Overview Media Blasting Chemical Pre-Treatment Powder Coating
Powder Coating is a method of applying a decorative and protective finish to a wide range of parts and materials. The powder coating process uses very fine dry particles of resin with the pigment color of your choice.
The resin powder is applied with a spray gun similar in concept to applying solvent based paint, however, powder coating uses an electrostatically charged technique in which the powders are charged as they move through the spray gun causing them to stick to the grounded part just like metal to a magnet. This allows the powder to adhere to the part through the next step: curing.
The curing process involves heating the coated parts to 400 degrees F for a predetermined amount of time. During this time the powders are melted and fused together to form a very strong and durable finish.
The parts are then allowed to cool and are ready for use immediately.
Since the powder particles adhere to the parts electrostatically, the part surface must be very clean and dry. The powder does not adhere to old paint, primer, or rust. Chemical stripping and/or media blasting of the surface to be coated is recommended, this prepares the part by removing previous finishes, rust and other surface contaminates. Additionally "etching" the metal to provide a textured surface for the powder to adhere to.
After the blasting process is completed the parts must then be chemically pre-treated to ensure a properly cleaned surface for the powder coat to adhere to. This ensures superior adhesion and coating life.
If you have your parts media blasted before you send them to us, please clean any oil and grease off before blasting. This will produce the best finish preventing oil and grease from being pushed into the surface and causing adhesion problems.
Powder coating is much more durable than other, more conventional paints. In fact, it is up to 10 times more durable than ordinary paint. As mentioned above, it is extremely resistant to chips, scratches, abrasion, heat up to 200 degrees, UV light, and fuel and chemicals. Powder coating also eliminates runs, drips, and sags which are common with painted finishes, and it has corrosion resistance properties which are difficult to achieve with other materials or methods. Powder coatings come in a wide range of colors, including OEM, translucent, and metallic, as well as custom colors mixed to your specifications.
The process is also 100% environmentally friendly as there are no solvents or hazardous materials used.
|
Here is a picture of our spray booth, in which we can handle a part up to 8ft. wide, 8ft. tall, and 16ft. long. |
|
Here is the oven we use for curing the parts after applying the powder, it can also handle a part 8'x8'x16'. |