Flash rust occurs on metals within minutes to a few hours after the cleaning process is complete. The speed with which flash rusting occurs may be indicative of contamination with salt on the surface and the combination of high humidity.

 

As wet cleaning methods have increased, so have the prevalence of flash rust and the need to look at solutions or strategies to prevent it. In this Alphatek Blog, we have discussed how to flash rust affects your substrate and will provide you with three tips to help prevent it.

 

What Is Flash Rust?

Flash rust is the very rapid onset of rust on a metal substrate, It can happen in minutes or hours and can occur on any surface. Generally, Flash rust is a build-up of iron particles that have formed together on another metal surface.

 

According to the SSPC Protective Coatings Glossary (PCG), flash rust is “rusting that occurs on metal within minutes to a few hours after cleaning is complete. The speed with which flash rusting occurs may be indicative of salt contamination on the surface, high humidity, or both.”

 

As wet cleaning methods have increased, so has the prevalence of flash rust – and the need to look at solutions or strategies to prevent it. Fortunately, preventing flash rust is a simple time management issue in nearly all cases.

 

How To Prevent Flash Rust 

The key thing to take away from this blog is understanding flash rust so you can avoid or prevent it from happening to your metal substrate. Now you’ve learnt what it is, we are going to give you a deeper understanding of this type of corrosion.

 

Avoid Jet Washing Or Blast Cleaning

This type of corrosion occurs from any type of surface preparation or wet blasting using water, whether it be sprayed or comes directly in contact with your metal. The rust then develops within hours and sometimes as quick as minutes.

 

Flash rust can occur from any type of wet surface treatment, the thing to be aware of and take note of is rusting development, especially from ultra-high-pressure solutions like jet washing.

 

Use Quality Water 

One of the big contributors to flash rust is water quality. Some companies may need to pull water out of a well on a job site, and as a result, the water has a very high chloride content. After oxygen, chlorine is the next most reactive element.

 

A pumping system or filtered water are great ways to reduce the risk. A pumping system squeezes the majority of the contamination out and reduces the chloride levels.

 

Make Sure Your Metal Is Free From Contaminants

Salts and chlorides are big contributors to contamination of the surface, but in a lot of cases what you’ll find is that there were already some particles of rust when the steel was formed.

 

Several different companies make corrosion inhibitors, surface passivation or metal coatings that can help prevent rust. Some manufacturers recommend mixing with water and using it when jet washing. This allows the water to get deep into the profiles with wet or vapour abrasive technology and flush the salts and chlorides out of those deep grooves, leaving a much cleaner surface.

Alphatek: Anti-Corrosion Coating Specialists

We, Alphatek, have a combined total of 100 years of coating expertise. We have experienced and managed a variety of corrosion-specific problems, check out our case studies.

 

Over the years we have developed a close relationship with our customers. This has allowed us to develop specific products to suit certain industries and applications. We develop our anti-corrosion coatings to deliver the best value, most effective thermal spray coatings solution, first time, every time and with a stress-free service that suits everyone.

 

For Metal Spraying and Thermal Spray Coating specialists, we have you covered. You can call us directly on 01706 821021, or you can email us at postbox@alphatek.co.uk.

 

Alternatively, if you’d like to visit us we are located 20 miles north of Manchester. Just be wary of our opening times.