Keep corrosion at bay for up to fifteen years with Crown Trade

You don’t need specialist products, techniques or equipment in order to offer your clients a FIFTEEN year decorative and protective coating system for metalwork, says Crown Trade Senior Band Manager Debbie Orr

Last year we launched Crown Trade High Build Rust Inhibiting Metal Primer and Fast Drying Cladding Finish, the first two products in our new Protective Coatings range, formulated specifically for use on structural steel, metal cladding and other internal and external metal features.

Now we’ve added two new high performance coatings to this premium range - High Performance Gloss for Metal and High Build Micaceous Iron Oxide – which can be used to deliver ten and fifteen year decorative and protective systems.

Although they provide metalwork with an impressive level of corrosion protection that you might normally associate with more specialist products and application techniques, these Crown Trade systems are very straightforward to specify and apply and can be used with confidence by any professional decorator.

They are also very versatile as they can be used to decorate and protect any correctly prepared new or previously painted ferrous or non-ferrous metal including structural steelwork, railings, fire escapes, gates, shutters, etc. By using our new Protective Coatings T-Wash as part of the system, you can also use the coatings on new galvanised surfaces.
Where aesthetics are important and your client wants a durable long lasting high sheen finish in a specific colour, a standard ‘High Performance Gloss for Metal’ system will offer up to ten years’ protection. The gloss, which we supply in Black, White and over 1800 tintable colours, can be applied directly to correctly prepared previously painted surfaces that have been cleaned and primed using Crown Trade High Performance Rust Inhibiting Metal Primer and you will need to apply just one or two coats (depending on colour choice and obliteration achieved).

Any new metalwork also needs a thorough clean and a preparatory coat of High Build Rust Inhibiting Metal Primer before any decorative coatings are applied. If the metal is galvanised (and non-weathered) it also needs treating with Protective Coatings T-Wash before priming. This etching wash creates a chemical reaction on the surface of the metal, causing it to turn grey-black, which confirms that it has been satisfactorily degreased, all the zinc has been neutralised and the metal is ready for priming.

To achieve the maximum level of protection currently achievable with a Crown Trade Protective coating system, ie, up to fifteen years, one or two coats of new High Build Micaceous Iron Oxide are applied before the gloss top coat(s).

Micaceous iron oxide, also referred to micaceous haematite is a naturally occurring ‘barrier pigment’ that is added to coatings in order to give increased imperviousness to moisture ingress and pollutants, and a high level of resistance to UV light. It has a ‘lamellar’ (flake-like) structure and the thin flat particles align themselves with the surface of the metal, overlapping to form an impervious layer that will not allow any moisture to penetrate, thereby preventing corrosion. The flat shiny surfaces of the particle also act like tiny mirrors, deflecting UV rays in natural sunlight, helping to prevent degradation of the resin in the coating.

In situations where the final colour and texture of the metal finish are completely irrelevant to the client, High Build Micaceous Iron Oxide can also be used as a finish in its own right. If a dark charcoal grey matt appearance is deemed acceptable, it need not be overcoated with High Performance Gloss for Metal and the performance of the system will not be affected.

With the new products in our Crown Trade Protective Coatings range we are now able to provide professional decorators with a total solution for all types of metalwork. Whatever the substrate, ferrous, non-ferrous, bare or previously painted, the decorator can follow our ten and fifteen year system options and offer their clients the reassurance of extended maintenance schedules to meet their needs.