Enamel beats the heat
Enamel beats the heat
Keywords: Oakite Products, Crane Plumbing, Enamels, Heat resistance
Crane Plumbing have a steel stamping and porcelain enamelling plant in Dallas where summertime temperatures reach 110oF, affecting the compounds that are used to draw enamel paste from a press on to a steel tub and interfering with the cleaning compounds used to remove grease and other material from the steel, so the porcelain will adhere. The operators constantly vary their pressing operations by adjusting holding pressure or adding water to the enamel paste. Even then there were a high number of flawed products that required reworking or were rejected outright.
Crane evaluated a variety of materials before selecting the Draw Clean 36P and GardoClean SMD drawing compounds made by Oakite Products Inc. of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, to cure its summertime troubles, and began using them in the past two years. Draw Clean is a reformulated version of Oakite- fat- and soap-based Die Gard 36 drawing compound. Adding Draw Clean 36 to its press provided Oakite with a consistent drawing lubricant quality in each batch of enamel paste to produce surfaces without constant readjustments.
GardoClean SMD is a high-alkaline cleaner that Oakite uses to remove the Draw Clean 36P and other grease and soils from its press. This compound contains a natural defoamant to control the foam that the spray washer raises in cleaning the press. Indeed, Oakite partnered with Crane to make the porcelain company-six-stage power spray wash more efficient. Among other things, the process uses a diluted form of GardoClean solution with hot water to remove soil instead of a full strength version of the cleaner, and so cuts down on Crane- overall use of chemicals. Oakite also eliminated an acid cleaner prior to alkaline cleansing,because one neutralised the other.
