Cleanliness and surface pretreatment in coating technology

Surface cleanliness and surface activation are essential prerequisites for subsequent coating processes to ensure long-lasting product properties. For this reason, the Department of Coating Systems and Painting Technology conducts research on materials and processes for pretreating substrates. This is supported by operational tests in the robotics laboratory, chemical and physical analysis and computer simulations. The focus is on process optimization, equipment design, and the elimination of errors. The range of pretreatment processes considered includes blasting, wet chemical processes, mechanical cleaning techniques, CO₂ cleaning, brushing, air cleaning and many more. Often, both cleaning and surface activation are important to ensure good coating adhesion and the absence of paint flaws (craters, dirt inclusions, etc.).