You understand the basics of powder coating but why is it more durable, damage resistant, and environmentally friendly than other finishes? At DB Sheetmetals our expert powder coating services are market leading and we’re here to answer those questions for you.
Prep and Prime
The first stage of any powder coating process is thoroughly preparing the metal to ensure a spotless result. This means we spend extra time removing dirt, oil, lubrication greases, welding scale, metal oxides and more, that standard wet paints could just paint over. However, painting over dirt and oil shortens the life span of the paint and can create unsightly textures on the finish.
It’s absolutely essential to remove these impurities for a powder coating to stick, so you can rest assured your metal is going into this process with the best chance of stunning results, as there’s no way to ‘cover up’ shoddy prep work only to find paint peeling off in a few months.
Application
The most widely used process of applying the powder is to use an electrostatic gun to evenly spray the powder over the object. Part of the reason powder coating is so environmentally friendly is there is no evaporation of harmful carrier liquids during the drying process as the powder is melted to cure it rather than ‘dried’.
On top of this, the gun imparts a positive electric charge on the powder, which is then drawn to the grounded metal object, meaning very little of the powder itself will ever be disposed of in the environment where it could be damaging. There are many different nozzles for the guns to be best efficient for the size and shape of the workpiece to further reduce waste and even the coating.
Curing
The curing process involves heat of anywhere up to 200°c where the powder chemically reacts to form higher molecular weight polymers. This process is called crosslinking and the chemical structures are much stronger than in other finishing methods, which is what gives powder coating such amazing durability.
If you’re interested in our powder coating services then give us a call on 01440 706218 or visit our website.