Tennis Court Post Finishes
Why do we supply our tennis court posts hot dipped galvanised and alternatively, hot dipped galvanised and Polyester Powder Coated?
All of our Tennis Court posts and gates are manufactured at our in-house works from quality steel. The steel materials are cut, drilled, and welded prior to the materials being hot dipped galvanised to BSEN ISO 1461. Hot dipped galvanising is a treatment that protects steel from the ravages of the weather, slowing down the onset of rusting for many years to come.
During the galvanising process, the zinc molecules bond with the steel rather than sit on top as a coating that can be chipped away. This means all of our steel materials are protected from deterioration both inside and out. Hot dipped galvanising on average, will last 15 years depending on where in the country the posts are to be erected. Obviously the treatment is affected by pollutants as well as salt water spray that will break the zinc coating down at a greater rate than if the pollutants were not present. The Galvanising Association have produced what they call, “The Millennium Map”, which shows the country and where the higher risk of pollutants are located and then calculates the expected life span of hot dipped galvanised products within any given area of the country.
The down side to this superior coating is that the hot dipped galvanising process is deemed an industrial finish as it is used in all manner of construction projects and can leave galvanised globules on the posts. This means that sometimes there will raised spots or marks on the posts that cannot be eliminated without disturbing and affecting this important protective coating. If disturbed, the protective properties offered by the galvanising process are compromised and the rust proofing properties that the process has added, will then not be fully in place and rusting will occur earlier.
For a number of years we have stopped wet painting our tennis court fencing for several reasons. The first being finish and we now have our colour coated posts Polyester Powder Coated. This coating is applied by electro-charging the galvanised steel materials which in turn attracts the sprayed Polyester Powder. This process means the coloured powder coats the posts and gates evenly and smoothly. This superior finish that cannot be achieved by an average person and a paint brush!
The second reason we do not paint our posts is cost. The labour cost of someone firstly etching the galvanised posts with chemicals, which enables the paint to stick, then washing the posts down and waiting for them to dry before applying the paint. (All of which will have to be done on a dry day or under cover!), vastly outweighs the costs of polyester powder coating to BSEN 6497. It is a recognised fact in the industry that having the combination of a hot dipped galvanising and then applying a polyester powder coated finish can ensure the finished product has a life span of over twenty years.
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