The right technology, not the best-selling one.
Choosing and applying the coating the application calls for — and saying so when the simpler one already solves it.
A coating is not chosen by name. It is the answer to a set of requirements that comes from the asset, and the one who holds those requirements is the project — not the coater’s catalog.
That is why Sapucaia keeps lines that compete with each other. Alkaline zinc solves what zinc-nickel would solve with room to spare, at a fraction of the cost. NanoGalv® delivers what neither of the other two delivers, and only pays off where stopping costs more than the part. The fluoropolymer adds controlled friction and a chemical barrier, and does not replace the galvanic protection underneath.
Our sales team is there to run that calculation with you, including when it concludes that the simplest system is enough.
Four criteria, in this order.
They are what turns “I need zinc” into a designation that passes an audit.
The asset’s environment
Industrial atmosphere, permanent salt spray, immersion, the seabed. It is what separates alkaline zinc from zinc-nickel, and zinc-nickel from NanoGalv®. Finish color does not enter that calculation — black zinc and black zinc-nickel look the same on the part and differ by almost an order of magnitude in the field.
The end customer’s standard
It fixes class, type and thickness, and it is the first thing an audit checks. When the drawing carries the standard, our sales team has nothing to guess: it returns the complete designation, not the name of a bath.
What the part does
A fastener that tightens under load needs predictable friction, not only protection. A component in contact with fluid needs chemical inertness. A part with a tight thread tolerance does not accept just any thickness. Function decides as much as environment.
The hydrogen risk
High-strength steel embrittles in the electrolytic bath. When the material calls for it, thermal relief goes into the route as a mandatory step, with a record — not as an optional finishing item.
Where this fits.
The right technology
This page: choosing and applying the coating the application calls for.
The finished fastener
Supply of the part already coated, instead of just the plating service.
The measured proof
Coating and alloy measurement by X-ray, with a report.
How do you choose the coating for my part?
By the asset’s environment, your end customer’s standard, the function of the part and the material’s hydrogen embrittlement risk. With the technical drawing and the coating standard, our sales team returns the system, the class and the thickness. Without them, what comes back is a price by gauge and micron, which suits a catalog fastener and not a project asset.
Do you apply any coating, or only the ones in your catalog?
We apply what is in the catalog, and it is broad: zinc-nickel and nanolaminated NanoGalv®, cadmium, alkaline zinc, PTFE Sapucaia and PPG’s Xylan®, molybdenum disulfide solid lubricant, phosphate and blasting, with hydrogen embrittlement relief when the material calls for it. Outside that list we say so up front — it is cheaper for both sides than finding out on the first delivery.
Is the right coating always the highest-performing one?
No. Specifying above what is needed costs money and sometimes gets in the way: a thicker layer can fall outside thread tolerance, and a system with an organic finish does not take the same passivation as a pure metallic one. The right choice is the one that meets the standard with the least process complexity — which is why the conversation starts from the requirement, not from the product.