PTFE O-ring

5Ways A Fluoropolymer Coating Improves The Humble O-Ring
O-rings are one of the samll, hidden,but vitally important parts of so many industrial items 
in our technologically-driven world, They are vital for sealing purposes in everything from 
automotive engines and filtration systems to domestic water heaters and water softeners. 
Although available in an enormous range of shapes, widths,diameters and materials, 
they are essentially a ring of round rubber.O-rings may be useful, but they can also be 
immensely frustrating. They stick together. are difficult to handle and differentiate from 
each other, and are often very small and easily lost.Lubricating the rings for installation is 
a mightmare, Applying oil or talc onto O-rings is easy enough, but after a short storage 
period, the lubricant makes its way to the bottom of the comtainer, leaving little on the top 
O-rings,and a sticky mess at the bottom. There are often health and safety issues with 
many oil lubricants, as well as environmental concerns on disposal of oil residue, oilsoaked rags, etc. Using oil lubricants also runs the risk of fouling up automatic 
installation-machine lines, leading to higher maintenance and downtime costs.
O-rings can also be problematic even after they’ve been installed. By nature they are 
often exposed to solvents and other chemicals that can degrade the rubber, thereby 
reducing seal effectiveness.Coatings to the rescue Best Fluoro, manufacturer of the 
world’s largest, most complete line of fluoropolymer coatings, has developed a range of 
coatings to solve there problems.Using a fluoropolymer coating on O-rings offer these 
benefits: Reduces the coefficient of friction without using a separate lubricant, thereby 
easing installation, and helping to stop the O-rings from “sticking” to each other. Avoids 
the need to use a messy lubricant such as oil, talc or silicone.Increases the chemical and 
weather resistance of the O-ring, thus protecting it from degradation by solvents, salt 
water, etc. Colour-codes O-rings, making it easier to differentiate among them. A range 
of colours from traditional black to bold orange is available.Enables the use of lower-cost 
rubber substrates, since the coating achieves the desired performance without having to 
rely on expensive substrates.Solvent-borne and environmentally friendly waterborne 
coatings are available for use on a wide range of substrates.Best Fluoro O-ring coatings 
are designed for application by coatings techniques such as quadrant coating or tumble 
spray. Such techniques are bulk-application,cost-effective techniques that give uniform 
and consistent coating coverage. They are suitable even for the smallest of O-rings, 
where direct spray application is time consuming and inefficient