Powder coating is a different method of painting
Powder coating is a different method of painting. It starts out as a liquid but is formulated and processed differently. It is mixed, extruded and baked, then ground into a powder with the consistency of talcum powder. Paint is comprised of pigments or dyes, binder and fillers suspended in solvent. As most people have spray bombed or brushed a part or two, you understand that you have to wait for the solvent to evaporate for the paint to “dry”, taking anywhere from minutes to days. With powder coating, the powder uses heat as a catalyst to cure the powder, usually 200 degrees C.
With most powder finishes, once the part cools, you can assemble or install your parts immediately without fear of damaging the finish. How does the powder stick to the part? Powder coat paint is applied by an electrostatic charge. Simply put, as the powder passes out of the nozzle of the gun it picks up a charge and is attracted to the grounded part.
The thing with powder paint is if something goes wrong while coating a part, you can blow it off and start again. From there the part is put into the oven to cure. The items or parts to be powder coated can be dipped in powder or the powder can be sprayed onto the part manually with a powder coating spray gun.
