Food Grade Paint

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Help !, I am desperately trying to locate a source for food-grade paint to paint my galvanized extractor, and every paint store I have tried is unable to help. They can supply paint for "incidental food contact" but say its unsuitable for the extractor.
Any product names or sources for the paint anyone can help me with would sure be appreciated.

the only use for a galvanised extractor is either as scrap or a planter in the garden. Painted with 'food safe' paint or not it's unsuitable for extracting honey for human consumption

 

[pargyle]

Help !, I am desperately trying to locate a source for food-grade paint to paint my galvanized extractor, and every paint store I have tried is unable to help. They can supply paint for "incidental food contact" but say its unsuitable for the extractor.
Any product names or sources for the paint anyone can help me with would sure be appreciated.

You have a problem painting galvanised surfaces ...having spent half a working life in the industrial paint spraying industry it's very difficult to get any paint coating to stick to a zinc galvanised surface - they were never intended to be painted. Zinc is very soft because the zinc atoms are very loosely bonded. If they are made to interact with a surface coating they tend to release their bond to the other adjacent zinc atoms and form attachments to whatever forms the basis of the attached coating. It's called molecular migration. I used to turn down projects that involved recoating galvanised surfaces and told clients they were wasting their mone - the paint will, generally, peel off in time.

There are products you can apply such as zinc chromate which effectively bonds with the galvanised surface and because the zinc bonds with that and zinc chromate has more stable molecules you can then paint on that ... but it's not foodsafe and I would not like to even think about it let alone risk it.

Put the galvanised extractor on ebay - somebody will buy it - and invest in a food safe plastic one or stainless steel. It's not worth the risk of trying to recoat galvanised vessels to a food safe state ...

Even if you tried the paint is going to cost half of what another extractor will cost. It looks as though you may be in the USA ? The food regs over there are even more draconian than in the UK so you might want to consider that ...

 

[PeaBee]

Some blasts from the past on this thread!
I work in food safety and would echo what has already been said the cost of of bringing the extractor up to the required standard is probably not worth it and would be better spent on one that is manufactured using modern food safe materials.
I can not really envisage a DIY paint job being adequate.

 

[victor meldrew]

Some blasts from the past on this thread!
I work in food safety and would echo what has already been said the cost of of bringing the extractor up to the required standard is probably not worth it and would be better spent on one that is manufactured using modern food safe materials.
I can not really envisage a DIY paint job being adequate.

PTFE powder coating is extensively used by the food processing industry.
Where high volumes pass. Through their system up to 200 o C

 

[Newbeeneil]

PTFE powder coating is extensively used by the food processing industry.
Where high volumes pass. Through their system up to 200 o C

That's a bit different than diy painting!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

PTFE powder coating is extensively used by the food processing industry.

That's a bit different than diy painting!

and still probably cheaper to buy a new extractor and use the old one as a planter

 

[victor meldrew]

That's a bit different than diy painting!

Plenty of powder coating companies around

 

[Newbeeneil]

Plenty of powder coating companies around

Yes but as JBM says it’s not cheap!

 

[Erichalfbee]

also thank you for your help

How did it go? Did you get a work around?

 

[ericbeaumont]

products you can apply

For steel vehicle chassis that have been galvanised a mordant solution (aka T-wash) will etch the surface to enable paint to adhere.

Stated to be phosphoric acid-based etchant in a blend of Alcohol, Glycol Ether and water and containing a copper salt as a colour change indicator.

For those in need of a winter diversion, here's the excellent Maximus Ironthumper T-washing his restored & galvanised Land Rover Series chassis.

Essential on an old Land Rover, definite no-no for honey equipment.