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Powder coating is by far the youngest of the surface finishing techniques in common use today; it is used to apply a superior finish to metal products. It was first used in Australia about 1967, where the technique of applying dry paint to a part was refined. The powdered paint is electro-statically charged and sprayed onto the part.
The powder is a blend of pigments and resin that melts, gels, and cures to form a durable finish. Hudson Powder offers a variety of colors and textures to meet any specification that a customer may require.
The basis of any good coating is preparation. The vast majority of powder coating failures can be traced to a lack of a suitable preparation. The preparation treatment is different for different materials.
The powder is applied with an electrostatic spray gun to a part that is at earth (or ground) potential. Before the powder is sent to the gun it is fluidized:
Because the powder particles are electro-statically charged, the powder wraps around to the back of the part as it passes by towards the air off-take system. By collecting the powder, which passes by the job, and filtering it, the efficiency of the process can be increased to 95% material usage.
The powder will remain attached to the part as long as some of the electrostatic charge remains on the powder. To obtain the final solid, tough, abrasion resistant coating the powder coated items are placed in an oven and heated to temperatures that range from 160 to 210 degrees C (depending on the powder).
Under the influence of heat a thermosetting powder goes through 4 stages to full cure.
The final coating is continuous and will vary from high gloss to flat matt depending on the design of the powder by the supplier.
Powder coating produces a high specification coating which is relatively hard, abrasion resistant (depending on the specification) and tough.