Low-carbon cold rolled steel sheet whose chemistry and structure are controlled so that it can be coated with fused vitreous enamel — a glass layer fired on at about 800–850 °C — without fish-scale, blistering or sagging. It is used for cookers, ovens, baths, water-heater tanks, signs, cladding panels and cookware.
Also called
Vitreous enamelling steel
Porcelain enamelling steel
DC01EK
DC04EK
DC06EK
DC04ED
SPP
Enamel grade steel
AR
صلب قابل للطلاء بالمينا
ZH
搪瓷用钢（搪瓷钢板）
DE
Emaillierstahl (Stahlblech zum Emaillieren)
FR
Acier pour émaillage
ES
Acero para esmaltado vítreo
IT
Acciaio per smaltatura
TR
Emaye çeliği
RU
Сталь для эмалирования
Main formsCold rolled coils and sheets; also hot rolled enamelling grades for tanks
Typical sizesTypically 0.4–2.0 mm cold rolled; width up to about 1,800 mm
Typical usesCookers and oven cavities, bathtubs, water-heater tanks, enamel signs and architectural panels, cookware
Overview
Vitreous enamel is a glass coating fused to steel at high temperature. During firing, hydrogen absorbed by the steel can collect at the steel–enamel interface and, as the part cools, burst out flakes of enamel — fish-scale, which can appear days after firing. Carbon in the steel can react to form gas bubbles, and soft steel can sag in the furnace. Enamelling steels are therefore made with very low carbon and with deliberate hydrogen 'traps' — fine precipitates or inclusions that hold the hydrogen harmlessly.
EN 10209 divides the grades by enamelling process. EK grades are for conventional enamelling with a ground coat and one or more cover coats; ED grades, decarburised or with extra-low carbon, are for direct one-coat white enamelling, where any defect from the steel shows through. Within each family 01, 03/04 and 06 give increasing formability, from simple bending to deep-drawn oven cavities and bathtubs.
Enamel gives a hard, hygienic, heat-, scratch- and chemical-resistant surface that does not fade, which is why it is used for cookers, water heaters, sanitary ware and long-life signs and cladding. Water-heater and tank makers also use hot rolled enamelling grades.
In the Middle East enamelling steel is used by cooker, water-heater and sign makers and is imported, mostly from European and Asian mills that produce dedicated enamelling grades.
Forms & sizes
Coils and sheets
Cold rolled 0.4–2.0 mm, surface suitable for enamelling (no rust, oil compatible with the pre-treatment)
EK grades
For two-coat (ground plus cover) enamelling
ED grades
For direct one-coat white enamelling
Hot rolled grades
Thicker material for water-heater tanks and vessels, ordered with enamelling suitability from the mill
