Today, ecology is vitally important when it comes to choosing materials for the building trade or industry but clichés make people suspicious of products made of aluminium, steel and other metals. Many people believe that only wood is environmentally compatible.
In fact, pre-painted rolled metal is extremely environmentally friendly as well as being economic, visually pleasing and safe. It is thus a valid alternative to natural or polymer-based coating systems.
A productive process that respects the environment
The pre-painted rolled metal is manufactured via continuous painting lines that operate in the following manner:
- Sheet metal arrives as coils
- it is unrolled
- degreased through acid and alkaline treatment
- brushed to eliminate surface oxidation
- pre-washed
- subjected to a chemical conversion process to increase the adhesion of the paints
- washed a second time
- subjected to a process of passivisation to increase resistance to corrosion
- painted with liquid or powder products
- lastly, it is rewound before undergoing subsequent processing (cutting, folding and pressing).
The features of this process provide:
- a top quality product with an excellent surface finish, an uniform colour, excellent evenness and a high precision cut;
- great energy saving,, one of the key words of current environmental policies. The entire process is in fact run without interruption and at high speed, conditions conducive to a high level of energy efficiency;
- reduced use of paint. The sheet metal is coated evenly, without imperfections and with the option of easily recovering the paint that does not stick. Pre-painted sheet metal offers the same end result as post-painted sheet metal, but thinner layers of paint are required, which cuts costs by at least two thirds;
- no emissions of polluting agents. Each step is performed in an enclosed environment that prevents any chemical agent escaping into the atmosphere or seeping into the ground.
An ecological life cycle
Pre-painted sheet metal also proves its environmental sustainability during use.
The continuous painting ensures long-lasting resistance of the surfaces to atmospheric agents, wear and daily use. The sheet metal used as covers and as materials for residential and industrial buildings or as cladding of household appliances, furniture or industrial plants have a longer life, also lasting several decades, and provide longer lasting protection. A longer working life means less waste ending up in landfill sites. The sheet metal is also easy to recover and recycle.
The sheet metal is valued as it combines versatility and visual appeal. But it also provides greater safety in case of fire compared with wooden panels or plastic slabs and covers. The thin layers of paint in fact provide a limited quantity of combustible material with a lower risk of smoke and fire propagation.
Lastly, the sheet metal is completely safe as it does not pose any sort of health risk due to the paints not containing any cancerogenic substances.
Origoni Zanoletti SpA is the main Italian manufacturer of pre-painted sheet metal, which can be supplied in any colour range, degree of saturation or brightness in coils up to 1590 mm in width.