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Accurate Compressed Air Monitoring ensures a High-Quality Paint Finish

Tuesday, 27th August 2024

In industrial sectors, painting processes demand high-quality compressed air. Specifically, the Dew point, Residual oil and Particulates need to be measured and monitored.

To achieve the best paint finish the compressed air needs to meet high standards; otherwise, it can negatively impact the final product.

The implications that can occur when you are not monitoring the Compressed air:

  1. Colour Variations: inconsistant coats can cause colour variations. (This can be particularly noticeable with light or vibrant colours).
  2. Runs and Drips: Excessive paint application can lead to vertical streaks or drips. These imperfections are difficult to correct once the paint has started drying.
  3. Orange Peel Effect: When sprayed, it can create an “orange peel” texture on the surface.
  4. Surface Contaminants: Dust, dirt, or other contaminants can get trapped in the wet paint if the application process is not clean. This affects the final appearance and may require additional sanding and refinishing.
  5. Inadequate Coverage: Insufficient paint coverage leaves patches of the substrate exposed. This compromises protection against corrosion and other environmental factors.
  6. Premature Aging: Poorly applied paint may age prematurely, leading to fading, cracking, or deterioration over time.

To ensure a reliable finish during the painting process it is highly recommended to monitor the dew point immediately after the dryer and at the point of use, to assist in avoiding any of the mentioned.

Some product suggestions

To monitor the dew point in a non-Atex area we would suggest installing the FA 510 / FA 515 depending on 2 or 3 wiring requirements.

For monitoring the oil contents of the compressed air we would suggest the Oil check 400.

For counting the Particulates we would recommend the PC 400.

With these 3 products in conjunction with each other you can measure which ISO 8573 you are conforming to. Data for these measurements may then be recorded with the DS 500 digital chart recorder.

If you want to monitor your ISO 8573 classification live, you would need to switch the Oil check 400 to the Oil check 500 and this will be displayed locally as well.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about how a compressed air system could help your application, please contact us on sales@pctflow.com or call 01953 609930.

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