Smooth prepainted aluminium sheet means a sheet on which no graphics or textures in relief have been impressed, and which has been covered with a coating. In particular, coating refers mainly to a paint that is applied to the previously degreased and pre-treated metal surface. The lacquer can be of different colors and can have different purposes based on the final use of the product.
How many types of sheet metal are there?
However, the smooth prepainted aluminium sheet is not the only existing type of sheet. The sheets, in fact, can be in other materials such as steel, brass and copper; they can be cold or hot rolled and can be bare or pre-painted. Depending on the material and the manufacturing process, they are used in different markets. For example, steel sheets are mainly used in the automotive industry; those of copper in agriculture and those of brass in interior architecture.
What does prepainted mean?
Unlike the other metal sheets listed, aluminium ones are often pre-painted. But what does prepainted mean? Pre-coated metal is produced by the continuous addition of paint or coating film to metal strips, primarily steel and aluminum. This process is called coil coating: a highly efficient process for coating metal strips before manufacturing finished components, providing a high quality, uniform and reproducible surface finish.
The pre-coated metal industry is a well-developed world industry with more than 40 years of history. Production is nearly 15 million tons per year of pre-painted steel and nearly 1 million tons per year of pre-painted aluminium. In general, pre-painted metal is used in a variety of applications: the major one concerns the construction market where the building part represents the main use. In particular, prepainted aluminum is also used in the construction of gutters, partition walls, suspended ceiling systems and a variety of ancillary components.