When In Need Of Best Powder Coating Statesville NC Offers Some Of The Best Options

By Essie Osborn


Powder coating bears 2 meanings, first as a verb and then as a noun. When the word is used as a noun, it is a kind of coating that is applied onto substrates in a free flowing powder. However as a verb, it is the activity of painting surfaces with free-flowing paint. The product does not need solvent medium to maintain the binders and fillers in suspension form because it is applied in dry form. When one needs perfect powder coating Statesville NC is worth the visit.

The application process entails three main processes, that is, pre-treatment, actual application, and lastly curing. The pre-treatment process is meant to enhance the bonding between the coat and the substrate on which it is applied. There are many methods of pre-treating a surface but the major one is blasting. Various blasting processes effectively remove metal oxides, lubrication greases, welding scales, old paints, oil, soil, and other substances from surfaces.

In some situations, blasting may not suffice maybe due to the nature of the dirt or surface. In such cases, chemical pre-treatment would be a better option to use. Chemical pre-treatment involves the use of phosphates or chromates in spray or submersion applications. This process entails a number of stages including degreasing, etching, de-smutting, and then finally the actual phosphating or chromating. Chromates are however being discouraged with better chemicals coming into use because they are harmful to the environment.

Materials with low-tensile strength like glass, sand, silicon carbide shot, and silicon carbide grit are the ones used for abrasive blasting. Blast medium needs to be brittle, sharp, and of suitable size to avoid destroying substrates and to attain elegant results. Sensitive substrates such as aluminum are pre-treated using plastic abrasive medium to avoid destruction. Generally, metallic abrasives are not encouraged.

Application is a sensitive process that requires use of the right equipment to avoid flaws and make it able to achieve new designs and styles in the final art. The coating is fed into the application equipment and then applied on the substrate through a gun. The gun releases fine sprays of the coat onto the substrate allowing the user to control how much they apply. There are various kinds of guns on the market for various applications hence one can choose one that suits their needs.

Treatment of the surfaces after coat application is the last process. There are many curing processes and crosslinking is one of them. Crosslinking requires the coated substrate to be subjected to a given temperature for a certain time frame. The temperature causes the coating to form a polymer of a high molecular mass after melting and flowing out. After the polymer is attained, the coat exhibits given nice properties according to design. Typical curing temperature is 200 degrees Centigrade for 10 minutes.

Removal of the coat requires usage of chemical compounds like, Methylene chloride and Acetone. Methylene chloride and Acetone are efficient and abandons no paint traces behind. Methylene chloride has lately been identified as a possible human carcinogen and benzyl alcohol is being used in its place. The effectiveness of Benzyl alcohol is high too.

The advantage of powder coating over the ordinary paints is that it does not run or sag when applied thickly. This is a valuable property in some applications. It is also highly environmentally friendly due to its lack of VOCs.




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