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Cost to Metalize
Recent improvements in metallizing equipment, increased spray rates and improved deposit efficiency, have brought the cost to metallize more in line with the cost to paint. Greater environmental restrictions on surface preparation (blast cleaning) have also driven up the cost of every coating, further narrowing the gap between painting and metalizing costs.
The following is an abstract of "Is Painting Structural Steel More Expensive Than Metallizing" presented at NACE International CORROSION 99, explaining that all previous assumptions on the cost of metallizing must be reviewed in light of the equipment and market changes.
From the Abstract
Protective coating by metallizing with aluminum, zinc or zinc/aluminum alloy is the most effective means of combating structural steel corrosion. This is a totally under-utilized technology in North America, both in the public sector, bridges for example, and in industry for oil production facilities on-shore and offshore, platforms, refineries, etc. Why isnt it used? The slow application rates of the old flame spray process resulted in high application costs. Todays high deposition electric arc spray equipment has much higher production rates, which help to make metallizing competitive with high performance paints even on a first cost basis. Another obstacle to the use of metallizing is the lack of a clear, concise procedure for evaluating life cycle cost (LCC). Owners and engineers who recognize the life cycle savings by metallizing will specify its use rather than painting and re-painting.
Conclusion
- Most owners have always accepted that life cycle costs of metallizing are less than for painting, but were put off by initial costs, which were 2-3 times higher. Now that high capacity arc spray guns are replacing old flame spray technology, the initial cost premium for metallizing is less than 40% for many applications and old cost assumptions must be revisited.
- In order to eventually control maintenance coating and re-coating cost, the longest maintenance interval and the lowest life cycle cost (LCC) materials and processes must be used. Otherwise, the maintenance-coating deficit will continue to grow.
This document, "Is Painting Structural Steel More Expensive Than Metallizing", is available from NACE International in Houston. It is paper #299 from CORROSION 99 held in San Antonio, Texas, April 1999.
For additional information on the cost or selling price for the metallized coating, see the section headed Federal Highway Administration paper entitled "Illinois Metallizing Project, I-80 over Route 30".
We also look forward to the publication of a paper presented at the June 2000 International Bridge conference entitled Metallizing Finally in the Mainstream!! De-leading and Metallizing for Less Than $10.00 Per Square Foot. This is a study of three rolled beam bridges metalized on-site along the New York State Thruway.
Albany, NY -- The New York State Thruway continues its on-site metalizing program. Twenty or more overpass bridges have been or are to be metalized this summer. In addition, the substructure of the Castleton Bridge, a Hudson River crossing, is now being metalized. We will provide more details, including photographs, at a later date.
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