The Basics of Powder Coating

We are confident most of our customers understand Powder Coating but for those who do not, or are just a little bit interested in it, we wanted to take this opportunity to share a little bit of information on the origins and process that goes into it.

Powder Coating may seem like a glorified form of spray painting but that could not be further from the truth. Originating in 1960s America, it is in a dry finishing process that combines curatives, pigments, levelling agents, flow modifiers, polymer resins and other additives together before melt mixing them together. The resulting combination is then cooled and ground into a uniform powder similar to baking powder.

A spray gun, in a process called Electrostatic Spray Deposition (ESD), is used to apply the powder, while charging it with a positive charge, towards a grounded object. The powder is attracted to the negative charge of the grounded object, at which point it is placed within a curing oven. The expose to heat causes a chemical reaction that binds the powder to the object, creating a bond that is very resistant to breaking.