Mirrors are popular additions to outdoor landscaping. Acrylic mirrors are designed to provide weatherproof reflection out of the box. However, if you desire a metal frame mirror, you will need the following processes to weatherproof the metal mirror and it will protect the frame from rusting from constant exposure to outdoor weather.
It is imperative that metal parts be adequately protected during the manufacturing process. If not properly welded or coated, iron will oxidize and rust when exposed to water and air.(see the following)
A quality metal frame mirror take important steps to prevent moisture from causing rust by applying full-circumference welds wherever iron components intersect. Craftspersons then grind and sand the welds for a seamless transition. Rough, shoddy welding is never seen in quality wrought iron mirror.
The electrophoretic coating also known as e-coating or electro-coating has a high penetration rate and can penetrate into the interior and gaps of the coating; As additional protection from weatherproof, the metal parts immersed in a paint solution contained in an electrified tank. The paint in the solution exists as ions with a positive or negative charge. When the parts are immersed in the tank, the paint migrates to the surface of the part. The paint ions gain or lose electrons at the surface of the part and are changed to solid paint that attaches to the surface. The beauty of this process is that every part of the surface is evenly coated with the paint. The high points on the part are coated first, but as they are coated they are insulated and no longer conductive. The current is then diverted to the low spots on the surface. In many ways this process is similar to electroplating.
powder coating is not a “wet” metal finishing process. Instead, it involves the use of dry powder that consists of epoxy resins and several curing agents. The metal finishing engineers use an electrostatic spray gun to exert the particles onto a substrate’s surface. Since they are charged, the particles adhere to its surface. Further, the process of powder coating uses curing as the last step in the coating process. That phase in the metal finishing technique leads particles to melt serving as a catalyst that produces the finish desired by operators, clients, or end users.
Our quality outdoor garden mirror follows a laborious, multi-step process to prevent oxidation, beginning with a wash and chemical treatment, followed by an epoxy primer protective electrophoretic undercoat, and finished with a thick polyurethane powder coating.
Post time: Jun-19-2022
