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What sits inside a PCM steel coating build-up
A pre-coated metal surface is a stack of layers, and what fails in service is usually the one nobody specified.
A PCM build-up is typically a pretreatment on the substrate, a primer, a topcoat and, on the reverse, a backer coat. Each layer has a job: adhesion, corrosion protection, appearance and handling protection respectively.
Most in-service failures come from the pretreatment and primer rather than the topcoat, because those are the layers that decide whether the system stays attached when the panel is formed. A topcoat specified purely on colour and gloss can sit on an adhesion system that was never matched to the forming radius.
This is why we ask for the panel geometry rather than only the colour. The bend radius a panel will see determines the flexibility the whole stack needs, and that is a coating formulation decision made before any coil is run.
Specifications
| Layers | Pretreatment, primer, topcoat, backer coat |
|---|---|
| Usual failure point | Pretreatment and primer, not the topcoat |
| We ask for | Panel geometry and bend radius, not only colour |
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Tell us the board or panel you are making
Send the finished product you are building, the coil width you need and the expected service life. You will get a grade recommendation and a price, not a catalogue.