COSTS FOR SURFACE FINISHING & ECONOMY
Many costs must be considered when making a calculation of expenses for the coating industry.
Personnel, material and equipment costs are significant parts. Energy, environmental protection and other production costs must be added.
The choice of coating material has an impact on the above mentioned expenses, and therefore the price per litre of material is not such an important factor, whilst making a general calculation of the expenses is much more important.
The production cycle has a serious influence on the personnel expenses.
The time of the production cycle is directly linked with the drying time, the number of applied coats and sanding operations etc.
To reduce the production time for example, some coatings with a shorter drying time or wet-on-wet application might be used.
Energy costs are significant for the drying process.
In order to reduce the costs some coating materials with shorter drying times at a low temperature may be used.
The amounts of waste can be minimised by the usage of technologies which allow coating to be applied only onto the surface (like roller coating units) or which allow the residues (curtain coating and flow coating) to be reused.
The usage of electrostatic spraying can also reduce waste.
Coatings with good sanding properties do not need much sanding material, and thus makes savings possible.
The pot life of a coating is limited after adding the hardener.
Coatings with a longer pot life might be used the following day or even during a longer period.
It helps to avoid additional costs for the material residues and destruction costs.
Coatings with a short pot life should be applied by two component spray units.
As the price of one litre of coating does not provide a realistic expense figure, it is better to consider a coating cost per square meter.
It is therefore important to know the mix ratio of the coating, the price per litre, the viscosity and the material consumption.