Why Powder Coating?

Thermo setting powder coatings are now generally recognized as having a significant role in the metal finishing industries world-wide. Powder coatings have been a commercial reality now for close to thirty years.

Powder coatings are used for the same key reasons as any surface finishing process:

• To protect the substrate they have been applied to
• To enhance the appearance of the item they have been applied to
• The key benefits of powder coatings are often summarized by the five E's of powder coating:
• Ease of application
• Environmentally friendly
• Economical
• Excellence of finish
• Excellence of performance

Other benefits include:

• The elimination to a large extent of solid waste disposal problems
• Solvent emissions are virtually eliminated, resulting in much easier compliance with EPA regulations
• Energy costs are greatly reduced and Volatile Organic Component easily controlled
• No solvents are required in mixing, cleaning or maintenance
• Up to 99% of powder overspray can be recovered and reused. The 1% residual can easily be disposed off as a solid

For these reasons there has been a rapid growth in the coating industry.
Powder coatings are often used as alternatives to liquid paint finishing. In comparisons with traditional liquid finishing, powder coatings offer two significant application benefits:

• They are single coat finishes, with no primer required
• High film thickness can be achieved with a single coat

The powder coating application process is also readily automated, enabling high volume industrial application plants to operate economically with a minimum of rejects.

These benefits have enabled powder coatings to take a significant share of the industrial finishing market.