Coated steel mimics weathered steel, maintains thin-gauge structural integrity

United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) has developed COR-TEN AZP®. Created by coil-coating the company's GALVALUME® steel sheet substrate, the product mimics the color and texture of weathering steel while maintaining thin-gauge structural integrity.

Suitable for exterior architectural applications, the coated steel is designed to provide lasting color and texture finish. Prepainting metal before fabrication and installation provides a coating superior to postpaint application, states the company. It offers uniform coverage of the metal that helps eliminate edge-to-edge and side-to-side variability and reduce corrosion.

The paint finish system includes a PVDF primer, a brown topcoat, and a contrasting overlay print. The topcoat contains infrared reflective pigments to make it a "cool roof" product, meeting energy codes and standards in many areas. These multiple layers of paint require a two-pass process and a print-roll to apply the contrasting overlay. However, the process is simplified by working with a coil coater on an automated, continuous-loop prepaint system.