3 min read
STATIC ELECTRICITY, THE ENEMY TO THE PERFECT PAINT JOB
WHAT IS STATIC?
Static electricity is caused by an imbalance of electric charges on the surface of a material. It can be created by two surfaces contacting each other and separating. One of the surfaces has a high resistance to electric current and therefore becomes the insulator.
Static can be caused when rubbing the panel in the process of paint preparation. for instance, plastic bumpers.
The action of you rubbing the panel or “tacking off” means you are causing patches of positive and negative charged electrons on the panel. These charged electrons electrical will stay on the panel until corrected or ionized.
WHAT PROBLEMS DOES IT CAUSE
This static charge will stay on the panel until it can be eventually discharged creating a problem when spray painting the now negatively and positively charged panel
The metal particles of the paint react to the electrostatic phenomenon in the same way iron fillings react when placing a magnet above them. They are attracted and point in different directions. This is what causes shadows etc.
The painter’s skill could correct this slightly during application but this would mean using more material and more costs and possible faults.
Any metallic particles in the spray paint will be attracted and repelled by these differences in potential and this creates many problems, such as:
- Attracting dust and dirt particles
- Dark edges or shading
- Halo’s
- Blending problems
- Colour match problems
- Uneven application
- Patches
- Excess paint material used
These problems can be expensive to correct costing you time and money!
Static is particularly strong in corners such as bumper panels or holes in the panel such as light fittings. These open circles cause a “Faraday Effect” exacerbating the incorrect alignment of particles.
HOW CAN I REMOVE STATIC
The only effective way to remove static during the painting process is by using ionised air to change the polarity of the panels charge and make it more even.
We do this by firing negatively charged ions in an airflow onto the panel using an Anti-Stat gun such as the StarFinish Anti Static Gun.
ALL ABOUT PING PONG BALLS
Think of the lots of red ping pong balls stuck on a panel. You load up your gun with black ping pong balls and fire these at the plastic panel.
The black ping pong balls try to knock the reds off the panel and replace them. Do this well enough and you can knock all the red ping pong balls off, producing a panel with only black ping pong balls.
ADVANTAGES
Once static has been eliminated painting the panel now has the following advantages
- Improve metallic lay
- Increase Output
- Increase profitability (reducing times, reworks or material used)
- Reduces “Faraday effect” (the effect between plastic and metal surfaces)
Having to re-paint or rework due to dust is a long and expensive process but it can be avoided.
STAR FINISH Anti-Stat Gun neutralizes the parts to be painted and dust is no longer attracted.
WHAT DOES IT CHANGE?
The use of the Starfinish Anti-Stat Gun improves quality and eliminates an unfriendly key factor: STATIC ELECTRICITY!
The results are astonishing and they guarantee you:
- An important decrease of dust, going up to its complete disappearance.
- A decrease of extra paint thickness due to the homogeneous straying of the metal particles.
- A perfect uniformity between the different materials, as of the plastic bumper and the metal wing, which is best known as the “Faraday effect”.
- A top-quality result with no extra work, such as polishing, nor any other inconveniences all painters want to avoid.
Use the Starfinish Gun as part of your blowing of procedure every time you work or rub the panel and get fantastic results.
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