Color-coated Stainless Steel
Color-coated Stainless Steel Brings Color to Your Garden
Coating metal garden objects in arbitrary colors means nearly indefinite design options. Gartenmetall® offers all known color shades according to RAL or DB. For all surfaces in the garden we recommend the use of textured paint, which is less vulnerable to irregularities and staining.
Just to let you know: The definitely most popular surface in the last years has been RAL 7016, grey-anthracite, fine structure.
Plant trough, color-coated in grey-anthracite, RAL 7016, fine structure
Why stainless steel as a basic material?
Because of our longtime experience with different materials we have come to produce all our color-coated objects only from high-quality stainless steel as a basic material. This is no low priced variant but it guarantees a long product life and many advantages that – in our opinion – multiply justify a higher price.
- In the case of scratches and signs of wear there is no risk of corrosion. Repair with the included color is easy and a rebuild of all layers is not necessary.
- In combination with stainless steel elements like water inlets, bolts, fittings etc. contact corrosion cannot be avoided if a different basic material is used. That is a risk which we can eliminate.
- The occurring crevice corrosion with steel sheets that overlap or that are slotted is always a challenge. The cracks have to be closed by seal welding which inevitably leads to warping due to heat. This problem is avoided by using color-coated stainless steel sheets.
- Stainless steel as basic material is much stabler as the soft and less expensive aluminum. If used for large areas aluminum is very vulnerable to bulges.
- In case of large-scale elements hot-dip galvanized steel is only partly suitable, because it often warps and forms bulges when zinc-coated. Furthermore the color-coating does not stick properly to the adhesive primer. In the worst case it flakes off the hot-dip galvanized surface after a few years (see example).
- Garden metal objects made from cheap steel sheets as basic material have – without maintenance and care – a product life of less than 10 years.
For the mentioned reasons Gartenmetall® has started using high-grade stainless steel as a basic material for color-coated metal garden objects, even if the tender offer dictates cheaper steel or aluminum.
Powder-coating or Varnishing?
Often we are asked for powder-coated objects. Instead of powder-coating we absolutely recommend a varnished surface, as scratches which might occur during installation or use can be easily recoated.
Coloring according to DB or RAL?
The DB-shade card is meant to show colors that were primarily used with the Deutsche Bahn (German railway). The colors contain the effect pigment engmicaceous iron ore in comparison to the colors of the RAL-color-system.
Layer Thickness of Color Coatings
The quality of the color coating system in combination with the layer thickness mainly determines the quality of the color coating and thus the durability and the resistance against corrosion.
The coating system we use consists of layers with primer respectively cover layer with color pigments with a thickness of about 35 to 40 µm. That procedure results in a layer thickness of 70 to 80 µm for our simplest forms of coating systems.
With the growing thickness the corrosion resistance increases. The same is true for the life span of the metal garden objects. If a layer thickness of more than 120 µm or more than 160 µm is needed, we can realize that, too, as an extra requirement.
If stainless steel is the basic material the layer thickness is irrelevant in relation to the corrosion resistance as it is already “rustfree“. On stainless steel an adhesive primer is applied and then the cover layer with the color pigments. That is why it is then also possible to have a layer thickness under 50 µm.
Care of Color Coatings
If you want to feel happy about your metal garden objects for a very long time, remember that they need to be cared for. Please regularly check for damaged spots on the surface, so that these spots do not turn into a germ cell for surrounding color layers. Please do so at least every 6 months.
Especially the transition zone between garden object and ground is vulnerable to damage during the installation process, e.g. when objects are dragged over the ground or stalled on hard underground without protective interlayer (e.g. riprap, moraine gravel etc.). As a protective layer we absolutely recommend nonmetallic material like plastic or rubber mats.
Suggestion for Tender Templates
“basic material stainless steel, material number 1.4301, AISI 304 (V2A) or of equal value, material properties according to DIN EN 10088 – 2. Surface of visible sides according to RAL/ DB ….., color ….. fine structure varnished in the style of DIN EN ISO 12944. coating material is UV-resistant and suitable for outdoor use.”