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-----Enamel in Powder Coating?
Is there such a thing as Powder Coating with Baked on Enamel?
I am a dealer in the aluminum patio cover industry; the finish of the aluminum materials is something that I would like to understand further. The factory I represent uses baked on enamel paint, the competitors use powder coating.
My question comes from seeing a competitor's ad, the dealer stated the finish they offer is a 'powder coating with extremely strong baked on enamel'. I did some research and found that the most popular powders are Epoxy, Polyester and Acrylic; I would think they would use Polyester for its ability to handle the elements of direct sun.
I do not see where enamel is a part of the aluminum powder coating process, is the competing dealer advertisement correct or is it false?
Thank you for your help.
Aluminum Patio Cover Dealer - Oroville, CA, United States
August 18, 2008
Hi, James. For the most part, words like "enamel" don't mean much. Enamel just means a smooth, glossy, and hard finish. And powder coating does involves baking for fusing, so I don't think you can call your competitor out.
For corrosion resistance, the pretreatment is far more important than the final finish, and we metal finishers will keep doing our part by trying to educate the consumers on that. So make sure you do a proper chromate conversion coating, and some day the buyers may ask. Meanwhile, look for corrosion or lack of coverage on your competitor's units in any area that involves deep and tight recesses, because it is very hard to get powder coatings to cover in those areas.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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August 19, 2008
I agree with Ted on this. Many times, the people who actually are in charge of promoting their wares "powder paint" don't understand the term enamel is not a term used when describing powder paint. When we describe enamel, we use reducer to thin it. When we describe lacquer, we use thinner for thinning. The two cannot be exchanged. Enamel can be sprayed over lacquer, however you cannot spray lacquer over enamel or you will get lifting. It will not be pretty. Lacquer dries from the inside-out so if you were to touch it and it felt dry, you can be assured that it is harder and dryer beneath. Enamel paint dries from the outside in. You might feel it is dry on the surface, however you might make a whole portion slide away if you pushed it hard enough. Lacquer never stops curing. That's the main reason automotive manufacturers don't use lacquer anymore. The end result with lacquer is crazing due to curing phenomena.
 Bob Utech Benson, Minnesota |
 Ed. note: Bob is the author of: "High Performance powder Coating" on eBay or AbeBooks or Amazon [affil link] |
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