For many years Faber had evaluated the possibility of hot dip galvanizing (HDG) its scuba diving cylinders. Extensive research has been carried out and many trials and tests have been performed in order to evaluate the industrial process and the performance of the coating in relation to the more commonly used hot zinc spraying process.
In the case of HDG, (Hot Dip Galvanizing) taking into account the large number of cylinders manufactured by Faber, would imply a considerable negative impact on the environment. In addition, the temperature at which the HDG is undertaken is quite high (around 450°C) and could affect the final properties of the steel cylinders (it is worth noting that most periodic inspection and test documents limit temperature of steel cylinders to around 350°C during all parts of the retest cycle).
HDG has also been known to cause an embrittlement of the steel material, due to the evolution of hydrogen during the initial pickling stage of the overall HDG process with the hydrogen getting absorbed into the steel.
On a separate note, when it comes to surface finish, our studies have shown that the performance of the top coat is not acceptable when applied on HDG treated cylinders. This is often related to the criticality of surface preparation when a top coat paint is applied.
Thus after careful deliberation of other available coating processes, Faber has decided not to adopt the HDG process and has instead optimized its production cycle involving hot zinc spraying coupled with a primer + top coat of paint, which gives the best trade-off between corrosion resistance and an attractive appearance.
Our clients appreciate and are accustomed to the winning look of Faber cylinders, not to mention the beneficial effects that our approach has towards the environment.
