When working outside you know rust and corrosion are a part of life, and whether it’s cranes or crushers you must protect your equipment from the elements. Rust and other corrosion forms may result in safety issues and tamper with the durability and reliability of your machinery. Even routine maintenance to remove and repair corrosion can often push up costs. Luckily, there are numerous measures you can consider to minimise corrosion. Exposing your fleet to water, salt or other environmental factors could cause even the newest equipment to corrode and rust. In the next couple of paragraphs, we will highlight several methods based on cost and effectiveness.
Causes
Environmental conditions are a big factor when it comes to corrosion, any possible chemical exposure, severe abrasion, or other physical stress on the coating must be identified to guarantee a choice that will provide the appropriate level of protection.
Application methods matter, is the machine in an area where it can be sprayed, or will this cause problems to the surrounding environment? If the equipment has intricate parts or areas which are hard to reach, then using a brush may be the best option. If for example your road planer has no wear and tear and is just being painted to change the colours, then you can just usually use a general-purpose kind of paint. However, if the machine is for example an earthmoving machine which operates primarily outside then it is going to be subject to chemical exposure. Always note when there is heavy use or the equipment is stored outside then you must use a more resilient rust proactive coating.
Surface Preparation is crucial as this allows you to determine the type of preparation that is required before you coat the equipment. Starting with a clean surface which is free of grease, dirt, debris or rust makes it a lot easier. Surface preparation can vary from a simple clean now with a degreaser to sanding or abrasive blast cleaning.
Solutions
Using barrier coatings can be one of the easiest and most cost-effective way of protecting the metal. Using paint, plastics or powders can create a think film, this then acts as a natural coating to protect the machine. However please note that when adopting this method, the metal often needs to be stripped and reapplied, if not this will only result in more corrosion.
Hot dip galvanisation this approach involves dipping steel into molten zinc. This allows the iron in the steel to react with the zinc to produce a tightly bonded allow coating which then protects the equipment.
Alloyed steel is often regarded as the best method to preventing corrosion we know today, combining the properties of several metals to add strength and resistance to your fleet. Different alloys provide resistance to different conditions, giving organisations greater flexibility.
Cathodic protection protects your machinery from galvanic corrosion. This is what happens when two metals come together and come into contact with a corrosive electrolyte. Carrying out a close interval survey will tell you the cathodic protection status for your machine. Adopting this approach improves safety and protects the health of your site. Ideally you should perform close interval surveys every five years to guarantee the best possible understanding of your corrosion risks.
Cleaning and maintaining your equipment is a simple and effective way to prevent corrosion. This can be as pivotal as to help prevent moisture, grime, or other corroding elements from building up and causing problems. You must ensure to check and clean even the most hard to reach places to avoid this as much as possible.
Omnia Machinery is an industry expert in used construction equipment and a trusted machinery trader. We stock a wide variety of quality used construction equipment, to suit many different jobs, such as cranes, road equipment, quarry, earthmoving, piling, drilling, and underground mining. We provide our customers with all information and pictures with their quotation before any sale is agreed upon. From inspections to shipping, we are here to support you through every step of the transaction and keep you informed throughout the whole process enabling you to purchase in confidence. Contact us today with your machinery requirements.