The corrosion of steel components occurs naturally due to chemical or electrochemical processes, which cause their degradation. To protect steel structures against the loss of technical parameters, it is necessary to use special anti-corrosion coating. However, whether such protection proves successful depends on the surface to be painted. To appropriately prepare the elements before painting them with anti-corrosive paint, it is crucial to first clean the elements using sandblasting and then remove dust and degrease them.. The so prepared surface should be painted as soon as possible, as when exposed to environmental conditions, it may easily corrode. To maximize the anti-corrosion protection, the paint coating used for the steel structure elements should not be thinner than 160 micrometers.
Another method for protecting the steel elements against corrosion is their galvanization. The steel galvanization process may be performed in two ways ? using fire or thermodiffusion. Only small steel elements may be subject to thermodiffusion galvanization, due to the characteristics of this process. Therefore, only fire method may be used to protect large elements of steel structures. However, the process is not defect-free. Even though it provides good anti-corrosion protection, the steel galvanized by fire may have defects, such as discolorations or damp patches. The so prepared steel may be covered by powder paints, thanks to which the obtained elements will be resistant to corrosion and attractive from an aesthetic point of view.. Similarly as in case of painting steel with anti-corrosive paint, before putting the powder paint, it is necessary to use abrasive jet first.
