Evonik Industries and SI Coatings, a company of the Huehoco Group, Wuppertal, Germany, have jointly developed a water-based primer for the pretreatment of steel prior to fluidized bed coating with VESTOSINT® polyamide 12 powder. Such polyamide coatings on metal are used for corrosion protection. It is therefore important that they are applied without gaps, do not flake off and cannot be infiltrated by water. They must also be robust against external influences so that the coating provides lasting protection. Evonik's VESTOSINT® polyamide 12 fluidized bed powders have proven their efficiency here for many years. In the past, large-area, particularly concave steel parts were pre-treated with solvent-based primers if exceptional adhesion was required, for example in contact with water.
Reliable and sustainable
"Evonik has firmly anchored the concept of environmental compatibility in its corporate strategy. That's why we looked for a partner for the processing of VESTOSINT® with whom we could develop a water-based primer that is precisely matched to our polyamide powder. We found this partner in SI Coatings," says Dr. Dominic Störkle, Head of the Additive Manufacturing & Material Solutions Product Line at Evonik, describing the motivation behind the collaboration. Evonik's many years of expertise in fluidized bed coating with polyamide powder and SI Coatings' know-how in the field of adhesion promoters complemented each other perfectly. The result: a reliable water-based primer that does not require any special occupational safety technology such as fume hoods. The product is label-free according to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The residual solvent content, reported as volatile organic compounds (VOC), is less than two percent. "As we are a global company, we can offer the jointly developed primer to Evonik customers worldwide, even in small quantities," says Managing Director Andreas Kunz of SI Coatings, emphasizing the advantage of the partnership.
The new Si Coatings 100011-00L primer with water hazard class WGK1 has a shelf life of six months if stored frost-free. It can be applied by brushing, spraying, dipping or squeegeeing and baked at around 300 °C during heating for the whirl sintering process with VESTOSINT®. One application is cardan shafts, for example, which are coated both on the outside and inside.
Evonik markets the high-performance plastic polyamide 12 as a powder under the name VESTOSINT®, for example for coating dishwasher baskets, metals in household goods, the automotive industry and medical technology. The Group is a global leader in the production of polyamide 12 molding compounds, which are in high demand in highly attractive markets such as the automotive industry, oil and gas production, the medical and sports sectors.
SI Coatings in Wuppertal develops and produces technical, functional and decorative coating materials as well as adhesion promoters for a wide range of applications.
