Frequently Asked Questions

What coating would you recommend for release?
Recommended coatings for release is PC 8-403 black, Teflon® S & FEP, PFA and Silverstone. Final decision rests on many parameters such as the material being released, cycle times, temperatures along with part configuration and tolerances.

What coating would you recommend for chemical resistance?
For harsh chemical environments Teflon® PFA is the universal choice. This is followed by Teflon® S & FEP and even Xylan® for less severe cases.

What coating would you recommend for corrosion resistance?
Generally for ordinary corrosion problems the Epoxy PC 343 or Teflon® S will perform well.

What coating would you recommend for low friction?
Friction can be reduced significantly with any of the following dry lubricants such as Teflon® PTFE, Teflon® S, XylanÆ, and Molybdenum Disulfide. Each have unique advantages based upon substrate, end use, and cycles combined with life expectancy.

What coating would you recommend for electrical insulation?
Generally tight porous free coatings are best for dielectric requirements. These typically include Epoxy PC 343, Teflon® S and Polyimide.

What is your current lead-time?
Our lead times can vary depending upon quantity, coating specifications, tooling and any post history of processing. Generally 7 – 10 work days can turn around almost all jobs or produce partial lots dependent upon customer needs. With overtime expediting cost some jobs can be completed within 1 – 5 work days dependent upon job parameters.

What is your coating thickness?
Overall thickness ranges by us have gone from .0001” to .0100”. No single coating can hit these ranges. Careful attention to all requirements must be made before determining coating thickness as well as tolerance. Please contact us for recommendations.

Do you need a print or sketch of the part to obtain a quote?
Yes. To obtain the ultimate price for a customer, nothing is better than to receive a coated part print, a bare part print, and a documented print. Since very few things are optimal in this world we will try to accommodate customer needs by pricing from a bare part, print specification sketch, email or verbal discussion.

What substrates can you coat?
The best substrates to coat are virgin stainless steel, steel and aluminum. In addition most other metallic substrates are compatible however more easily oxidized metals such as copper, brass and zinc are poor choices. In addition cast or plated alloys can cost you a variety of problems that hinder proper coating of parts. Non metallic materials such as glass, rubber and plastic can be coated but may be limited by temperature resistance to the final cure required.

What are the operating temperatures of your coatings?
We have coatings that can operate between -100°F up to 500°F continuously without effecting performance. However, since no single coating can meet all needs careful evaluations of all parameters must be tested before choosing the ultimate coating for you specific needs.

Can I expedite an order?
Yes, expedited orders covered by overtime expenditures can yield 1 – 5 day turnaround depending on coating and lot size.

Can you certify your coating under a certain military spec.?
Yes, many coatings are certified by military specifications along with Aerospace Material Specification (AMS) and customer specifications. Please contact us with your particular needs.

Do you price out a job by the square inch, square foot, etc.?
Almost every job has unique characteristics to itself, consequently square inch or square foot costs do not apply. Each job is based upon quantity, incoming inspection, surface preparation, coating requirements, tooling, inspection methods, special handling and packaging methods all of which effect final costs. We can be of major asset in all areas to reduce costs prior to specifying final needs.

What colors do you offer?
Many colors are available in our coatings. The higher the curing temperatures coupled with the higher operating temperatures reduces color choices. Green seems to be the number one customer choice with black as the second choice.

How do you control your coating thickness?
Many parameters effect thickness such as number of passes per coat, number of coats applied, viscosity of the coating, temperature of the coating and also the part, humidity, substrate being coated, final thickness to be achieved, final tolerance to be met along with fixturing and measuring methods.

Are any of your coatings biocompatible?
Yes, many coatings that we offer have met the biocompatibility testing done by our end users of which no final test results are available. However, we have tested our MCTPE Series, Zero-PFOA Coating green PTFE coating and it does meet ISO 10993-1 for less than 24 hours of implantation for medical devices into the human body or contact with body fluids. A complete copy of our test results is available to all medical device companies that request a copy.

Can you strip off old coating and re-apply new?
Yes, it is possible in many cases to strip and recoat parts. The key is that the part withstand the stripping process of 800°F burn off coupled with either grit blasting or coarse scotch brite rubbing to remove all residues. Trial and error produces optimum results.

Do you have the capability to mask off surfaces that do not require coating?
Yes, masking is possible in almost all applications. However, area to be masked, masking tolerances, specified coating, tooling requirements, processing temperatures, and final inspection methods all dictate the ability to mask a product.

Is your coating sprayed, dipped, or is it a powder coating?
All our coatings are sprayed and baked along with being water and or solvent based.

What are the curing temperatures of your coatings?
Coatings may be cured from a low of 200°F up to 800°F depending upon both the specifications of the coating and the customer requirements.

Can you process small jobs?
Yes, we have a great range in processing small jobs. We can process a small quantity of a single piece, whether it is large or small, to very large quantities. Our flexibility is your choice.

Can you process large jobs?
Yes, we are capable of gearing up to process very large quantities. We presently coat tens of thousands of product at a time with the ability to process even more.

Can you supply me a data sheet on your coatings?
Yes, written data sheets are available upon request in almost all coatings.

Can you supply me a Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDS) on your coatings?
Yes, MSDS sheets are always given upon request.

Do you have medical grade coatings?
Yes, we have many coatings that are being used in medical devices that our customers have tested to be acceptable for guidewires, corewires, springs, hypotubing, and mandrels just to name a few. Our MCTPE Series, Zero-PFOA Coating has been formally tested by us to meet ISO 10993-1 for less than 24 hour temporary implementation into the body.

What tolerances can you hold on medical device wires?
Medical devices are requiring more demanding tolerances for coated parts. Before specifying a requirement please always contact us for suggestions regarding parameters of before and after coating dimensions, masking and tolerances, coupled with overall lengths to produce the maximum acceptable results.

Do you do PTFE coating?
Yes, we offer many PTFE medical grade coatings and colors. The lowest friction is produced by green PTFE per ISO 10993-1.

Can you mask sections of medical device wires?
Yes, masking is possible but please discuss with us for optimal repeatable parameters.

Can you coat nitinol?
Yes, nitinol is definitely able to be coated for low friction applications. Please have the temperature limits for curing the coating available for discussion.

Can you coat medical device springs?
Yes, we coat millions of springs per year. Please contact us for surface finish needs along with the need of an inserted mandrel for fixturing.

What is the longest medical device wire you can coat?
Our limitation for length is 130” of wire with a maximum coated surface of 118”.

What color PTFE’s do you have?
The most common and lowest friction medical coating is green PTFE. However we do have PTFE coatings in blue, black, gray, brown, and natural.

How do you measure coating thickness?
Part configuration will usually determine the method of measuring coating thickness. We can employ many current measuring systems, along with laser micrometers and to a lesser degree bench micrometers and calipers.

How do you measure electrical insulation?
Electrical insulation value is measured via Hy-Pot tester of voltage, either AC or DC that must be met. Other methods have been employed by customer request. This latter method will dictate that the end user supply us with the same equipment that they will be testing the parts with in their facility.

What are your terms?
Our terms are net 30 upon credit approval.

Do you take any credit cards?
Yes, we take MasterCard, Visa and American Express.

Do you take electronic payments?
Yes, we frequently receive electronic payments.

How do you ship?
We will ship per customer dictate. When not specified we ship UPS, FED EX, or common carrier.

How should parts be packaged?
To keep costs down, parts should always be shipped in reusable returnable packaging to protect from damage before and after coating. Always avoid putting tape directly onto incoming parts because of leaving adhesive residue that can cripple our processing. This condition will add much time to the cleaning process. Eliminate all oils or rust inhibitors as well as foreign contamination.

What is the heaviest weight that you can handle?
Our maximum weight on a 42” square skid is 2000 lbs. Layer sizes will reduce weight limitations, please call for details.

What is the longest length?
Our maximum length is 13 feet but width, weight, and height will reduce this number.

What is the thinnest substrate?
.0020” is the thinnest substrate that we coat. However part configuration may move this number up.

Do you have any outside sales or tech people?
Yes, we have 6 people for tech support and outside assistance.

Can you recoat my fry pan?
No, our insurance dictates that we do not coat parts for home usage.

Do you sell Teflon® coating?
No, we do not sell Teflon® coating. However we do stock Teflon® coating that we can apply to your specs.

Do you offer factory tours?
Yes, we welcome customer visits to our factory. There are certain areas that are not accessible due to proprietary processing methods.

What is your warranty?
We guarantee that we will apply our coatings per manufacturer specifications and that this coating adheres properly to the substrate.

Do you pick up?
Yes. We do not have a delivery truck but in some situations we can accommodate our customers and pick up or deliver parts. We will gladly recommend a reliable courier service if needed.

Will your coating cover up scratches or blemishes?
Our coatings may cover up very minor scratches or blemishes but there is no guarantee that will be the case.

Can you meet after coating part dimensions listed on a print?
Yes, we can usually meet the after coating dimensions on a print. To do this we must know all the before coating dimensions that are listed on the print. We can not guarantee meeting any numbers unless they are agreed to before our processing.

What is the wear life or how long will your coating last?
There is no standard allotted wear life of a coating. It must be tested in each particular working environment. There are a lot of factors that will determine the life of the coating. Cycle times, temperatures, chemical environment, abrasive atmosphere, as well as the type of coating applied.

Is the coating FDA approved?
There is no such thing as a blanket FDA approval. Each coating should be tested in the criteria dictated by its end use. We have tested our MCTPE Series PTFE coating that meets ISO-10993-1 for 24 hour temporary body implementation.

Can you coat the ID of a tube?
We offer a spray and bake process. Our throw ratio is usually twice the inside diameter on tubes open on both ends. Trial and error will determine final capabilities due to part configuration.

What size ID can you coat versus length of ID?
Approximate ratio is two times I.D. equals length to be coated on open tubing at both ends.

What is the thickest amount of coating that can be applied?
The thickest coating we apply is around .010” but is dependent upon part configuration and coating requirements.

What is the tightest tolerance that can be held on masking?
Masking tolerance is dependent upon part configuration and the coating being applied. Typical masking tolerance range is ± .060” – ± .300”

What is the tightest tolerance that can be held on coating thickness?
We can hold very tight tolerance on medical wire using our automated deposition process targeting 0.0002” +/- 0.00002”.

What is normal surface preparation?
There is no such thing as normal surface preparation. Both configuration and customer specification dictates the surface preparation. The ultimate would be solvent cleaning, preheat of 750°F to burn off any residual oil and grease coupled with a grit blast to white metal. Again, not all surfaces can withstand these treatments so parameters have to be established to meet customer needs.

What coatings do you offer?
We offer coatings in the Teflon®, PTFE, TFE, PFA, FEP, Epoxy, and Dry film families.

What methods of sterilization can be used on medical parts?
Ethylene Oxide is the preferred method of sterilization.

Are you ISO approved?
Yes, we are ISO 9001:2008 and 13485 certified. If you require a certification for your files, please contact our quality department.

Do you have a quality manual?
Yes we do have a quality manual and our Q.C. manager will be happy to meet with you to discuss the manual and our procedures.

Can we conduct a quality audit at your facility?
Yes, you can conduct a quality audit at our facility. We have many per calendar year. Please call our Quality Control Manager to set up an appointment at (781) 329-1420.

What quality standard do you meet?
Our quality control program is based on Mil-I-45208A, Mil-STD-45662, C=0 Sample Plan.

Do you have any bio-testing done on your coatings?
Many coatings that we offer have met the biocompatibility testing done by our end users of which no final test results are available. However, we have tested our MCTPE Series green PTFE coating and it does meet ISO 10993-1 for less than 24 hours of implantation for medical devices into the human body or contact with body fluids. A complete copy of our test results is available to all medical device companies that request a copy.

How late are you open? What are your hours?
The hours of operation are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST for all departments including our shipping and receiving team. Our production department is running two shifts and is able to work extra hours to meet our customers’ delivery requirements.