Why Should We Focus on Surface Preparation of Slide Rail

We should select the technics of surface preparation of metals in order to match the metallic color with our home style, and different choices even affect the function and life span of slide rail because of the complicated process. Most of metals are corroded in the atmospheric environment because of some kinds of factors of corrosion, such as the oxygen, pollutants, moisture content, and the temperature of the atmosphere. Salt-fog corrosion is common and the most destructive atmospheric corrosion. The process of salt-fog corrosion is that the conductive salt solution seeps into the metal and chemical reactions are produced, forming "low-potential metals—electrolyte solution—high-potential impurities" microbattery system. The electron transfers, so the metal, as an anode, is easy to dissolve and form the new compounds, i.e. corrosive substances. The chlorine ion, which can strongly penetrate the oxide layer of the metal, plays a major part in the whole corrosive process. Meanwhile, the chlorine ion with a little hydration energy is prone to absorb on the surface of the metal, replacing the oxygen in the oxide layer which protects the metal and finally destroying the metal.

In 2008, Chinese Olympics held in Beijing, which attracted people all over the world. And how is the surface preparation of the the hosting stadium "Bird Nest" completed?

The anticorrosive technology of the "Bird Nest"

The exterior structure of the "Bird Nest" is mainly composed of huge portal steel frames with 24 truss columns. The top of the stadium is saddle-shaped, with a long axis of 332.3 meters, a short axis of 296.4 meters. Its high-spot height is 68.5 meters and low-spot height is 42.8 meters.

The anticorrosion project of the steel structure of "Bird Nest" uses the most anticorrosion coatings in China. As the world's huge project of single steel structure, the coating area of steel structure of "Bird Nest" is up to 284,000 square meters. The "Bird Nest" wears six layers of anti-corrosion masks that will last more than 25 years.

Six factories in the whole country manufacture steel products for Bird Nest. First, these steel products are native to being painted with primer and sealing paint, respectively yellow and red, which are the first two anti-corrosion masks. Then, all the steel products are placed on the building site, coated with intermediate paint and fluorocarbon paint, which are the third and fourth process. From the fourth process, the color of the paint turns gray. After that, the steel structures are assembled and painted finishes in a right order.

The slide rail has a variety of different application and application environment. In the process of producing the slide rail, we need to protect our slide rail from various factors like the Bird Nest. That is why we integrate the surface preparation scheme of the slideway to ajust its different application environment.

Surface preparation is a kind of protective chemical coating that helps metallic surfaces resist corrosion. In addition to stainless steel, other kinds of steels are even susceptible to slight moisture. Therefore, proper anti-rust treatment can extend the life of drawer slides for decades.

What are the ingredients in the surface preparation of the slide rail? Let's have a look.

1. blue and white zinc plating

2. black electrophoretic painting

3. white painting

Galvanization is one of the three common surface preparation agents. It uses a zinc base or zinc coating made of transparent or black chromate coating, i.e. a standard coating that can resist medium corrosion, and it is most suitable for indoor environment, such as office and home cabinet.

In contrast, frequently used black electrophoresis provides several times the corrosion resistance of galvanized coatings, and tends to be used in dark cabinets. White painting has stronger corrosion resistance and can be used in kitchen furniture and appliances – first they are white appearances. These colors help integrate the slide rail with its application environment. Our weatherproof slide rail is coated with extra coating based on a standard galvanized to protect the slide rail from outdoor environmental factors.

You may want to know the principle of "electroplating". Electroplating components are produced by the attraction of anode and cathode when the required surface preparation is carried out on the slideway components. This strong attraction forms a strong bond between the surface preparation and the surface of the slide rail, resulting in the clean and weatherproof surface.

In addition, we have stainless steel slide rails with corrosion resistant, such as our S series, which have the strongest corrosion resistance. In our stainless steel selection, the slide rail 4501-S is very suitable for wet or humid applications, such as refrigerators and freezers. Usually stainless steel contains 10% to 30% chromium for corrosion protection. Austenitic steel village is non-magnetic, highly moldable steel with high corrosion resistance. Highly mouldable austenitic steel is tough and most suitable for welding and is used in automotive interior trimmings and industrial hardware. Ferritic steels consist of up to 27% chromium (and 0% nickel) and are much less resistant to corrosion than austenitic steels. Every surface preparation is tested in the salt-spray laboratory. As the name suggests, the slide rails in these laboratories are exposed to salt fog. The higher the corrosion resistance of the slide rail coating, the longer its exposure in the laboratory.

The basic galvanized slide rails are exposed to salt spray indoors for 12 hours and show no signs of corrosion. In contrast, the white slide rails are exposed to salt fog for 500 hours and show no signs of corrosion. Like the maitenance of the "Bird Nest", Jinruda is constantly looking for new ways to improve our slide rails to ensure better corrosion resistance.