Cut Edge Corrosion Treatment
What is Cut Edge Corrosion and/or Peel Back?
Cut edge corrosion is the result of a design fault in the manufacture of coated metal cladding sheet and is often the Achilles Heel of a building.
Cladding is usually produced to standard sheet sizes then coated for appearance purposes and to protect from the elements, consequently manufactures provide guarantees for many years against corrosion. However, the weather we experience in the UK is a major factor in the lifespan of cladding as the constant moisture from cold and wet merely make things worse! Also, when a builder cuts the sheets to size; a thin line of exposed edge is created leaving it exposed and so prone to corrosion.
Roof spaces are often harsh(er) environments than at ground level where greater extremes of temperature and precipitation are experienced. Metal expands and contracts which could cause the factory coating to lift exposing the meatal completely ultimately delaminating completely and corrosion eating through the metal completely which, if neglected and left untreated; will eventually lead to perforation and so causing leaks within the premises and the affected cladding sheets needing to be replaced.
What is the solution?
The ideal solution would be for the manufacturers of the cladding to coat the cut edge after the cut, so that no metal is exposed at all but they do not. In addition, that doesn’t really help those with existing metal cladding roofs in the UK and even if manufacturers did start doing this, it wouldn’t solve the problem completely as there are still millions of square meters of cladding on roofs right now.
The actual workable solution is to apply a repair system to existing roofs and guarantee against corrosion or peeling for at least the next 10 years and potentially up to 15 years if required?
What does this involve?
Oakley Industrial Services Ltd work with the top suppliers of products in the UK, specifically designed to treat and then protect against Cut Edge Protection. The process is actually quite straight forward and following a free of charge site survey to establish the extent of the affected areas; involves the following:
- Thorough cleaning of the area(s) to be treated
- Mechanically remove any loose paint and corrosion by hand grinding
- Feathering-back the peeling to smooth the surface out and remove any ridges
- Application of the system to the manufacturers' specification to comply with their warranty
