Zinga in a convenient and easy to use 500ml spray can! Ideal for touch up work and for small areas where it can be difficult to get to with a brush or a roller.
It cannot be stressed strongly enough that the key to Zinga's long life is in the thorough preparation of the steel substrate to the correct specification. Please always follow the appropriate Zinga UK specification in conjunction with the relevant Technical Data Sheets. (TDS)
The following information will give a general guide to the coating and its application.
Marine structures
remove all crustacean growth using either a UHP water-jet or a high-pressure wash-down
dry off
blast-clean to Sa2.5 cleanliness
Old or worn galvanising, thermally sprayed zinc (TSZ) or old Zinga
steam-clean to remove all contamination from porous surfaces
dry off
blast-clean as normal
New steel
steam-clean or high-pressure wash-down all surfaces
allow to dry
blast-clean to a cleanliness standard of Sa 2.5
New galvanised steel
Steam-clean
Sweep-blast the surface/s at a blast-pressure of 55 psi using a 45o nozzle angle to avoid removing any existing zinc thickness.
Cast-iron
steam-clean or high-pressure wash-down
allow to dry
blast-clean to SA2.5 cleanliness
Aluminium alloys
solvent clean as per SSPC-SP1 Standard,
blast-clean with aluminium-oxide media grade 3
vacuum surface/s before paint application
Note 1: The term "high pressure" means a minimum water-pressure of 10,000psi. Any pressures below this level will not totally remove engrained chlorides.
Note 2: The grit used on all structural steelwork must comply with 50µm and 80µm depending on the type of application). The chosen grit should always be able to achieve a blast roughness of 12.5 to 15 microns. It should be noted that UHP Blasting does not create a profile and should therefore never be used as the sole means of surface preparation. UHPAB is an excellent form of blast-cleaning for marine structures as it removes all crustacean growth, scale, engrained chlorides and invisible contaminants.
Zinga is used in a wide variety of applications which can be divided into the following:
Repair for worn or damaged hot-dip galvanising or hot metal spray
This is probably the most common use of Zinga as it requires the simplest surface preparation. Zinga's mechanism of protection is so similar to conventional galvanising that they work in complete unison, as they are merely different forms of zinc. Rather than replace galvanised assets, structures can simple have their protection “re-charged” by applying Zinga to the rough surface of the old galvanising after appropriate decontamination.
Stand alone system
Zinga provides comparable protection to conventional galvanising without the need for topcoats. Although Zinga is only available in grey (the natural colour of zinc) the significant advantage of this form of application is that the Zinga layer can be re-coated at any point in the future with the bare minimum of preparation and without compromising the integrity of the coating (see Re-charging of Zinga). Zinga on its own is often used when specifiers are unable to galvanise because the structure is already in situ or too big for the molten zinc baths. Additionally Zinga is commonly specified on delicate structures (wrought iron gates, sculptures) or when architectural demands require a higher standard of surface finish (no need to drill to de-gas, fettle).
As a primer with suitable topcoats
Not everybody likes the colour grey and with the additional protection of a compatible topcoat the coating durability offered is significantly increased. Zinga does not even have to start actively working until the topcoat has been compromised and with no underlying corrosion creep or rust bubbling the topcoat itself inevitably lasts longer (see Duplex Systems for more detail).
As protection to concrete reinforcement bars (rebars)
Widely used in countries where the available aggregate for concrete can be saline (e.g. Iran , India, Saudi Arabia), Zinganising the steel re-bars before assembly and immersion in concrete ensures vastly increased protection from corrosion without reducing the pull-out strength of the bars. Recent tests in three independent laboratories showed that Zinga had at least twice the corrosion protection of either galvanised or epoxy coated rebars.