Finishing Process

The 5-stage pretreatment wash consists of cleaning the product so that it is free of any organic and inorganic contaminants. This system provides superior pretreatment to the product for the powder coating final quality, appearance, and performance.

Pretreatment Wash consists of :

• Sandblast
• Wiping Away Debris
• Rinse
• Iron Phosphate Wash
• Rinse & Seal

The product is sent through the drying oven where any moisture from the pretreatment stage is removed. The oven heats the metal to around 380 – 420 degrees.

The conveyor then moves the product through the powder coating booth at a steady rate so that the application guns cover the pole to a nominal 4 mil thickness.

The powder is cured at around 330 – 460 degrees; curing time is dependent on color and the density.

The entire shaft shall be cleaned and shot blasted substrate to remove all oils, surface contaminants, rust and scale 3 mil anchor pattern to increase coating adhesion in accordance with ASTM STD Paint specification.

The exterior surface shall be electrostatically powder coated with a high density polyester material and cured in a convection oven no less than 400 degrees. This finishing process provides excellent corrosion and scratch resistance.

The internal surface shall be powder coated 18 inches from the base section. And the entire exterior shaft shall be epoxy prime painted prior to powder coat finishing. This finishing process provides a superior corrosion resistance in most areas.

The entire metal shaft shall undergo a 3 part cleaning process then hot-dipped galvanized, the galvanizing protects the steel with cathodic and barrier protection preventing the development of iron oxide under the powder coating system. The powder coating in turn gives a barrier of protection to the galvanized coating by isolating it from the corrosive attach and chlorides and sulfides in the atmosphere. Powder coating significantly extends the service life of the galvanized steel.

The entire lighting standard shall be wrapped in a protective material to protect the coating during the shipping and handling process.