11 Reasons to Use Powder Coating Instead of Liquid Paint
Ashburton Powder Coating has been around since 1999, and we know the top ten reasons to use powder coating instead of liquid paint. Art and restoration projects happen to everyone. In many cases, the art inspiration is a practical one, like restoring an older bicycle to its former glory or rescuing excellent patio furniture whose only sin was a rusting finish. Whether you are trying to save money or have an eye for hidden value, the only thing wrong with discarded metal items is a little bit of paint damage or surface corrosion that can quickly be cleared away by sandblasting from Ashburton Powder Coating. For your next restoration, art, or metal sculpture project, look at the advantages of powder coating before picking up a can of paint at the hardware store.
1) Mechanical
Powder coating generally produces a layer 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 typical road damage.
2) Greater Chip Resistant
Unlike other treatments that can easily crack, peel, chip, scratch and corrode, powder-coated steel frames are more durable and can withstand the environment better. Everyone knows that paint chips, even incredibly sturdy exterior paint, and once the paint starts to chip, it generally continues to do so. On the other hand, powder coating forms a much more solid seal onto an item’s surface and reduces the risk to be scraped, scuffed, or chipped. So, this means that a powder-coated piece is likely to last much longer than a painted one, so you will not have to do another restoration any time soon.
3) Better for The Environment.’
There are many environmental advantages of powder coating as well. Since there are no solvents or VOCs, there is no damage to the environment during application. The waste is also not hazardous and can be disposed of in the landfill. Wet paint contains harmful chemicals that have been proven to deplete the ozone and produce dangerous waste that needs to be disposed of appropriately. Environmentally safer, the powder coating process has little impact on the environment. It requires no harmful solvents and does not emit vapours or fumes like liquid paint does. When you lose a drip of paint, not only is that paint never going onto your item, but it has also probably ruined whatever it fell on. While the painter and powder coaters both use plastic sheeting to deal with spills, the marvel of powder coating is that anything dropped or over-sprayed settles onto the ground and can be gathered back up and used again.
4) No More Topcoat
Paint is notorious for needing multiple coats to reach your desired effect. Not only do you need more than one coat for rich colours or to cover a dark colour, but you also need a topcoat and often a sealing coat as well. While you can use multiple coats for effect with powder coating, most of the time, all you need is a single application and cure for your items to be restored entirely and attractively coloured.
6) Incredibly Durable
While we have saved this point for a comfortable middle position in the list, perhaps the most critical difference between powder coating and paint is the incredible durability. Not only is it more challenging to mar the surface of a powder-coated item but will also last much longer left in ordinarily damaging environments like outside in the weather, in the garage, or in a bathroom that steams up frequently. Powder coating is resistant to corrosion, oxidation, moisture, and friction even over time. Powder coating adds to the steel’s durability, helping to withstand damages better and last longer.
7) Safer to Use in the Home and Around Children
Knowing what we do about toxic paints, you would have to choose your pigments and solvents very carefully to refinish something that was meant to be used in the kitchen or with small children who tend to put items in their mouths. Just as you would not want anyone to eat a paint chip, you also do not want to be cooking non-kitchen-approved paints in food. On the other hand, powder coating is entirely safe for kitchen utensils, appliances, and even baby toys because there are no toxic solvents, and the surface will not chip, crack, or flake.
8) Flexibility for Working Parts
One interesting powder coating factor that makes it incredibly useful in the manufacturing and automotive world is its flexibility. If a part is damaged, bent, or needs to have some give to function, powder coating is much more likely to bend with it than liquid applied paint. This means that you do not have to strip it and re-apply it for minor repairs and a powder-coated tool is much more likely to survive a minor damage. Because of its durability and resistance to abrasion and corrosion, powder-coated steel requires little to no maintenance.
9) Long Lasting Finish and Colours.
Powder coating provides a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint. Because of this, colours stay brighter and vibrant longer than other methods.
10) Economics, “It’s Your Money.”
The economic benefits of powder coating are numerous, but the most considerable advantage is efficiency and overspray. The average transfer efficiency of powder coating is 60-70%, and any overspray is solid and can be reclaimed and re-used, netting virtually no wasted product. With liquid paint, you have a transfer efficiency of 30-35%, roughly 50% of the product is evaporated, and there is no possibility of reclaiming overspray. The base product for powder coating is also substantially cheaper than wet paint.
11) Powder-Coating is Non-Toxic
When it comes to comparing powder coating with liquid paint, one difference very distinctly clear, the smell. Even walking into a room with exposed wet paint, your nose will quickly tell you that the air is toxic and to get out. No harmful fumes, from professionals to experienced DIYers, everyone knows that paint may look harmless but breathing it is terrible for you. Because powder coating is non-toxic, it can be handled and worked around safely immediately after both application and the curing process and is ready after 24 hours.