Comparing Zircotec's Ceramic Coating with Ceramic Paint Products
Fine ceramic powder (e.g. alumina) is sometimes used in paint as a relatively low cost and inert filler material alongside talc, quartz, lime, clay, etc. Paint for use at high temperature will often have an increased ceramic filler content (up to 30%) to extend its life and protect pigments that are present. These paints are mostly used for aesthetics or for corrosion protection.
These paint products do also offer some limited thermal barrier performance, though this performance is inevitably compromised by the limited amount of ceramic present, the formulation of the ceramic used, and the relatively low thickness to which a paint can be applied. These paints are still marketed as "ceramic coatings" or sometimes as "liquid ceramic" coatings, and there are a number of companies that will apply these material to customer parts, normally by dipping or spray painting.
How does a Zircotec® ceramic coating compare with a paint?
The following table show some of the key comparitors between the Zircotec Performance RangeTM and a "liquid ceramic" type paint from a leading suppler.
|
|
Zircotec's coating |
Typical Ceramic Paint |
|
Ceramic content (by wt.)
|
>99% |
<30%
|
|
Type of ceramic |
Mostly very high performance Zirconia
|
Alumina, titania, etc. |
|
Typical coating thickness |
~0.3mm |
<0.03mm
|
|
Method of application
|
Plasma-sprayed using molten ceramic at ~10,000oC
|
Spray-painted or dipped in paint bath. |
|
Adherance
|
"Welded" in place so very firmly adhered.
|
Painted, so suceptable to peeling and flaking. |
|
Performance |
~33% drop in the temperature of the coated surface.
|
Small drop in surface temperature. NB. paint suppliers offer no specific data.
|
|
|
Significant reduction in heat transfer, so under bonnet temperature drop by as much as 50°C.
|
Small reduction in surface temperature. NB paint suppliers offer no specific data. |
|
Guarantee
|
3 years (1 year motorsport). |
Legal minimum. |
