For more information, visitwww.powdercoating.orgor www.ccaiweb.com

Jackson, MI Elm Plating hashad to lay off its third shift - 13workers - as a result of the on-going UAW strike at five Ameri-

can Axle plants in Michigan andNew York that began on Febru-ary 26 over a labor agreement.Elm Plating finishes and heattreats bolts and fasteners thatare found in many vehicles. Thecompany operates two plantsand employs 118 workers. The

American Axle strike has causedGM to shut down all or some of29 vehicle assembly plants be-

cause of parts shortages. Thestrike is having a far-reachingimpact on numerous auto indus-try suppliers. American Axle said

that the latest proposal aimed atending the two-month-old strikewas "not market competitive"and that it might close strikingproduction plants if the UAWworkers do not accept pay andbenefit cuts.

Pewaukee, WI James (Jim)H. Steffes, 61, of Prime Coatings,and a member of the ChemicalCoaters Association, passed

away unexpectedly on Thursday,April 17, 2008, as a result of anautomobile accident. He is re-membered as an outstandingcoatings technician who servedon the Board of Directors for theWisconsin Chapter of the CCAIfor many years, and helped puton that organizations summergolf outing. For more informa-tion, e-mail [email protected].


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Page 4

F I N I S H I N G S P O T L I G H T : F I N I S H I N G T A L K L I V E

We had a crowd of at least 100at that show, and once it gotgoing we had fun. It is the only

episode that we had to do someediting to, but it was actuallybecause some rowdies in the barkept sending over shotsand theproducer felt that one shot perepisode was plenty. I kept ask-ing what does the producerknow about shots anyways hehad just turned 21 at that time.

Skelton: Cleveland rocks isright! But its only because we

made a good showing of it andreceived a lot of support fromthe attendees at Sur/Fin lastyear. Cleveland was a lot of funfor us.

FTalk: What is your favorite

Episode so far?

PF: Really, I dont like any ofthemhave you ever recordedyour voice and felt terribly self-conscious of how weird itsounds? Well, it is sort of likethat for me, only worse. Notonly do I have the weird voicething to think about but add inthe video, the crowd, and thefact that these shows will alwaysbe on my permanent record, andIm usually a wreck leading up toa filming. My favorite part aboutthe show is when we all agreethat its a wrap!

Skelton: I have had fun at mostall of them. Again, Cleveland wasthe most fun show that we haveshot, by far. I generally have agut feeling of how it will go, de-pending on how we prepare andwhat is going on at the time ofthe filming. Most of the time I

to Eddie Moneys Electric Ave-nue in it!

Skelton: Running is an over-

statement. As for producing eachepisode we work at about thepace that they brew Guinness inIreland. When it comes to pre-paring for it, we run at the pacein which we can drink a Guin-ness after work. Did that makesense? We started almost oneyear agomany, many Guin-nesses ago.

FTalk: Who came up with the

idea for the show, and how

long did it take for the idea

to materialize into an actual

production?

Skelton: I never saw the nap-kin, but I was told that alienswere involved. Just kidding. Ionly take credit for bringing en-tertainment and content; thenerds (I mean our IPTV produc-ers) get the credit for the techno-production part. We couldnt doit without them. And to answeryour question, I believe this wasPaul Fishers idea, with a twist ofGriffe.

FTalk: Out of all the places

youve f i lmed episodes,

which did/do you prefer tofi lm at the most?

Fisher: Even though I didnt likeCleveland the city much - andthe people at the hotel were justoutright mean - I thought thevenue for Episode 4 was themost fitting. For those of youwho werent there, it was held inthe lounge area of the Renais-sance hotel during Sur-Fin 07.

This month, Finishing Talkinterviewed co-hosts Paul Fisher

and Paul Skelton of the popularonline metal finishing TV show,Finishing Talk Live. The show,which first aired in mid-2007,has become a hit in the metalfinishing industry. Known for itshumorous mix of metal finishingnews, useful information, cama-raderie, entertainment, and ofcourse, beer, Finishing Talk Liveis quickly making a spot for itselfin the Favorites list on metal

finishers computers nationwide.Check out their show atwww.finishingtalklive.com

FTalk: In a nutshell, can you

explain to our readers justexactly what Finishing Talk

Live is?

Fisher: Finishing Talk Live is anextension of the website Finish-ingTalk.com. Skelton and I are

really bored these days so this iswhat we do with all of our freetime.

Skelton: I echo Fishers com-ments. I am not so sure aboutthe bored part or the freetime either, but we sure findthis hobby enjoyable and enter-taining, and we hope membersand viewer agree.

FTalk: How long has theshow been running?

Fisher: As of today we nowhave 6 Episodes online - notcounting the first one we tried todo which ended up being calledthe teaser episode. That onehas a scene of me break dancing

F I N I S H I N G T A L K


5/16


T: (800) 438-6880

T: (828) 464-1376

F: (828) 464 -7094

www.jacksonlea.com

Your Total Finishing Resource.

1715 E. Conover Blvd. Conover, NC 28613

am wrong and they produce avery, very good product, and wemove on to the next one in afew weeks.

FTalk: If you could choose an

ideal location to fi lm an epi-sode, where wou ld it be?

Fisher: The roof top bar at theCharleston Pavilion Hotel. Wevebeen asking them for years to let

us film a show in conjunctionwith the end of our pub crawl /scavenger hunt during the SMFconference.

Skelton: I would have to say onthe beach, maybe Hawaii or in

the Caribbean somewhere. Andthen there is my desire to shootit on a set similar to The ManShow, beer, trampolines andeverything. That reminds me,Jay Pietro invited us to shoot ashow in New England in his winecellar, and throw in the trampo-lines. And dont think we wonttake him up on it!!

FTalk: You have a segmentcalled the Finishing Talk

Walk where a short tour is

taken of a plant or a particu-

lar machine is fi lmed anddiscussed; how does some-

one get their facil ity or ma-chinery on the show ?

Fisher: All you have to do is callor write us. We are always onthe look out for something cool

in our industry to share with ourviewers. Weve had many of-fers, but usually proximity playsa big part in whether or not wecan get there to shoot or not. Ifyou have something in the Indi-anapolis area that we shouldcome take a walk at thats theone Im working on now.

Skelton: All you have to do islet us know you want to collabo-rate with us and we will let youknow if we can facilitate comingto your company or place to film

a walk.

FT: Where w il l your next epi-

sode (Episode 7) be shot?

Fisher: We have just finalizedplans for our invitation to have

Episode 7 filmed in conjunctionwith the Indianapolis AESFBranch party for Sur-Fin 2008. Ithink Jillian's is the venue and itshould be a blast. Once we haveeverything in concrete well

make some postings on the bul-letin boards and send everyoneannouncements.

Skelton: My understanding isIndy, I just make sure I amwhere I need to be I let theFisher take care of the shoot, Iscout out the pub crawl wher-ever we are. Its all about teamwork, its a tough job, but some-

one has to do it.

FTalk: How can viewers get

involved and interact with

the show?

Fisher: A big part the showcomes from the viewers them-selves in the form of postings onthe bulletin boards. There is nosurer way to get involved thancommunicating, and collaborat-

ing with fellow members.

Skelton: Register on Finishing-Talk.com! Make a post, reply oradd to a post, just get involvedwith the online forum and wewill make you FAMOUS!! Or at

least use your topic for content,our members are already fa-mous!! Remember, its a teameffort.

Check out this and past inter-views on our updated website in

the Publication section at

www.finishingtalk.com


6/16


F R O M T H E F O R U M : H E A T E R S P L A T I N G U P

Weve chosen an extra long forum post this month,in celebration of our new site. Forum members

D.T., DustinGebhardt, Skelton, metfinoh , andDaveO discuss solutions to stopping titanium heat-ers from plating up with copper during the electro-plating process. Feel free to add your thoughts totheir ongoing discussion by visiting the forums atwww.FinishingTalk.com/community/topic618-Heaters-plating.html (or searching for it in theElectroplating forum under the thread HeatersPlating Up). For more From the Forum discus-sions, check out our monthly internet televisionshow, Finishing Talk Live, where hosts Paul Fisherand Paul Skelton bring the boards to life!

www.finishingtalklive.com

D.T.We have titanium heaters in our copper electro-plating tanks, and they are plating up with copper.We have tried to ground the heaters to the rectifiercabinets, but they are still plating up. Going to trya 4' ground rod this week and see what happens.

Any other suggestions? :confused:

Dust inGebhardt

Run a small gauge wire (12-16) from an anode tothe heater. This will "anodize" the heater and pre-vent buildup from forming. Plus, it will slowly re-dissolve the copper back into the solution. Be sureto keep the wire out of the solution, or it may dis-solve.

D.T.Run a wire to the heater? You mean a wire fromthe heater ground to the anode? Close to theheater itself? We have 4VDC 500 amp rectifiers.Will this throw off the current to the work in thetank? Won't it burn up the small wire with all thecurrent going through it to ground instead of theplating bath/work?

Thanks for the tip! I received the same tip fromProcess Technology. I will try it.

Dust inGebhardt

The small wire should be fine. In fact, it shouldlimit the current going out through the heater to

the tank. As more current goes through theheater, it should start to anodize and form an ox-ide layer that will further inhibit current flow. Youshould also have enough anode area that the cur-rent coming off of the heater shouldn't be a prob-lem. At least, it has never been a problem for me.

Do not ground the wire. Simply run a small wiredirectly from the heater to the nearest anode con-nection. Remove the grounding wire from theheater, as this is not needed and may cause prob-lems.

D.T.Process Tech says to ground the heater to earth,also. I would think removing the ground wirewould cause a potential electrocution hazard, so Ican't do that. They are 480VAC 5000 watt heaters,2 in each tank, side by side. Single and threephase. What would a ground fault do, mess up theplating current? Hopefully pop the fuses. We donot have ground fault protection on the heaters.Our tanks are plastic and not grounded.

Dust inGebhardt

Okay, now I'm getting a better picture. In mymind, I thought you were using Ti steamcoils. Now I see that you are using electric heat-ers. By all means, ground the electrical part of theheaters. I'm no electrician, but I believe that asingle phase wiring job should include a hot lead,neutral lead, and ground. Three phase should in-clude 3 hot leads, 1 neutral and 1 ground, but Icould be wrong; 3 phase power sometimes makesme scratch my head.

When you run your small wire from an anode tothe heater, be sure that the wire is somehowtouching the outside metal cylinder. Having thewire only run to the internal elements may not getyou to where you want to be.

As far as the Ti dissolving into the tank, I've neverreally seen that happen. I'm assuming that youare using the correct material for the bath.

Posted on March 15, 2008


7/16


I'm assuming that you have an acid copper bath,right?

Skelton

This is an old one, but a good one.....

It appears that you are on track to get your heat-

ers grounded. I highly suggest Dustin's recommen-dation to implement anodic current to the heatertube itself, but you need to ensure that it is in factconnected and drawing anodic (+) current to stopplating. If you cannot weld a connector to titaniumtube, you could try a conductive adhesive andhope that the chemistry does not remove adhesive.Or, you could use a stainless hose clamp to makeconnection to your anodic connector and then se-curely connect to the anode bar.

The correct material for acid copper is Quartz and

PTFE (Teflon). This may be your quickest solution,however, most expensive route to resolving theproblem. If you are copper plating in an alkaline-cyanide or non-cyanide plating bath, stainless steelis recommended. Could you please indulge us onyour copper process, this may help us some.

Also, if you have the ability to check "ripple", you

Continued on nex t page...


8/16

how it may mess up our plating process causingscrap.

Dust inGebhardt

Ripple is measured by the percentage of VAC to VDC. If you measure 2VDC and measure 0.2VAC,you would have 10% ripple (0.2/2 = 0.1 or10%). I'm assuming you meant "less than 100mV

AC" and not "100mV DC", right? In that case,100mV divided by the DC voltage you measured atthe same time would give you your ripple. BTW,ripple should always be measured with material inthe bath. Measuring ripple in an idle tank can givebogus readings.

What kind of faulty current are you talking about

that would cause scrap?

Metfinoh

Back to the heaters plating up...here is what we doin our tanks. We actually use a separate auxil-iary rectifier, such as a laboratory or hull cell recti-fier. You would not want to use a large capacityrectifier, because all you need to impose is a verysmall "trickle" of direct current.

An anodic charge should be imposed on the out-side shell of the titanium (or stainless) heater,

above the solution level. We run a small wire fromthe cathodic side of the auxiliary rectifier to a smallpiece of carbon, and place this carbon cathodewithin about 6" of the heater. Then we adjust theoutput of the auxiliary rectifier to about 1/2 voltDC. This small secondary electrical input shouldhave no side effects. It is important that the wireconnections to the heater and carbon cathode beabove the solution level. At the voltage I recom-mend, you will only see about 1 ampere. The am-perage is limited by the size of the cathode.

The shell of the heater is connected to the factoryground and in no case should this ground be dis-connected. This ground is to direct a possibleshortage to ground (0 potential difference).

D.T.External rectifier sounds like a good idea. I had tocalibrate one rectifier today, and I only saw 25 mV

AC ripple with a shunt across the load (sorry aboutearlier typo). Damn control cards, rectifiers, and


H E A T E R S P L A T I N G U P - C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 7

may have some stray current that may be causingsome of this to happen. Ripple voltage is the mag-nitude of fluctuation in DC output voltage at a spe-cific output current. This assumes the AC input

voltage and frequency are kept constant. Mostcommon levels do not exceed 5% of AC input volt-age and can be the culprit in some cases.

Let us know how you make out with this, it seemsyou have been struggling with this for sometimenow. Good luck.

Dust inGebhardt

Quote: Skelton wrote: Also, if you have theability to check "ripple", you may have some straycurrent that may be causing some of this to hap-

pen.Not to nit-pick, but ripple and stray current are 2very different monsters. I agree that ripple shouldbe below 5%, or 10% worst case. Stray current isany other current than the one introduced by therectifier(s). Sometimes you can get current comingthrough your steam lines, water pipes, etc. Straycurrent is very often a nightmare of a nightmare tofind. Ripple should be much easier to check with agood quality RMS digital multimeter.

Not to go too far off-topic, but my sister company,

Fluke, makes some great multimeters. :-)

D.T. Alright, you guys haven't given up on me yet -great. Here are the heaters that are in the tank:

P, F, S, and T Series, Metal Heaters(Link: http:/ / ww w.process-technology.com/processtechnol/mots.htm)

Bath is sulfuric acid, copper sulfate.

Rectifiers are 4VDC 500 amp maximum. We usually

use less than 180 amps DC. I have checked ripplebefore with our oscilloscope, and usually do notsee over 100mV DC.

I swung this idea by my boss, who is the cheapestperson there is, and he said we may try it. I saywe replace them all with PTFE encapsulated heat-ers instead; but business is really slow right now,so I doubt we will spend the money. We are con-cerned we may have an actual fault current, and


9/16


gate cards are via 1980, and are from ControlledPower. Difficult to get "perfect", as far as amp out-put and feedback to the PLC. But Ive got to usewhat I have. Fault current is if a heater shorts toground (Titanium sheath). This would put 277VACcurrent into the anode, and short out who knows

what.

DaveO

Guys,RIPPLE is NOT superimposed AC, as your repliesindicate. Ripple is defined as "...the extent to whichthe DC (from a rectifier) deviates from theideal..." (ref. ELECTROPLATING by Frederick A.Lowenheim pp. 160). By nature of the alternatingcurrent being rectified (converted to DC), and bythe nature of the filtration of the rectified current,the "Ripple" can be as much as 50%, or very close

to 0. Dr. Lowenheim goes on to relate that ripple isnormally of little importance in electroplating op-erations. In chrome plating, ripple is a problem. Itis not a problem in copper plating. Superimposed

AC could cause problems in bright acid copperplating.It should also be noted that ripple is not going tocause heaters to plate out, and neither will super-

imposed AC! Stray DC current probably would.Take a millimeter, and measure the current poten-tial between the heater and the ground. That won'ttell you WHERE the current is coming from, but itwill tell you how big the leak is. When you knowhow big the leak is, then you'll know if it is a situa-

tion where all you have to do is a little housekeep-ing, or if you have your heater leaning on the cath-ode bus.

Finally, why is a little plating on your heater such aproblem? If you don't have a problem using thewrong type of heater in your acid copper, so whatif it plates out a little? If the plating gets too thickon the heater sheath, chip it off and put it back inthe anode baskets where it belongs, and with themoney you save, tell your cheapskate boss to buya Teflon coated heater!

Dust inGebhardt

I was wrong to deviate off topic. Ripple is a topicfor another discussion, I suppose. My initial replywas to add a small wire from the anode bussing tothe heater outer tube. The idea here was to makethe heater anodic so that you would force the cop-

Continued on next page .


10/16


per buildup to stop, and even slowly dissolve backinto solution.

The reason for the buildup in the first place couldstem from several reasons. In my experience, bipo-

larity and stray current are the 2 most com-mon. We haven't really discussed bipolarity here,but it is when a strong magnetic or electric fieldcreates induces another magnetic or electric fieldnearby. Think of a bar magnet and several nearbyiron nails. Each nail in turn becomes slightly mag-netic as it enters the field of the main mag-net. One end of the nail becomes slightly "North"and the other end is slightly "South". You coulddaisy-chain the nails together if the magnet isstrong enough to affect them all.

Electricity is very similar to magnetism. If you

have a piece of conductive material (your heater)floating around near a strong electric field, and itdoes not already have an electrical current passingthrough it (aka it is not generating its own electri-cal field), it is possible for the conductive materialto assume a slight current flow. This is why liveentry and live exit are so commonly used. As apart is being removed from a plating bath and it

F R O M T H E F O R U M : H E A T E R S P L A T I N G U P , C O N T . . .

looses contact with the cathode system, it brieflyhas no strong polarity to it and can be subject tobipolarity. If the bipolarity is strong enough, it cancause part of the piece to become passive, andsubsequent operations can fail. Duplex nickel (or3x or 4x, too) is particularly sensitive to this in myexperience. By simply adding a small wire fromthe anode system to the heater, you introduce asmall positive charge to the heater, which will pre-vent the bipolarity from forming.

DaveO

Bipolarity is also a potential factor. Is only one endbeing plated? That is the simplest way to check forbipolarity. I still think he needs to check the poten-tial above ground first. How much current is there?

If this is such a problem, how come we're the onlyones talking about it? ~FT~

Join in on the conversation and other finishing dis-cussions at www.finishingtalk.com. Maybe youradvice, views, or opinions will end up in a futureinstallment of From the Forum.


11/16


W hat is Anodizing?Developed more than 60 years

ago, anodizing is a simple elec-trochemical process that forms

a protective coating of alumi-

num oxide on the aluminum

surface. The finish is very dura-

ble; however the lifetime of the

finish is proportional to the

thickness and density of the

anodic coating as well as the

quality of the seal.

Aluminum oxide is a hard, dura-

ble, weather resistant coating

that protects the base metal.

The coating may be clear or

colored using various methods.

The coating itself grows from

the base aluminum metal by

way of the electrochemical

process, so the coating is inte-

gral to the metal and cannot

peel or flake. The coating's

structure consists of many small

pores that can be used to colorthe aluminum. Once color is

added, these pores are sealed

to provide durability. This dura-

bility has been recognized by

the aerospace industry, which

selected anodizing as the finish

of choice for the Space Station.

Advantages of Anodizing

Anodizing can be less expen-

sive to produce and maintain. Anodic coatings are highly

abrasion-resistant and durable.

It is particularly durable in high-

traffic areas where the coating

is subject to physical abuse and

abrasive cleaners. Anodic coatings do not peel,

chip, flake, or chalk. Anodic coatings are translu-

cent, resulting in a deep, rich

metallic appearance. Anodic coatings are scarcely

affected by sunlight. Anodic coatings are excellent

finishes for areas subject to fili-

form corrosion, especially struc-

tures in coastal locations. The anodizing process uses

chemicals without VOCs, and

aluminum itself is recyclable. Anodized aluminum can be

colored in a full spectrum of

shades. Several coloring techniques

offer weather fastness suitable

T H E R I G H T F I N I S H F O R A R C H I T E C T U R A L A L U M I N U M

Continued on next page...


12/16


A R C H I T E C T U R A L A L U M I N U M , C O N T . ( A R T I C L E C O U R T E S Y O F P F M A G A Z I N E )

for architectural applications. Anodizing: the Renewable

Finish. A thicker and denser anodic

coating carries the advantages ofdurability and longer life. Aftermany years, an anodized surfacemay accumulate dirt and stainsthat look similar to chalkingpaint. This film can be removedwith a mild detergent appliedwith an abrasive cleaning tech-nique. A small amount of theanodic coating can actually beremoved, leaving behind a re-

newed anodized finish, preserv-ing the original appearance.

When a paint film fails, the usualoptions are to recoat the surfacewith another paint or replace themetal. Scrubbing can damage apainted finish. When an anodizedcoating appears to have failed,

treatment plants cannot handlethe solids generated in the ano-dizing process, equipment isavailable that enables anodizers

to remove aluminum hydroxidesolids from the effluent.

ColorIn most situations, anodizedcoatings exhibit excellent colorconsistency, but this does notmean that anodizing yields per-fectly consistent color. Custom-ers must be careful in selectingthe colors to be used and shouldhave the metal processed at thesame time and in the same placewhenever possible to reduce thelikelihood of color variation.

Care must be taken when apply-ing touch-up paints to anodizedfinishes because a perfect matchis impossible between the fac-tory-applied finish and a finish

cleaning often results in a re-newed appearance. Anodizedsurfaces, like other building com-ponents, must be protected from

chemical attack after installation. Anodizing and the Environ-mentThere are environmental advan-tages to selecting anodizing asan architectural finish. The proc-ess does not require the use ofsolvents that contain volatile or-ganic complounds (VOCs) and noheavy metals are involved.

Chemical wastes from anodizing

are used by many municipalwastewater treatment facilitiesto balance pH levels of treatedwater. The aluminum hydroxidefrom the effluent of anodizingplants improves the separationof solids in wastewater treat-ment plants. If local wastewater


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There are many options for fin-ishing aluminum, and this isone reason aluminum is such apopular material. It is not al-

ways easy to decide which fin-ish to apply. Communicate yourneeds with your finisher or yourfinisher's supplier. Consider notonly appearance, but also theenvironment, maintenance re-quirements, and life cycle costs.

The Aluminum AnodizersCouncil

In 1988, a group of anodizersand suppliers, concerned that

the market was unaware of thefeatures and benefits of anodiz-ing, formed the Aluminum Ano-dizers Council. The Councilworks to promote the advan-tages of anodizing, serves as atechnical resource center formembers and customers, pro-vides technical informationthrough workshops, articles andseminars, and develops andupgrades industry standards.

ConclusionAnodizing is the superior finish.Its appearance, abrasion resis-tance and cost effectiveness areunlikely to be matched by anyorganic coating. We invite youto specify anodizing, as it trulyis a versatile finish for manyapplications, from storefront tohandrail; from automotive todecorative applications. If you

are considering the use of ananodized finish for an architec-tural application or for an-other use you are encouragedto contact an AAC memberfirm. Click on the Member Di-rectory below to find an ano-dizer near you. ~FT~


applied in the field. For this rea-son, touch-up paints are aproblem for both painted andanodized coatings.

Customers often present ques-tions about color variationwithin the context of colorrange. A "range" implies a two-dimensional axis, for example,a range from light to dark. Re-search has shown that lightnessis only one of at least three di-mensions of appearance. Mostpeople are familiar with thecontrols on a television set that

affect brightness, color, andhue. When these same threecomponents of appearance arecombined with gloss and tex-ture, we have at least four vari-ables that can influence appear-ance besides light and dark.

The word range is discouragedwhen describing color. It is bet-ter to focus on scientific colormeasurement systems that in-

clude color, lightness, andgloss. With scientific colormeasurement techniques, aproduction run can be com-pared objectively to an ap-proved standard. If a compo-nent is significantly differentfrom an approved standard, thefinisher should not ship it. It isalso the customer's responsibil-ity to avoid using metal that isnot acceptable. When large

anodized panels or extrusionsare used in close proximity toeach other, it may be possibleto see color variations. In appli-cation, it is common to sortparts to obtain the desired ef-fect.

The industry has visual com-

parisons as the criteria for colormatching and for the most partcolor reproducibility has notbeen a problem. Color evalua-

tion using color instruments ishelpful but not the solution toproducing a consistent colormatch. To avoid problems, thecustomer should agree on colorstandards with the anodizer.

Durabil ityCoating thickness is a signifi-cant indicator of durability foranodized coatings. Coatingthickness for architectural use

can be specified as either Class1 (0.7 mil) or Class 2 (0.4 mil)per Aluminum Association DAF45. However, oftentimes thereis no specification. When thereis no specification, the least ex-pensive option is usually used,and in a few years the finish ispitted, stained, and eroded. An-other important determinant ofcoating life is its density. Thedenser the coating, the longer

it will last.

Low-cost anodized sheets areoften sold with a coating thick-ness of 0.15 mil. A finish of thisthickness also might be called a200, A21, A22 or A24. Whilethis coating thickness is suitablefor many applications, the in-tegrity of this finish will not lastmore than a few years in exte-rior architectural applications

and the expected lifetime ismuch less in coastal environ-ments. Coating thickness makesan even more important differ-ence in the durability of organi-cally dyed finishes. Dyes fademore quickly with thinner coat-ings since they contain lesscolor substance.


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M A R K E T I N G T R E N D S : T A P P I N G I N T O N E W M E D I A O U T L E T S

Weve all heard the buzzsurrounding popular internet

media venues such as You

Tube, been among the hoardsof people tapping into the vir-

tual phenomenon of social net-

working sites, and marked

Google as our homepage to

conduct our internet searches

with ease. We also know what

happens when high concentra-

tions of people flock to one loca-

tion advertisements spring up.

They may be subtle at first, ap-

pearing sparingly as small ban-ner ads flashing silently along

the edges of your screen. Then

pop-up boxes emerging out of

nowhere, followed by the man-

datory preliminary ad spot be-

fore you watch an online video

clip. They appear as you wait to

be redirected from one webpage

to the next brief intermissions,

like those of the old drive-in

theatres, beckoning you to graba box of popcorn and some Sno-

Caps from the nearby snack

counter.

Currently, the dominant force in

online advertising remains

Search Engine Marketing. Esti-

mated to account for 40% of

online ad budgets, SEM is de-

fined by New Media Worldwide

as both advertising and optimi-

zation efforts to achieve highvisibility of a website for rele-

vant keywords (also referred to

as search engine positioning or

search engine promotion). The

fastest growing online ad for-

mat, however, appears to be

advertising spots during video

content. This sector is expected

to grow by 70% in 2008 alone,

seem difficult to decide where to

start implementing them (if any)

to work for your own business.

Within the metal finishing indus-

try there are already many out-lets for online advertising. Fin-

ishing Talk, for instance, pro-

vides an excellent example for

several of the aforementioned

web advertising sectors; our

website offers banner advertis-

ing, e-mail marketing opportuni-

ties, and an even larger outlet -

the forums! The forums have

already been used by many

companies to promote newproducts, post press releases,

job opportunities, obtain feed-

back, and more.

Another new media format is

online video. Here, too, the fin-

ishing industry is up to speed

with new technology; Finish-

ing.TV the first and only metal

finishing IPTV network - offers

opportunities for marketing

through video. Not only can ad-vertisers purchase commercials

or short ad spots to be included

in future shows (such as Finish-

ing Talk Live), they can create

their own IPTV shows and pur-

chase space for them on the

network. In this way, an entire

network just for metal finishers

is being formed; and we all

know that the more content

provided, the more viewers willbe attracted. Where there are

viewers, you can be sure that

there will be advertisements!

You can find this article and alist of resources at our Forumson FinishingTalk.com. Comecheck out the site, and see whatthe Industry is talking about!

according to eMarketer, New

York. According to a study by

B2B Magazine, web site devel-

opment was cited by 74% of

marketers as their main focusfor 2008. Other areas of high

concern to marketers include e-

mail marketing, search engine

marketing, video, webcasting,

banner ads, sponsorships, and

social media (which includes

customer feedback for research

and advertising).

But the new media outlets dont

stop with the internet. According

to a new report from PQ Media,

companies will spend more than

$160.8 billion in 2012, which is

an 82% increase from what it

will be this year. This huge ex-

penditure will be filtered into

emerging markets such as store

-based TV screens, sponsored

events, TV and movie product

placements, cell phones, video

games and digital video record-

ers, as well as web advertising.Many of these methods are still

quite novel and are still under-

going testing for their effective-

ness. McDonalds, for instance, is

using Cellfire a mobile service

based in California that provides

discount coupons on goods and

services for cell phone users

for use in regional test in Utah,

Wyoming, and Nevada, where

they are promoting their newiced coffee beverage. Customers

text mcd or 22888, receive the

Cellfire application, and sign up

to receive a redemption code

that they can present to the

cashier.

With all of these emerging mar-

keting opportunities, it might

T H E L A S T W O R D


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PO Box 349

Rutherfordton, NC 28139

May 2008

Anna Levitsky, Editor

Phone: 704-995-2263

[email protected]

www.FinishingTalk.com

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