Process for interior coating small mouth container open at one end

Abstract

A small-mouthed container having a continuous resinous coating covering the interior of said container and end, said interior coating having a thickness less than about one mil and being free of low molecular weight organic matter, is disclosed herein. Typical containers are food and beverage containers having cylindrical metal walls and circular disc-shaped ends. The coating is typically a comestible coating having a thickness of less than one mil and having no occluded solvent therein. Thermoset resinous coatings are particularly useful. A coating is applied by flowing a mixture of gas and fine resin particles through a nozzle into the vicinity of a plasma arc flame which at least partially melts the surface of said particles and propels said particles into a rapidly spinning container having one closed end. A predetermined quantity of resin is pulsed through the nozzle to deposit on the interior of the container a uniform coating of resin particles. A cured coating can be obtained by introducing the particles into a plasma flame for a sufficient residence time to liquify substantially said particles and to impart sufficient energy therein that said particles cure upon said substrate without subsequent addition of energy. Alternatively, the container coated with uncured particles can be heated in a curing oven for a period and at a temperature sufficient to produce a cured resinous coating.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.