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How to get natural finish in ms sections

November 27, 2010

I would like to have the ms finish maintained in metal fabricated units without any surface finish such as painting or powder coating.

maybe we can do melamine or clear coating but the material should not rust.

instead of painting and powder coating is there any plating which will give a metal finish?

Swamianthan Gopalakrishnan
industrialist - Bangalore

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Hi, Swami.

The reason that really good paint jobs, such as on autos, have so many steps (weld preparation, turned edges, galvanneal, phosphatize, electrocoat, paint, clearcoat) is that this is what is required for maximum rust prevention. If your mild steel components will be used indoors in a climate controlled environment, it may be possible to get a serviceable life from clearcoated mild steel; but if the components will suffer exterior exposure, mere clearcoating won't last a single season.

Galvanizing will prove satisfactory, but the bright zinc surface doesn't really look like a mild steel surface. Alkaline zinc electroplating will probably come closest to looking like raw steel; with a clearcoat on it, you might stretch acceptable life from it. Good luck!

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
November 29, 2010