What is Powder Coating?

If you have ever watched a television show about cars, or motorcycles, or even one of those shows they show you how they make household appliances then you have heard the term powder coating. Most of these shows breeze by this part of the process because they expect you to know what powder coating is and how it happens. Powder Coating is the process in which metals are essentially painted, but without paint. Powder is sprayed on the object you are powder coating, then it is baked.

It is more complex than just spraying and baking though. First the metal you are going to be working with needs to be cleaned of all debris. This process can be extremely involved due to the fact that this will lay the ground work for how the finished product looks.

After the metal is prepped it is time to spray the powder onto the object. In order to get the powder to stick to the metal a special spray gun must be used. An electrostatic gun is used to essentially make the powder stick to the metal, almost as if magic. But it is simply the use of science. After the powder is stuck to the object it is then baked or cured. The object has to be cured at s specific temperature for approximately 10 minutes. During the curing process the powder takes on paint like property and adheres to the metal object.

Although it is not impossible to remove, powder coating is extremely strong and can provide protection far beyond traditional paint and sealant.

Written by Heinz Hanssen