New paint finishes

Case IH and STEYR tractors are now leaving the St. Valentin factory in Austria with an improved paint finish that is even more resistant to scratches, cracks and rust. To realize these improvements, the company invested 1.1 million Euro in the construction of new pre-treatment and painting facilities, despite all the Covid 19-related challenges. The initiative was prompted by customer interest in robust and corrosion-resistant painting, which emerged in the course of ongoing market research. In cooperation with 24 specialized manufacturers and partners, the factory developed a catalogue of solutions for painting and pre- and post-treatment. With the help of these solutions, an improved scratch-, crack- and rust-resistant high-gloss paint was developed that adheres more strongly to the metal surfaces. The key to the new paint finish is much higher pre-cleaning and pre-tempering temperatures. The tractors are now dried at 110°C instead of the previous 60°C and remain in the drying oven three times longer. Initial pre-cleaning is carried out at 55 to 60°C instead of the previous 30 to 40°C. The temperature is also five times higher. In addition, the nozzle pressure is five times higher.

„The absolutely perfect preparation of the tractor for painting is the decisive factor,“ says plant manager Hannes Wögerbauer. „After the improved pre-cleaning, we now also carry out a separate rinse in which cleaning agent residues are removed. In addition, every single molecule of moisture is eliminated in a new pre-tempering cabin and the tractor is preheated to the ideal temperature. This also dries the paint from the inside. This makes it more stable and improves its adhesion and resistance to rust.“

Further information: www.cnhindustrial.com; www.caseih.com