Powder Coating: Types and Benefits

Powder coating is a popular method for painting many types of metals whether they are for architecture, household appliances, automotive parts and drum hardware, bicycles, or industrial tools. Powder coating services are provided by a professional company that uses electrostatic spray with an acrylic powder mixed with a solvent and heated after its applied. Different types of powder coatings have their own benefits though, as explained below.

Epoxies

Epoxies were the first type of powder used by powder coating services. It provides a very hard and durable coating that is ideally used for interior purposes. Epoxy coatings have high impact resistance, corrosion resistance and is a very good powder to use when adhesion is essential. Epoxies are also easy to use and have a wide range of curing schedules so it can be applied in a timely manner and efficiently. Most often epoxy powder coating will be used for industrial equipment, metal furniture, home appliances, and automotive underbody components.

Polyesters

Polyester powder coatings are the most commonly used type, and are highly economical. Polyester gives the benefit of good mechanical resistance, great flexibility, impact resistance, and chemical resistance. As well, polyesters have the added benefit of being good for coating sensitive items as they have a low cure temperature when compared to many other coating types. They are also resistant to overbake which can cause yellowing, and have good UV protection as well. One of the best benefits of choosing polyester coatings from powder coating services is going to be the range of colors, gloss levels and special effects that are available for them, so you can get the style you want.

Super-Durable Polyester

When powder coating services use super-durable polyesters it gives all the benefits of standard polyesters but with the added quirk of being highly weather resistant. If you want to use a polyester coating on anything that has prolonged exposure to the outdoors, you will want to opt to use a super-durable polyester. They also have better humidity and corrosion resistances, and greater fade resistance, making them popular for interior uses as well as their well-known exterior uses.

Epoxy-Polyester Hybrids

Epoxy and polyesters can be mixed together to create hybrids that give the benefits of epoxy but also bring in some of the benefits of polyesters. When powder coating services create a hybrid of epoxy and polyester it can result in a more economical coating than pure epoxy. The polyester also adds slight improvement on weather degradation properties in comparison to pure epoxy, however at the cost of some corrosion and chemical resistance. Hybrid powders are often used on items that need the good cosmetic appeal of polyester coatings but still require good functional properties.

Fluoropolymers

Fluoropolymers are used by powder coating services when you need architectural coatings that are highly resistant to weather, and need extreme color and gloss retention. As part of their weather resistance fluoropolymers are also highly resistant to corrosion.

Urethanes

One of the more expensive options from powder coating services is urethanes, which are similar to polyesters but use different curing agents. Urethane benefits include a superior smooth finish, good weather resistance and excellent chemical and corrosion resistance. They are most often used on fuel tanks, agricultural equipment, air conditioners, car rims and doorknobs.

If you are looking for reputable powder coating services contact the experienced professionals at Sun-Glo Industrial Plating.