Top 5 Reasons to Powdercoat Your Products
Economics – The economic benefits of powdercoating are numerous but the largest has to do with efficiency and overspray. The average transfer efficiency of powdercoating is 60-70% and any over spray is a solid and can be reclaimed and re-used with almost no wasted product. With liquid or spray paint, you have a transfer efficiency of 30-35%, more than 50% of the product is evaporated and there is no possibility of reclaiming over spray which leads to a lot of waste. The base product for powdercoating is also substantially cheaper than paint.
Safety – Safely applying powdercoating requires precautionary measures to avoid breathing in the powder and getting it on your skin. This is an easier task to manage since the product is a solid. During application it is recommended to stay out of the application zone and to avoid getting it on your skin and with such minimal overspray, this is easily accomplished. The product does not contain harmful chemicals such as solvents or volatile organic compounds (VOC) that are often found in paint.
Environmental – There are many environmental advantages of powdercoating. Since there are no solvents or VOCs there is no damage to the environment. The waste is also not hazardous and can be disposed in the landfill. Paint contains harmful chemicals that have been proven to deplete the ozone and produces hazardous waste that needs to be disposed of in an appropriate manner.
Mechanical – Powdercoating generally produces a coating twice as thick as standard paint. The real advantage is its flexibility and ability to bend and yield with the material it is applied to. This makes it ideal in the transportation industry where the products are subject to a lot of vibration and twisting as they move down the road. We have also found that they stand up way better to rock chips and other common road damage.
Production Advantages – The main advantage from a production point of view is that when the powdercoated product comes out of the oven it is completely cured within 20 minutes and ready to be put to work. Standard paints can take days to completely cure and depend on the atmospheric conditions including humidity, temperature, etc. You can literally put a powdercoated object to work while it is still too hot to touch and not have to worry about ruining the product. Also in terms of production efficiency, with less waste over spray and less risk for runs and other defects, powder coating has become less of an art and a necessary skill taught to production staff.
