FAQ's

Picklex® 20 One Step Metal Prep. is a “Value Added Green Product” which is water based, ready to use and performs multiple jobs in one step. Picklex® 20 completely removes light mill oil, cutting fluid, flash rust/white rust, provides a pre-treatment/conversion coating, Converts 100% mill scale/pitted Rust to a Weldable & Paintable Conversion coating, seals the coating and stops the oxidation process, all in one simple step without Rinsing, resulting in a rust/contamination free surface. It completely prepares the metal surface (both ferrous & non-ferrous) for a very long-term indoor rust protection in any Humidity condition (8 – 10 years), welding and finishing, such as priming, liquid painting, electrostatic painting, powder coating etc.

Picklex 20 can be applied on any type of metal (ferrous & non-ferrous) such as carbon steel, stainless steel, galvanized steel, aluminum etc.

No. Sanding or blasting is not needed. Picklex 20 in one step completely prepares the new metal surface by cleaning, providing with pre-treatment/conversion coating & seal the coating, ready for welding & top coating after complete drying without using any sanding, blasting or use of any other chemical (such as, Acid, Phosphate, Chromate etc.).

Picklex 20 is a water-based & water soluble product and is very safe and easy to use.

Wear ordinary rubber gloves and safety eye glasses to protect your eyes.

Brushing, Spraying, Dipping, Wiping etc.

Yes, Picklex® 20 Can be applied right on the bare metal surface (New or Blasted surface) including on mill scale for Hot rolled steel with or without visible rust. It can also be applied on Mill scale for Hot Rolled Steel and Pitted Rust (converts mill scale and pitted rust to a weldable & Paintable Conversion coating, exceeds Specification). Picklex® 20 is a pre-treatment/conversion coating which is used to provide much better bonding with the top coating and much longer corrosion resistance (paint life) compared to the same paint job performed on the sanded or blasted metal surface.

Apply very less product on the metal surface. The coating should be just one extremely thin coating. It becomes a part of the metal surface with almost zero thickness. Any excess chemical on the metal surface becomes a residue which can affect bonding and corrosion resistance (Paint life).

Apply Picklex® 20 by spraying and/or brushing, after one minute wipe off or blow off the excess chemical completely down to the metal surface to avoid having any residue, which can affect proper Adhesion and Corrosion resistance (Paint life). Air dry. For Welding application, heat dry with a heat gun or Welding torch.

no

YES, before the coating starts to dry on the surface to avoid having any residue, which will affect proper drying and Adhesion with the top coating

Yes. Welding can be performed over the coating after complete drying. For Hot rolled steel, the mill scale does not have to be removed. It will get converted 100% to a Weldable Conversion coating. Provides much better welding than AWS or ASME code welding. The coating enhances the welding (does not cause hydrogen embrittlement). Also, no weld spatter forms (Anti-spatter)

NO. Sanding will remove the coating. Even if the surface is very smooth, the Primer & Paint will have excellent bonding.

Yes. Do Not use Self Etching primer. For Indoor application, Primer may not be needed. Just Paint will provide a very long term corrosion resistance indoor.

Yes. For outdoor application, a Primer along with the Paint will provide longer Corrosion resistance (Paint life).

Just wash the chemical with large amount of water. Unlike acid, Picklex® 20 does not etch the metal surface while removing the rust and therefore no heavy metal goes in the waste water (not a hazardous waste).

Yes, Picklex® 20 completely converts 100% rust and heat scale (such as mill scale) to a conversion coating over which Welding and Painting can be performed after complete drying (for hot rolled steel, the mill scale does not have to be removed for welding and the weld strength will still be higher compared to the welding performed after completely removing the mill scale as per AWS specification (American Welding Association). Priming and/or painting can also be performed over converted rust or scale. Note: For heavy rusted steel, the lose rust on the surface should be removed completely by wire-brush before applying Picklex® 20.

Yes, dipping a heavy rusted tool/part or hot rolled steel with mill scale or Heat treated metal (with no oil and dry) for few hours in Picklex® 20 will de-rust, de-scale, pickle, condition the metal and provide a conversion/protective coating, Seal the coating, all at the same time. Strain the bath to remove all rust/scale particles and re-use Picklex® 20 until consumed completely. For larger operation, the Rust/Scale is removed by Pump & Filtering system.

Since the Body Filler is sanded to bond with the Primer, it is better to apply the Body filler over the Primer. Sanding Picklex 20 coating will remove the coating.

Just wipe of the dust with a damp cloth with water. Then completely Dry. Do not use any metal cleaner, Paint thinner, wax remover etc., because it will react with Picklex 20, which will result in Paint bonding failure.

More than 8 – 10 years. Duration depends on the location (near coastal area or not).

Do not use any other chemical with Picklex® 20, because it can react and the coating resulting in Paint failure.

It is a part of the coating and not rust. The color of rust is orange, not brown. Do not have to remove, just prime over. Note: If rinsed and oven dried during Powder coating, the Steel surface will have Brownish color, which is a part of the coating.

The freezing temperature of Picklex 20 is – 40°F . Just keep it in a warm place until completely thawed or heat the chemical (there should be no solid chemical left) and it will come back to the original condition.

Indefinite, when stored indoors in a shaded area, under any Humidity condition.

Yes. Picklex® 20 coating can withstand around 2000°F. High temperature Paint/Coating, Ceramic coating etc. can be used on this coating.

For indoor application, just painting over Picklex® 20 coating will provide years of paint life without using any primer.

Yes, powder coating can be performed over Picklex® 20 coating with excellent adhesion and corrosion resistance. However, to speed up the process in this case, rinsing can be performed to completely remove the excess Picklex® 20 from the metal surface and then immediately completely oven dried before powder coating. Do Not Air Dry.

Picklex® 20 will not damage paint. But leaving the chemical for a long time may dull the paint. Just wipe off the chemical with wet cloth.

Yes, it is extremely cost effective (for New metal surface, it comes out Zero Cost due to the elimination of Grinding, Blasting and Re-work, saving a lot of Labor, Time & Cost. Picklex® 20 has a very large coverage (around 1600 sq. ft. per gallon) and need only one very thin coat. So the product cost comes out to be few Cents per sq. ft. with very less labor time. Also, it cuts down a lot of conventional steps such as sanding, blasting, re-work etc., saving a lot of labor, time, cost and energy. On top of that, the very long Shelf life of Picklex® 20 eliminates any waste. In fact, Picklex® 20 is a “Value Added Product”.

DOT – Shipped as Non-hazardous chemical (Class 55) IATA – Not regulated    RoHs – Contains no banned chemical listed in RoHs

Yes, Picklex® 20 is being shipped to overseas countries by Fed Ex, DHL, UPS or Post Office (express international mail). Also, it can be shipped by Ocean Freight (do not wrap the parts in Plastic, due to condensation. Put the parts inside a box and wrap the box with shrink wrap to avoid water getting inside the box).

Please contact by e-mail to find out the total charges with shipping cost.

Yes, Picklex 20 replaces Alodine and Wash Primer with Chromate, exceeding the quality requirements/Specification.