Metallization is the process of coating surfaces with metal coatings. The object that is metallized is called a substrate. In Los Angeles metalizing has grown into a huge industry comprised of hundreds of service companies. They offer both services as well as rental of equipment to clients of different types. There high quality services are rendered at affordable rate, making them worthwhile for consideration.
The process of applying metal coatings onto surfaces of objects has a long history. The process can be traced back to the invention of mirrors in 1835. This process was used to make mirrors by coating glass surfaces with metallic silver. At that time, this process was only done in a basic manner. However, with the introduction of better technology, this process is now very sophisticated.
At first, there was a lot of restriction on what material could be metalized. At that time, metallization was only restricted to metallic materials. However, that changed soon with the invention of ABS plastic. The number of feasible substrates increased significantly and non-metals could now be metalized. The number of processes used to metalize substrates also swelled a lot. A German scientist and inventor, Justus von Liebig, is credited with coming up with the metallization process.
The fact that non-metallic substrates are not good conductors presents a challenge when it comes to coating them. Being able to conduct heat or electricity is vital to this process, something that non-conductors cannot do. This shortcoming is overcome by turning non-metallic substrates into conductors first before proceeding with the process. One of the ways to do this is by etching them chemically through a suitable process.
One of the processes used for chemical etching is to dip the material into a mixture of acids, usually chromic acid and sulfuric acid. The mixture of acids must be hot in order for the required results to be achieved. After chemical etching, the surface must be activated and sensitized before being coated using electroless nickel or copper. Sensitization and activation is often done by dipping in a solution of tin (II) Chloride followed by palladium chloride.
Proper and thorough site preparation must be done first before any of the processes named above can be undertaken. Which method is used for site preparation is determined by the kind of substrate in question. The importance of surface preparation is that it ensures that the resultant bond between substrates and metal coatings is very strong and durable.
The metal coat applied on substrates serve several different purposes on substrates. To begin with, the coat offers protection against corrosion from various elements. Research indicates that one layer of the metal coat can protect the substrate for over thirty years. Factors such as coating thickness, application, and sealing determine how long the metal coat remains effective.
Metalizing is done is a specially designed equipment. The equipment comprises of a chamber in which the substrate is placed for coating. The equipment can be very large in some cases to handle large substrates. Other small handheld devices are also available for metal coating very large and irregular substrates.
The process of applying metal coatings onto surfaces of objects has a long history. The process can be traced back to the invention of mirrors in 1835. This process was used to make mirrors by coating glass surfaces with metallic silver. At that time, this process was only done in a basic manner. However, with the introduction of better technology, this process is now very sophisticated.
At first, there was a lot of restriction on what material could be metalized. At that time, metallization was only restricted to metallic materials. However, that changed soon with the invention of ABS plastic. The number of feasible substrates increased significantly and non-metals could now be metalized. The number of processes used to metalize substrates also swelled a lot. A German scientist and inventor, Justus von Liebig, is credited with coming up with the metallization process.
The fact that non-metallic substrates are not good conductors presents a challenge when it comes to coating them. Being able to conduct heat or electricity is vital to this process, something that non-conductors cannot do. This shortcoming is overcome by turning non-metallic substrates into conductors first before proceeding with the process. One of the ways to do this is by etching them chemically through a suitable process.
One of the processes used for chemical etching is to dip the material into a mixture of acids, usually chromic acid and sulfuric acid. The mixture of acids must be hot in order for the required results to be achieved. After chemical etching, the surface must be activated and sensitized before being coated using electroless nickel or copper. Sensitization and activation is often done by dipping in a solution of tin (II) Chloride followed by palladium chloride.
Proper and thorough site preparation must be done first before any of the processes named above can be undertaken. Which method is used for site preparation is determined by the kind of substrate in question. The importance of surface preparation is that it ensures that the resultant bond between substrates and metal coatings is very strong and durable.
The metal coat applied on substrates serve several different purposes on substrates. To begin with, the coat offers protection against corrosion from various elements. Research indicates that one layer of the metal coat can protect the substrate for over thirty years. Factors such as coating thickness, application, and sealing determine how long the metal coat remains effective.
Metalizing is done is a specially designed equipment. The equipment comprises of a chamber in which the substrate is placed for coating. The equipment can be very large in some cases to handle large substrates. Other small handheld devices are also available for metal coating very large and irregular substrates.
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You can get a summary of important things to keep in mind when choosing a provider of Los Angeles metalizing services at http://www.masterpowdercoating.com right now.
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