Powder Coating

Powder coatings for extreme durability

Powder coating is an alternative for conventional liquid painting; it comes in a form of dry powder which is mainly applied on metal surfaces. But with recent innovations, heat sensitive materials such as plastic and wood can also be powder coated.

The main difference between powder coatings and liquid paint is that powder coatings do not require solvents for keeping the binder and filler parts in a liquid form. This makes it more environmentally friendly than most water-based liquid paints.

The economical benefits of powder coating

• Faster application and shorter curing time compared to liquid paints;
• Powder coating process is easy to automatise;
• Excess powder can be collected and reused.

Powder coating process in a nutshell

Manual electrostatic spray process (thermosetting)

The powder coating process consists of three steps; surface preparation, coating and curing. Preparing the surface usually includes rinsing, sand blasting, degreasing and treating the surface with a primer. It has greatest influence on achieving the best possible results. The vast majority of coating failures can be traced to a lack of a suitable preparation.

Once the surface has been prepared the powder can be applied. Here, there are two options depending on the powder type:

• Thermosetting powders are applied with an electrostatic spray gun;
• Thermoplastic powders are molten into bath where the object is dipped.

After depositing the powder on the product, it must be cured in a powder coating oven which “bakes” the coating and turns the powder into a uniform, tough coating layer. This curing process requires a certain degree of temperature for a certain length of time to establish the full film properties. 

Powder coating services in Ireland

It is not always feasible to apply powder coatings in-house. Fortunately, there are enough powdercoating services near you! If you are looking for a powder coater in your area, check out our overview. For an overview of powder coating prices, see our costs overview page.

The Irish powder coating map

If you wish to gain more insight into powder coatings and coating services, do not hesitate to contact us. Our coating experts are happy to help! The below map also gives you little more information the powder coating companies located in Ireland. In case we have missed a company, kindly let us know, and we will get also your company listed!