Staying at the Coast? Use these Cleaning Tips for your Powdercoated Gate
Owning a home in suburbs located near the ocean has its advantages-- proximity to the beach and favorable weather all year round are just a few. However, if your gate and fence are made from steel, the salinity in the humidity will damage them if you do not take preventive measures. Powder coating, therefore, provides an opportunity to prolong the life of your steel gate. Note that the coat needs proper maintenance to perform its protective function. The following pointers will help you to achieve this:
Low-Pressure Cleaning -- Every once in a while, your gate needs some cleaning. Over time, dirt particles and salt build up in joints and crevices. Such buildup speeds up the breakdown of the powder coating. However, do not just take a hard brush and soapy water and start scrubbing away. Powder coated products should be treated differently when it is time to clean them. Pressure cleaning is the preferred method of cleaning such a surface. It is, however, important to use low pressure. If the pressure is too intense, then the chances are that you will damage the powder coat. Low pressure, on the other hand, removes the dirt and accumulated salt while preventing chipping to the powder coat.
Mild Detergents -- Water alone will not get the dirt off your powder coated gate. However, that does not mean that you should use any surface cleaning detergent you come across. Powder coating is sensitive to harsh cleaning detergents, especially those that contain solvents or petroleum-based chemicals. Nonetheless, telling if a detergent is safe for your powder-coated gate or not might be difficult. One way of going around this difficulty is to find out whether you need gloves or not when handling the detergent. If no gloves are needed, then the cleaning agent is safe for the coat. However, if gloves are necessary, keep such detergents away from the surface of the coating. Mild soap is the best detergent to use on your coated gate.
Clean in Early Morning -- The temperature in coastal suburbs in Australia can soar to unprecedented levels during the day. As such, the time of day you choose to clean your gate is critical. It is recommended that powder coated surfaces should be cleaned only when the surface is below 25 degrees Celsius. Since environmental temperature is relatively low during the early morning, warm water will not affect the powdered surface during the rinsing stage. However, at midday, direct sunlight heats up the coating and destroys it.