SILVER ICE®

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SILVER ICE®

SILVER ICE® Elegance that stands out in the design

Silver Ice® is one of AST’s crowning achievements. It is a product family of stainless steel with anti-fingerprint coatings designed to respond to the market need for beautiful, easy-to-clean steel that is resistant to scratches, abrasion, corrosion and chemicals.

These features have made Silver Ice® an essential element in the design and production of appliances, kitchens and open-floor-plan living rooms. Silver Ice® is entirely manufactured “in house”, with every phase of the production process carried out in AST’s Terni plants, from steelmaking to rolling and from coating to cutting.

Silver Ice® is manufactured on industrial lines with strictly controlled processes. The final products are checked and regularly subject to extensive testing in external laboratories. AST carries out ongoing research and development activities, in order to always improve existing products’ performances and offer the market new products.

Furthermore, AST offers its clients expert support on Silver Ice® products:

  • advice on the type of coating to use, depending on specifications or on usage conditions;
  • product development and co-design activities;
  • supply of sample material for prototype production;
  • assistance in using Silver Ice® products in clients’ productive processes;
  • Post-sale assistance.

SILVER ICE ®

DESCRIPTION

SILVER ICE® COATINGS PROTECT STAINLESS STEEL FROM FINGERPRINTS, STAINS AND ABRASIONS, THEREBY PRESERVING ITS SUPERIOR QUALITY AND ELEGANCE.

Transparent and only 2-3 μm thick (about 30 times thinner than a human hair), Silver Ice® coatings are almost invisible and do not impair the visual appearance of stainless steel surfaces. Silver Ice® X, the innovative coating based on solgel nanotechnology, perfectly balances ductility and surface hardness. Moreover, the varnish film dramatically extends the corrosion resistance of ferritic stainless steel grades. Silver Ice® UV is cured via an process based on ultra-violet light. This coating features an exceptional resistance to scratches, abrasions and stains; its sensitivity to heat-induced yellowing is very low.

Both products are ideal for applications which require the high-value aesthetics of stainless steel to be protected against fingerprints, stains and chemical and mechanical damage:

  • Household appliances • Kitchen implements
  • Furniture • Panels • Lifts • Escalators

Moreover, Silver Ice® products are:

  • compliant with RoHS, RoHS2 and WEEE;
  • suitable for occasional contact with food;
  • conforming to Council Directive 85/572/EEC and Commission Directive 97/48/EU;
  • certified according to EN 10204 / 3.1.

SILVER ICE ®

COATING PROPERTIES

COATING PROPERTIES

ANTI-FINGERPRINT PROPERTIES

The special transparent varnish of Silver Ice® products protects stainless steel from fingerprints, preserving its unique elegance and quality.

SUPERIOR EASY-TO-CLEAN PROPERTIES

Common dirt (dust, aerosols) and food residues can be easily removed with a soft cloth.

LASER CUTTING AND LASER WELDING

During laser cutting operations the coating is affected by a less than 1 mm-wide ablation around the cut area, without any further visual deterioration or loss of adherence. Laser welding and coating repair operations are possible (the related technical documentation is available upon request).

SILVER ICE® UV

SILVER ICE® UV PROPERTIES

FOOD AND CHEMICAL RESISTANCE

Silver Ice® UV considerably improves coated surfaces’ resistance to food and chemicals. The picture below shows the results of the exposure to several foods and common cleaning products after 1 hour at 60 °C.

SILVER ICE® X

SILVER ICE® X PROPERTIES

DUCTILITY AND FORMABILITY

Formability and ductility are two of the highlights of Silver Ice® X. A sample may be bent 180° onto itself with a bending radius equal to only twice its thickness without any pickoff or cracks appearing on the coating. Likewise, deep drawing is possible up to 6mm without any visual alteration of the coating (see image below).

CORROSION RESISTANCE

Silver Ice® X protects the underlying stainless substrate from corrosion, and especially from chloride-induced pitting. Several tests performed in the salt spray cabinet have shown that a ferritic grade (e.g. AISI 430/1.4016) with polished finish may resist up to 5 times longer (*) than an uncoated surface of the same grade.

(*) Time before the first corrosion pits appear; test performed according to EN 13523-8.

Polished and Silver Ice® X samples, after 336 hours in a salt spray cabinet  according to ENEN 13523-8 / Top coat

SCRATCH AND WEAR RESISTANCE

The high degree of crosslinking in the polymers contained in Silver Ice® UV and the addition of nanoparticles ensure that this coating is extremely scratch and abrasion resistant.

SILVER ICE®

DATA SHEET

SILVER ICE® DATA SHEET

Property Method Unit/Criteria Data
Silver Ice®
Film thickness EN 13523-1 μm 1,5-3,5
Back coat EN 13523-1 μm 3 – 5
Pencil hardness EN 13523-4 Varnish removal
Permanent scratch		 ≥6H H-2H
Mar test acc. (Oesterle) Mar tester Mod. 435 Plastic disc, force (N) for permanent marring ≥20
Impact test EN 13523-5 J 10
Cupping test EN 13523-6 Height (mm) without delaminations or cracks 6
T-bend test EN 13523-7 Bending radius / thickness 1T
Resistance to salt spray (fog) EN 13523-8
EN ISO 4628		 Total time (h)
Delaminations
Blistering
Rust		 240
0
0
0
Property Method Unit/Criteria Data
Silver Ice®
Resistance to UV radiation and water condensation EN 13523-10 (UVA-340) EN ISO 4628 Total time (h)
Delaminations
Blistering
ΔG60° (%) / ΔE		 500
0
0
5 / 0,5
Rubbing test EN 13523-11 (MEK) Double strokes
Result		 100 Pass
Resistance to accelerated aging by the use of heat EN 13523-13 Total time (h)
Temperature (°C)
ΔG60° (%) / ΔE		 40
120
5 / 1,0
Resistance to staining EN 13523-18
(modified)Soap
Mustard
Ketchup
Coffee
Temperature (°C)
Result		 Type
Total time (h)		 Spot test
24
23
Pass
Type
Total time (h)
Temperature (°C)
Recovery (h)
Result		 Spot test
1
90
23
Pass
Wetting tension ASTM D2578 mN/m 32