23
PRO INSTALLER APRIL 2015
PRO NEWS
@proinstaller1
Coastal properties protected
Sourcing hardware
products that will be
displayed either near
the coast or in highly
populated industrial
areas can be very difficult, as brass or zinc
based products can pit
and tarnish very quickly
due to the salt in the
air. This is particularly
evident in areas within
a 25 mile radius of the
coast, or within five
miles of high populated
industrial areas.
UAP is constantly looking
for ways to improve its ever
expanding product range,
and has developed Nanocoast® hardware; a range of
door hardware products that
are specifically designed
for the coast. Nanocoast®
products are made from 304
grade stainless steel, and
have also been salt spray
tested to ASTM B117 for
2,000+ hours. UAP offer
an industry first lifetime
coating guarantee on all Nanocoast® products, giving
confidence that the products
will not pit, rust or corrode
no matter what environments you put them in.
UAP has taken the decision to use 304 grade stainless steel, instead of 200
grade or 316 grade stainless
steel which some competitors use. As Ben Jennings,
Marketing Manager at UAP,
explains: “The reason for us
using 304 grade stainless
steel is simple; it gives the
products the best corrosion
resistance without being too
expensive. The 304 grade
is an austenitic stainless
steel which contains 18%
chromium and 8% nickel,
and has low carbon content,
giving excellent corrosion
resistance in a wide variety
of environments, and good
resistance to oxidation. It
is this 8% nickel content
which gives the corrosion
resistance at the coast.”
“Downgrading the stainless steel quality to a 200
series grade stainless steel
means that even though
they have similar mechanical and physical properties
to the 304 grade, there is
decreased nickel content.
The nickel is replaced by
manganese which results in
weak corrosion resistance
and high c