The Powder Coat Finish... It Looks Like Paint, But It Acts Like Armor!

It's tough. It looks great. And it lasts a long, long time. Powder coating is a superior finish that's found on hundreds of products you come in contact with each day. It makes products durable, attractive, and scratch-resistant, too.

How Does It Work?

Powder coating is a dry finishing process. Finely ground particles of pigment and resin are electrostatically charged and sprayed onto the products to be coated.

The parts to be coated are electrically grounded, so that the charged particles adhere to them until melted and fused into a solid coating in a curing oven.

The result is an attractive, durable, high-quality finish. The powder coating process itself offers another advantage -- it is environmentally friendly...virtually pollution-free!

Unlike liquid paint, no solvents are used, so only negligible amounts of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are released into the air. In addition, unused or over sprayed powder can be recovered, so any waste is minimal and can be disposed of easily and safely. A powder coated finish offers superior resistance to heat, impact, corrosion, fading from sunlight, extreme weather (including salty, humid rust-inducing weather in coastal regions), and abrasion. It is also very chip-resistant.

The Process

New production products are washed in a degreasing solution to eliminate any oil on the surface, then washed in a metal pre-treatment solution ( for steel products) to help prevent corrosion from forming.

To prepare a product for powder coat refinishing, it is stripped clean of paint, dirt, oil or anything on the surface. The product must be completely bare. Sandblasting equipment is commonly used that usually takes care of stripping. If the product cannot be sandblasted it is stripped chemically or by hand.

The product is then suspended on a racking system and dried. Once dry, it can be inspected for any overlooked surface contamination. At this time the object can also be masked with high temperature tape or silicon plugs to cover any areas where powder is not desired (such as threaded holes or tight tolerance areas).

The powder is applied through an electrostatic process. A gun sprays a cloud of powder that has a positive charge onto the object, which is grounded (negative). After coating, the object is baked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes. Once cool the finish is cured and the job is complete.