Friday, 7 October 2016

For Powder Coat Los Angeles Should Be Prioritized

By Larry Collins


Powder coating as the name suggests is a kind of coating that is applied as a free-flowing powder in dry form. Unlike traditional liquid paints that need a solvent medium to keep them in liquid suspension form, this coating does not need a solvent. The filler and binder parts of the coating remain in dry form. When in need of service companies that specialize in powder coat Los Angeles is the best place to check out.

The powder is applied using electrostatic means before heat is used to cure it into place. When curing is done, the coating flows freely and forms an application that is skin-like over the surface. The resultant coating is often tougher compared to the one that conventional paints form. These coatings exist in two major kinds, that is, thermoplastic and thermoset polymer.

Because of a lack of a liquid carrier, thicker applications can be achieved easily. The applications can be very thick and they do not run or sag. One can apply the coating horizontally or vertically with very little difference between the two applications. The lack of difference between the two kinds of applications makes it hard to tell regions that are applied horizontally from the ones that are applied vertically.

Emissions of VOCs in powder coatings is very low. This is because they lack a liquid carrier that evaporates to emit VOCs. This makes the coatings healthier and ecofriendly. Several powder colors can be applied on a surface and then cured at once. The ability to cure multiple colors at once allows for special effects and color blending to be incorporated into the applications.

In most cases, powder coatings come in particle sizes that range between 30 and 50 microns. The typical softening and melting temperatures are 80 and 150 degrees Celsius respectively. Curing is usually done at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius. For the best results, the curing is done for between 10 and 15 minutes. The period of curing varies depending on the thickness of the application.

Adequate surface preparation is necessary before the actual powder coating. The process of surface preparation involves removing unwanted materials such as metal oxides, welding scales, dust, dirt, oil, and lubrication greases. Surface preparation can be done using mechanical or chemical methods. The type of method to be used is usually dependent on the size and material of the surface being coated.

During chemical treatment, the object or surface is submerged or sprayed with phosphates or chromates. The process consists of several steps that include de-smutting, degreasing, and etching. Several rinses of phosphate and chromate follows after the steps named above. Pre-treating a surface has to main purposes. The first purpose is to clean the substrate. The second purpose is to enhance the ability for the coating to bond with the substrate.

Chromates were determined to be toxic to the environment. That led to efforts to invent other methods of pre-treatment. The efforts to develop alternative methods for pre-treatment led to the use of silanes, zirconium, and titanium as alternatives. These alternatives are environmentally friendly and deliver the same results.




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