PRETREATMENT

PAI-KOR has developed several lines of products for pretreatment of metal surfaces before painting, and they all follow the same company philosophy of ease of use and management, with particular attention to environmentally-friendly formulations.

THE PAI-KOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT LABORATORY, which is well stocked with analytical equipment as well as a pilot plant for industrial testing, is constantly working to create new products and to perfect existing formulations.

PLAFORIZATION - ORGANIC PHOSPHATING

PLAFORIZATION is a metal pretreatment technology which degreases, phosphates and passivates metal surfaces in a single-stage operation at room temperature, and which creates no effluent or sludge.

Plaforization "converts" the metal surface and deposits a layer of inorganic phosphates sealed by a very thin (about 1 micron) organo-polymeric film, without the need for prior removal of oily contaminants. The Plaforization film guarantees better adhesion of the topcoat, increases corrosion resistance of the finished metal, and also protects unfinished parts for 4 - 5 months when stored indoors, and for several days outdoors. The Plaforization system can be used to pretreat various metals at the same time, including carbon steel, cast iron, aluminum, light alloys and zinc galvanized steel, and can be topcoated with powder paints as well as solvent-based and water-based liquid paints.
Installations have a small footprint. They are cost efficient and simple to manage because they do not require daily analytical controls.
PAI-KOR S.r.l. makes periodic tests of the bath for its clients, generally every three months. The specialized personnel of the TESTING, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT LABORATORY perform both instrument and qualitative analyses, to evaluate the efficiency of the bath and to furnish specific recommendations for bath refillings.

PAI-KOR
The PLAFORIZATION products sold under the trade names PAI-KOR A/285 and PAI-KOR A/402 may be used in dip processes, and are in flammability class 2 (flammable products with a flash point between 21 and 55° C). This product line, very easy to use and very fast drying, is used in extremely simple static and in-line installations and does not require an oven for drying treated parts.

ECOPHOR
The brand name ECOPHOR is identified with a line of pretreatment products formulated with special fluids belonging to flammability class 3 ("combustible" products with a flash point above 56° C). Even these systems, which have the same properties of degreasing, phosphating and passivating in a single step at room temperature that are the hallmark of Plaforization systems in general, can be used either in spray (flow-coating) or in static or in-line dip operations. Installations must have an oven for drying the parts.
ECOPHOR SYSTEM has the particular advantage that almost all of the volatile phase of the bath can be recovered and re-used. ECOPHOR SYSTEM installations are equipped with a recovery tower, which reduces emissions enormously with obvious resulting process economies. Because of its extremely reduced emissions, recovery of the solvents, and very rapid biodegradation of the fluids, ECOPHOR SYSTEM is classified by UNEP as one of the cleanest pretreatment technologies available.
ECOPHOR A/448, another product in the ECOPHOR line, contains no VOCs (volatile organic compounds) under the terms of EEC Joint Position no. 40/98 which takes effect in stages through 2007

Il sistema ECOPHOR è inoltre utilizzabile nel modulo ECO-JET, un impianto di dimensioni ridottissime che consente di trattare manufatti aventi lunghezza fino a circa 1 metro meno della lunghezza dell'impianto stesso ed è quindi in grado di soddisfare anche le utenze che dispongono di spazi molto limitati.

TEMPORARY PROTECTION
In parallel with the pretreatment lines, and in response to requests of customers with specific new requirements, PAIKOR has developed systems for Temporary Protection. These include PAI-KOR A/946 TP, which pretreats pre-degreased parts in a single stage at room temperature. Parts are oven-dried. The results of this process are very exciting: a panel pretreated with PAI-KOR A/946 TP and left uncoated resists corrosion in salt spray up to 72 hours. This corrosion protection is higher for painted parts, with salt spray results depending, obviously, on the type of coating and on the process. PAI-KOR A/946 TP can be coated with either powders or solvent-based or water-based liquid paints.
If temporary corrosion protection is needed for parts with oil on them, we recommend PAI-KOR 1209/SC. Salt spray resistance is lower than with PAI-KOR A/946 TP, but with this product there is no need for precleaning of parts or a drying oven.
Among the Temporary Protection systems, PAI-KOR 1209 SC/90 black is also available. It provides temporary protection in opaque black, which, if desired, can be coated with powder, or liquid paints.

ECOPUR
The ECOPUR product line was developed to remove parting agents from structural rigid polyurethane, thus permitting coating of the parts without having to resort to manual treatment and/or use of chlorinated solvents in vapor degreasing processes.
These products also operate in a singe stage at room temperature, do not create solid waste or effluent, and are used in simple and compact installations without daily analytical testing. The products in the ECOPUR line can be used in in-line or static spray or dip lines, and may be coated with either solvent -based or water-based finishes.

PRINCIPAL COMMERCIAL/BRAND NAMES

• Plaforization,
• PAI-KOR A/285, PAI-KOR A/402;
• ECOPHOR A/447,ECOPHOR A/447J, ECOPHOR A/448, ECOPHOR B/162;
• Temporary protection A/623 PT, A/946 PT, ECOPHOR B406 PT, ECOPHOR B407 PT

•  one step

•  no rinse

•  no heat

•  VOC FREE

•  no waste water treatment