Powder Coat - All You Need To Know

What is powder coat? As the name suggests, the paint is in powder form, which is coated on the metal surface. Some recent developement have deviced a  complex process  to paint on high density fibreboard better known as HDF. The process was invented by Daniel Gustin in 1940s, the main benefit of the paint is the durability it gives while making a symmetrically smooth layer. However its an industrial process and cannot be done on a small scale or n a DIY manner. The typical thing in this process is that where we are mostly familier with NC based, turpinetine based, thinner based paints; there is no solvant involved in powder paint process. It is bonded with heating.

Process:

1. For powder coat to happen flawlessly the metal item is prepared by sand blasting it via cyclone process, the item is kept in a closed room in which fine sand is blasted with pneumatic nozzles at high pressure. This abrasive process removes any corrosion, oil residual, paint on the surface; also makes it smooth.

Process of sand blasting. The sand is blasted via air pressure which is created via an air compressor.

2. Then the powder which is thermoplastic or thermoset polymer (for sun friendly finish, outdoor powder coat.), which is applied by a gun which throws the charged powder on the metal, there is no solvent present,

3. To bond the powder to the metal surface the piece is further cured by typically heating it to 150 to 200 degree Celsius in a closed environment to avoid any impurities to seep in the product is then cooled down to room temperature.

Typical Oven Used For Powdercoating.

This process makes a fine coat over the metal with thickness of around 30 to 80 micron. Depending on how thick the powder was initially.

Advantage of Powder Coat Paint

1. It lasts longer than usual paints; duco, automative paint, oil based paints.
2. High quality output in terms of smoothness, feel and look.
3. For outdoor, powder coat is the best option. In outdoor furniture a variant called Pure Polyester is used.
4. The coating layer of powder coat is thicker than normal other paints.
5. There are no drip marks in powder coating.
6. Powder coating is economical.
7. Its scratch resistant.
8. Since it doesn’t produce fumes, its good for environment and the people working in the unit.

Disadvantages of Powder Coat Paint

1. The setup is costly, needs lot of space; and getting clearance of sand blasting is not easy.
2. If the paint chips off, its not easy to do touchups.
3. Once the powder coating is done, no other paint can be done on it.
4. Limited color choices. For customised color large amount of quantities are needed.