FAQ

Q: What is powdercoating?

A: Powder coating is a durable, corrosion-resistant finish which can be applied to steel, aluminum, brass, copper or iron—virtually any type of metal. The process begins with stripping the item to bare metal. This is done to remove old paints, finishes, dirt and grease. Once prepared, the item is then sprayed with a dry powder that resembles baby powder or flour. The powder is sprayed through a gun that electrically charges it. It’s this electrical charge that causes it to “stick” to metal. The item is then baked in an oven at 400 degrees for 32 minutes (just like baking cookies).

Q: What are some of the advantages of powdercoating verses conventional liquid coatings?

A: There are several.

1. Powder coatings emit zero or near zero volatile organic compounds (VOC).
2. Powder coatings can produce much thicker coatings than conventional liquid coatings without running or sagging.
3. Powder coating overspray can be recycled and thus it is possible to achieve nearly 100% use of the coating.
4. Powder coating production lines produce less hazardous waste than conventional liquid coatings.
5. Capital equipment and operating costs for a powder line are generally less than for conventional liquid lines.
6. Powder coated items generally have fewer appearance differences between horizontally coated surfaces and vertically coated surfaces than liquid coated items.
7. A wide range of specialty effects is easily accomplished which would be impossible to achieve with other coating processes. 

8. Powder coatings have a major advantage in that the overspray can be recycled. However, if multiple colors are being sprayed in a single spray booth, this may limit the ability to recycle the overspray.

Q: What are some of the types of powder coatings?

A: There are two main categories of powder coatings: Thermosets and thermoplastics. The thermosetting variety incorporates a cross-linker into the formulation. When the powder is baked, it reacts with other chemical groups in the powder polymer and increases the molecular weight and improves the performance properties. The thermoplastic variety does not undergo any additional reactions during the baking process, but rather only flows out into the final coating.

Some of the text in this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Powder coating".