What Is Powder Coating and What Are Some Advantages?

What Is Powder Coating?

Powder coating is a method of painting metal parts that’s much different from traditional painting methods. The way it works is that powder of a certain color is sprayed onto the metal surface, which holds an electrical charge. The charge causes the powder to adhere to the surface, and it is baked on once the spraying is done.

How Does Powder Coating Work?

Powder Coating is a color-finishing technique in which powder is used in lieu of paint. The powder is applied with spray tools and heated to a chosen surface to form a color coat. Numerous ingredients can make the powder used for this process, such as acrylic, polyester, epoxy and polyurethane. Powder Coating achieves a thicker and more consistent finish than you usually get with spray paint.

You see examples of Powder Coating on a vast range of everyday appliances and household fixtures, such as Racks, Safes, Cupboards, tables and Cabinets. Powder Coating is also quite common today in the finishing stages of auto assembly.

Powder Coating is achievable with either thermoplastics or thermosets. The former is a chemical-free process that relies on heat to bring the powder to its thick, solid-coat state. With thermosets, chemical additives interact with the powder during the application stage. The end result of thermoplastic and thermoset powder coatings are virtually identical. In both processes, you heat the powder to form the color finish on a chosen surface.

Advantages of Using Powder Coating

So how good is powder coating? Powder coats are strong, attractive, long-lasting and applicable to various surfaces. The numerous benefits of powder coating are best outlined as follows:

1. Durable:

Powder Coating creates a thick, adhesive finish that lasts longer than the typical coat of spray paint. In the Powder Coat vs. paint debate, powder coat durability is superior.

1. Fast:

You can complete Powder Coats in a single application, which makes the process quicker and more efficient.

1. Diverse:

Powder Coating allows for a range of colors because you can mix and manipulate the powders beforehand.

1. Eco-friendly:

Powder Coating is a very environmentally friendly way of coloring a metal part. Even though it’s applied by spraying powder onto the part, the powder doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals designed to make it stick.

It adheres to the metal through the electrical charge on the surface, so no solvents are used. Usually, the dry powder goes straight to the metal when sprayed, and the powder that enters the air is easy to clean up.

1. Consistent:

Unlike spray paint, which can drip and spread unevenly, powder coats produce consistently smooth and solid surfaces with no trace of application marks.

1. Money Saving:

In the long run, Powder Coating can save you a significant amount of money. The process of Powder Coating a metal part is far quicker than other painting methods. Powder Coating doesn’t have to wait to dry, and it requires much less manual labor since it gets sprayed on.

With Powder Coating, the whole process happens at once — the powder is applied and then immediately cured, and that’s it. This quick application process means you can get through a high number of parts and surfaces, while also reducing labor costs.

How is it Different From Traditional Paint?

• Powder Coating provides better performance than wet paint—it is more resistant to chipping, scratching, and other wear because of the thermal bonding it undergoes during curing, and because it can be applied in much thicker layers. This performance is especially important for outdoor products, like Trailers and Racking Systems.
• In addition to its physical toughness, Powder Coating provides superior color retention. Long term exposure to moisture, sunlight, and heat breaks down the resins found in paint.
• Powder Coating isn’t just more durable than liquid paint—it is also safer to store and apply. Liquid paint is hazardous for several reasons. First of all, it’s flammable. Careless storage can easily lead to a dangerous chemical fire. Wet paint is also a health hazard to the operators that work with it.

Get Powder Coating Services From Gujrat Steel Today

With all the benefits that come with powder coating vs. liquid paint, it’s smart to have your parts powder-coated. But unless you have the equipment for it, you’ll need to seek out powder coating services externally.

Look no further than Gujrat Steel. We offer a quick turnaround time for high-quality Powder Coating batch systems on metal parts. If you need your parts coated, we’ll get the job done.

Get a free quote from us today to get started!