Powder coating is a dry coating process used as a metal finish mostly on industrial equipment.
Powder coating is applied as dry powder through an electrostatic process, then cured with heat. It is well known for providing high-quality finishes in terms of both functionality and overall look.
There are two types of powder coating, thermosets and thermoplastics.
Thermoplastic powder coating finishes become liquid and very soft when heated. This eliminates chemical bonding. This process makes the powder coating both reversible and reusable.
Thermoplastic coatings tend to be thicker, and hence more durable compared to thermoset coatings. For this reason, they can be used for a plethora of things. On the other hand, thermoset powder is quite different in the fact that it forms chemical bonds once cured, making it impossible to recycle it. It is suitable for high heat areas because the bonds prevent it from melting away. This type is much cheaper compared to thermoplastic.
The main types of powder coating used on metal are Epoxy, Epoxy Polyester, Polyester and antibacterial. Epoxies were the first widely used powders. They are very durable, offer excellent hardness and have arguably the best chemical and corrosion resistance of all available powders. Another plus of this type of powder is its ease of use and a wide range of cure schedules. Epoxies adhere to metals extremely well. Polyesters are the most used powders and offer great value for money. They offer good mechanical resistance, including great flexibility and impact resistance and good chemical resistance. A huge advantage of standard polyesters is the enormous choice of colours, gloss levels and special effects they are available in.
Lazenby Group are able to offer a vast array of powder coated finishes to manufactured products with a wide variety of specifications, whether in terms or appearance, colour, protection level or even special properties such as vandal resistant.