Dulux Steel Shield™ Warranty

Dulux Steel Shield™ warranties for powder coating on selected steel substrates

Dulux Powder Coatings are an ideal choice for the long term protection of mild steel items for your next project and provide assurance through the issue of Steel Shield™ Warranties.

Protected Substrates

The Steel Shield™ warranty will only be issued on the following substrates: mild steel, bright/semi bright steel, black/blue steel. All other steel types including galvanised coated steel are not warranted under the Steel Shield™ Warranty Program.

Terms and conditions apply

• Dulux Steel Shield™ Colour Warranties are your assurance that the coating will not:
  • ¹Fade (colour) – Colour fade testing will give a delta E (Hunter) laboratory reading less than five units from the original colour. In accordance with ASTM D2244.
  • ²Chalk – Not exceed a rating of 2 for whites & pastels and a rating of 3 for deep colours as assessed in accordance with AS1580.481.1.11 test method
• The Steel Shield™ corrosion warranty is your assurance that the coating system will not corrode more 5% in accordance with the degree of corrosion as a percentage contained in AS/NZS:2312.1.2014
• When steel items are exposed to interior and exterior environments it is essential that should only one side of a section of metal be coated, or if a section is cut exposing the raw metal, they must be sealed with an appropriate small joint sealant to protect the non-coated area from the environment, i.e. not exposed to moisture, air and excessive heat. Should the seal fail, and a claim is made for a Steel Shield™ warranty project the warranty for the area affected will be void as the integrity of the seal is not the responsibility of Dulux.
• Warranties are only valid when applied by a Dulux Accredited Powder Coater to the warranty specification on recommended project types and conditions and maintained within our recommended Care and maintenance guidelines. For more information visit the Tech Advice page here.

All Dulux premium powder coat products are backed by product specific Steel Shield™ warranties. Below is an overview of the warranty periods by product available from Dulux.

*Excluding Intensity – 15 Years

**The Steel Shield Colour Warranty is not applicable to Armourspray clear products. The Steel Shield Corrosion Warranty only applies to Armourspray clear products when applied over Dulux Protexture, Duratec, Electro & Charisma powder coatings.

It is important to define your project correctly to ensure the correct product is specified and the performance and warranty is able to be gained for your project.

Both project type and the environment (conditions) will impact on the exposure of the powdercoat to elements such as UV, dirt and salt. For instance, marine and coastal environments are exposed to winds and sea salts, which have a long-term impact on the performance of coating systems due to erosion and weathering, and commercial projects will be exposed to greater environmental impacts, whether they be the usage of the environment or the height of the building.

To ensure products are fit for these environments Dulux recommends suitable products based on the AAMA testing standards. These standards provide a benchmark of product quality that are an assurance that your asset will be protected by a product fit for purpose. For complete details relating to these standards visit aamanet.org

To define projects we utilise three key sources:

1. The building classifications under the Building code of Australia (BCA)
2. Industry standards for powder coatings – Primarily AAMA
3. Environmental condition utilising AS4312 and ISO12944 Atmospheric corrosivity zones in Australia as a guide.

The following tables allow you to identify your project, to look at the appropriate products for the environment, whether it be interior or exterior, the care and maintenance required, and details on our Dulux Accredited Powder Coaters, as only Dulux Accredited Powder coaters are able to issue our Dulux Steel Shield™ warranties.

Dulux Steel Shield™ warranties are available on a wide range of fabricated  steel items, but those items must be designed, prepared (pre-treated), coated, fabricated and installed to standard ensuring that the item is fully protected.

It is essential that any item that is coated must be designed and fabricated to ensure:

• It meets key standards – Refer to AS 2312.1 and the relevant building code.
• Protection is a key consideration at the early stages of design – The design should allow the item to be prepared for coating correctly and that the minimum thickness of the specified coating can be achieved.
• Exposed areas are appropriately sealed to last the duration of the warranty – It is essential that the choice of other materials that contribute to protection such as sealants should be made to ensure that a Steel Shield™ warranty is not void due to the sealants failure. This is important if only one side of a section of metal is to be coated, or if a section is cut exposing the raw metal, as it must be in a sealed environment to protect the non-coated area from the environment i.e. not exposed to moisture, air and excessive heat. Should the seal fail, and a claim is made for an Steel Shield™ warranty project the warranty for the area affected will be void as the integrity of the seal is not the responsibility of Dulux.
• The following design elements are avoided – Narrow crevices, poor air circulation, depressions, sharp edges and corners, large flat ledges (not window ledges), intermittent welding, undrained flat surfaces, unsealed hollow sections, flat surfaces in loose contact where moisture may be drawn in between them by capillary action or where water and foreign matter will lodge, as these areas may result in premature failure of the coating system.
• Failure caused by post formed or post fabrication processes are avoided – Please be aware warranties shall not apply to areas where a failure is caused from post formed or post fabrication processes, such as metal perforation, welding, cutting, drilling or any other circumstances beyond the reasonable control of Dulux. Many post fabrication processes can impede achievement of a continuous layer of pre-treatment and the minimum film build of powder coating. Where there is doubt please consult the relevant guideline or regulation such as the building code or AS 2312.1 for information on mitigating any potential damage that could be caused by post fabrication processes.