WHEN Polish corrosion protection company, Malmor, based in the seaside city of Gdansk, needed to expand their metal pray process for a range of ocean going vessels, they turned to Metallisation’s Polish distributor, SciTeeX for assistance.
Corrosion is a major problem for the shipbuilding and fishing industries and with Malmor providing services to a number of industries in Poland and across Eastern Europe, it was vital for the company to find a suitable system for their requirements.
To ensure the long-term anti corrosion protection of these vessels, Metallisation’s Arc 140 Arc Spray Equipment was chosen to metal spray various parts of the vessels with an aluminium and zinc coating.
Metal or thermal spraying is a technology that is designed to protect or extend the life of a wide variety of products in hostile environments and in situations where coatings are vital for safety and performance.
Key areas that needed to be metallised to be protected again the harsh ocean environment included the deck and the hull, which sits above the waterline, as well as the Refrigerated Sea Water (RSW) tanks, where fresh fish are stored on board, fish processing rooms, chutes into the fresh fish tanks, net winching sheaves and drums, masts and the trawl boards.
Not only are these elements exposed to the unforgiving, destructive sea environment, but also to the daily ravages of wear and tear of the equipment used in the trawling process.
Metal spray is said to be much more durable than paint, and independent European standards (EN14713 and EN2063) show that a life to first maintenance of 20 years or more can be achieved in sea water splash zones.
The durability of metal sprayed coatings means that maintenance downtime to re-paint these areas is greatly reduced. To ensure a metallised surface is effective, and to meet the long-term corrosion protection, it is essential to prepare the surfaces in advance.
During the recent projects, the vessels and parts were either blasted with copper slag to SA 2.5 standard at the shipyard, or blasted with chilled iron grit to SA 2.5 in the state of the art blast room at Malmor site.
The surfaces were then sprayed with a Arc140 system using a coating between 50 and 200 Dm of Zinc/Aluminium alloy or pure Zinc.
The final surface was then coated with a sealing layer according to the shipbuilding specifications. In some instance, a further topcoat of paint is specified and applied.
Janusz Bazela, SciTeex principle contact with Malmor, said the company was pleased with the outcome of the project.
“The Arc 140 system is ideal for the type of metallised coating that Malmor has to deliver to its shipbuilding customers.
“This is due to the strict specifications laid down by the supervising body of the shipbuilding industry,” Bazela explained.
“Malmor also uses the Metallisation equipment and processes with other customers to protect tanks, steel constructions and artistic blacksmith items, such as gates and fences.”
Metallisation Sales Manager, Stuart Milton explained that when SciTeex contacted them and explained the needs of Malmor, they had no hesitation in recommending the Arc140 system.
“We instantly suggested the system as it is designed to be flexible, easy to use and reliable.
“The customer was then trained on the correct working practices of the system plus basic preventative maintenance at Metallisation and on their site in Gdansk.
“Since this time, both systems have worked well and are popular with the metal spray applicators.”
For more information contact:
Metal Spray Supplies
E – sales@metalspraysupplies.com
W – www.metalspraysupplies.com