Halar® ECTFE, PTFE, Xylan®, Rilsan® Nylon, Ryton® (PPS), FEP, Epoxy, and more: Advanced Industrial Coatings provides expert applications for hundreds of brand-name and custom chemical resistant coatings.
Manufacturers who work with parts that must resist strong chemicals are almost always on the lookout for a coating that will last longer, resist better, and deliver more secondary properties (such as high purity, abrasion resistance, non-stick, autoclavability, etc.). The coating engineers at AIC are known for coming up with creative solutions to unique chemical resistance issues, saving cost and providing more functionality through the combined uses of pretreatments, primers, and a number of the coatings mentioned below.
Key Chemical Resistant Coatings Applied at AIC and their Properties
Halar ECTFE® and Tefzel® (ETFE)
Both of these coatings are top picks for chemical resistance applications because they combine excellent chemical resistance and barrier strength with mechanical toughness, abrasion resistance and durability. While Halar ECTFE is the best known and most relied-upon of the two, Tefzel is also a well-rounded coating that can provide excellent protection while saving some cost. Halar ECTFE is produced by Solvay Solexis. Tefzel ETFE is a DuPont product.
Phenolic PTFE products, including epoxy-based phenolics
These coatings can provide an excellent blend of properties while offering good resistance to acids; however we don’t recommend these coatings for resistance to strong solvents or strong alkalis.
Xylan® and other PTFE coatings
If a thin-film chemical resistant coating is required, Xylan by Whitford Worldwide, DuPont Performance Coatings and other PTFE products provide excellent stability under chemical exposure. However, it’s important to work with a sophisticated applicator who can offer guidance about application techniques and possible layering of multiple coatings. While these coatings provide good chemical resistance, they can also be porous, meaning that the coating itself will resist the chemical, but the chemical may be allowed to seep through to the underlying substrate if the coating is applied as an extremely thin film. AIC provides Xylan coating applications for the full range of Xylan products, including Xylan XLR, Xylan 1010, Xylan 1014, Xylan 1070, Xylan 1052, Xylan 1424, Xylan 1427, Xylan 1425, and more.
Ryton® (PPS)
Ryton is a frequent choice for companies who want the properties of Halar ECTFE but need a thinner coating application. It provides strong resistance to acids and alkalis, but may not be the right choice if you need a coating that will stand up to extreme solvents.
PFA and FEP
These coatings – either alone or layered in with other thin-film coatings – can be great choices for chemical resistance. They are very well balanced, less porous than PTFE, and can resist higher temperatures. PFA and FEP are frequently selected by companies that have an intense focus on high performance.
Rilsan® Nylon
Nylons aren’t known for chemical resistance properties. But in our work with nylon, we’ve found that in certain situations, nylon can resist acids fairly well, and some alkalis. If you need an autoclavable coating that resists acids, we might recommend you do a test with nylon.
AIC applies an enormous number of other chemical resistant coatings from major and specialty coating manufacturers including Solvay Solexis, Axalta (DuPont), Whitford Worldwide, Chevron Philips Chemical, Arkema, and more.
Our most typical applications of chemical resistant coatings for chemical processing parts include:
- Pipes and valves for chemical and wastewater processing facilities
- Pipes, valves and robotic parts for subsea / offshore drilling (where both chemical resistance and saltwater resistance are issues)
- Exhaust systems for chemical processing facilities and semiconductor manufacturers
AIC offers an environmentally climate controlled area for scientific applications. Originally designed for our medical device manufacturers, AIC’s control room is now utilized by a variety of companies with strict quality needs.