Summary for flame powder coating Discussion
Flame powder coating systems are discussed as an oven-free alternative, but Terry Hickling says conventional powder coating is generally more popular, more economical, and better in more situations. He notes the flame process can make sense for very small quantities, repairs to damaged coatings on installed metalwork, or small off-standard jobs where stopping production would be disruptive. In his view, the system is very slow and the LPG/oxygen heat source plus compressed air add cost, though the finish is acceptable. He says it can be useful for on-site work and large parts in special cases, and mentions examples such as garden rocks, handrails, shop fronts, balustrades, acid-environment metal coating, swimming pool refurbishment, and sealing concrete floors in cool rooms. Later commenters point to companies such as Plascoat, IBIX/Tecno Supply, and Aerofusion Technologies as possible sources of current information.
Q. Is need cost or commercial benefit between flame power coat and normal power coat. Will elimination of baking operation justify cost of flame consumable?
Shaunak Kale
ME – India-Maharashtra-Pune city
November 15, 2021
A. Hi Shaunak. You’ll probably want to hear both sides and make up your own mind based on your needs and situation. But my personal opinion is that conventional powder coating is substantially more popular because it is better and more economical in more situations.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
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⇩ Similar, related, Q&As — oldest first ⇩
Q. Have you heard of the powder coating systems that does not need to be cured in an Oven?, there are some guns that spray with a flame and cure on the painted surface.
What are the problems you’ve heard of these kind of systems vs. regular powder coating?
Guillermo Maldonado
Sheet Metal shop owner – Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
October 23, 2009
| A. Without going into great details all the information on equipment and materials used… how the system works etc can be found at: Terry Hickling
Regards,
A. I have heard of the system that you mention but have never seen it. It involves spraying a molten plastic, so I will guess that it is rather uneven across a panel of any size and would expect adhesion problems if it gets the smallest amount out of optimum control ranges. I would expect the finish to be a bit rougher. James Watts A. Flame sprayed powdercoating technology exists and works quite well, but not in all situations.
|
Q. Geoff,
Do you have a web site for your rig. I do not want to buy one, but would like to learn more about it.
James Watts
– Navarre, Florida
October 29, 2009
A. James,
The flame sprayed Powdercoating system isn’t on our website.
But the website mentioned by Terry is as good a web info as there is. There are also some youtube clips by Xiom.
It is suitable for polyester thermosetting powders, despite what some say, though it is tricky to get this right. The makers make a special powder to go with the gun, but standard t/set polyester does work with appropriate settings, and use.
Its very easy to use with thermoplastic powders.
Its possible to powdercoat timber, cardboard even paper and glass, concrete etc.
Coating cardboard and paper shows how little heat it is possible to apply to the substrate, despite this being a qxy/propane flame. To coat metals though it is necessary to apply heat to the metal, if you want adhesion that is.
Geoff Crowley
Crithwood Ltd.
Westfield, Scotland, UK
| A. Thanks for the response, Geoff, based on your experience, how can you compare the finish of this paint vs regular powder coating, as well as the costs involved, I mean, is it cheaper or more expensive? Guillermo Maldonado A. A site where you can view the flame gun in action can be found at Terry Hickling |
A. Costs of various coating systems vary from one country to another, but in general the flame system is cost effective for very small quantities where you measure the powder use in single kilograms, or where you count only 1-3 m2 area coated.
It’s very slow, and using LPG and oxygen is an expensive heat source, as well as needing compressed air.
The quality is OK, and finish acceptable.
So for repairs to damaged coatings on installed metalwork, it’s good.
For coating small objects in off standard colours where such a small job would interrupt production flow, its good.
But for coating larger areas, long runs of material etc, its too slow.
I’ve seen the bigger gun, its faster; but twice a snails pace doesn’t catch a rabbit!
Geoff Crowley
Crithwood Ltd.
Westfield, Scotland, UK
November 3, 2009
Q. Morning all, is the flame gun any good for doing on-site powdering on handrails or shop fronts, balustrades? Thanks
Richard Grinham
– Essex, London, U.K.
March 24, 2010
Q. Is there any up to date (2014) information on these ovenless / flame powdercoating systems? Most of the companies I find in my searches are out of business and GONE. Thanks for any new ideas.
Scott Aumann
– Indian harbour beach, Florida USA
August 20, 2014
A. I think there is a powerful group of vested interests which wishes to see this technology still-born.
Try Plascoat, in the UK, I believe they have not yet been compromised.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Bill
William Doherty
Trainer – Newcastle, NSW Australia
A. Hi, I have seen this working well; it is used for metal coating on site for acid environments such as minerals processing, swimming pool refurbishment and sealing concrete floors in cool rooms, etc. The company name is IBIX, an Italian firm but represented in many countries including USA and UK. It sells it through its TECNO SUPPLY Division. Hope this helps.
Richard
Richard Pitchforth
– Sydney NSW Australia
March 30, 2015
A. Check out Aerofusion Technologies
Joseph Roberto
Protective coatings – Middlesex, New Jersey USA
July 21, 2017
Hi folks. We appreciate people responding to the question, but this site is for technical information, not commercial sourcing or brand suggestions ( huh? why?). A number of highly educational threads have been ruined and had to be deleted because of spam & commercialization … when we print a suggestion for one brand or source, then we have to print “You suggested other sources but Brand MDM is better, stronger, faster, blah, blah, blah” … and a race to the bottom is on; so to the extent practical, please keep it technical 🙂
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
July 2017
Please see also —
• Topic 50258 “Powder coating without baking”
Nadcap Chemical Processing Auditor – PRI, traveling
Process Engineer / Chemist – Denver Metal Finishing, Colorado