Electrostatic Powder Coating
Electrostatic powder coating is a coating method which has been used in Europe and America since the 1960s and came to Turkey towards the end of the 1980s.
Although it is very new compared to wet paint applications, it gained use in a wide range of areas in a short period and achieved remarkable figures in terms of the amount manufactured. This coating method is particularly used to protect metal surfaces and to give a decorative appearance.
Usage Advantages
Unlike liquid paints, powder coatings do not contain any liquid substances and consist of mixtures of resins, hardeners, pigments, fillers and additives. There are various application techniques in powder coating. The most common techniques include Fluidized Bed Coating and Electrostatic Coating. The immersing technique enables a thicker coating
During its production and use, powder has fewer negative effects on health compared to wet paint. This has been proven by various studies. In addition, the amount of energy required for the powder to ignite is 100 times higher than liquid-based paints. Therefore, the powder is very difficult to ignite and its lower explosive limit is higher than liquid paints.
Its advantages in terms of the environment and application have made powder coating a preferred method in the coating industry. Powder coating is applied with electrostatic spray guns and baked under relevant curing conditions. The use of powder coatings has increased rapidly since the 1960s and approximately 2000 kilotons of powder was produced worldwide in 2019.
The advantages of powder coating can be summarized briefly as follows;
- Powder coating is environmentally friendly. No waste is produced during production and consumption; therefore, it does not cause air or water pollution. In terms of environmental protection, powder coating does not contain the volatile organic compounds (VOC) found in wet paint.
- The amount of energy required for powder to ignite is much higher than liquid paints.Therefore, its lower explosive limit is higher.
- Powder has fewer negative effects on health than other paints.Moreover, it does not cause any problems when in contact with skin.
- Powder is ready to use.It does not require any mixing or dilution with liquid. The gun hose can be inserted into the powder bag and used immediately.
- The powder coating technique is easy to use and the operator can be trained in a very short period.It is very suitable for being used in manual and robotic systems. Thus, the operator can become an expert with brief and practical training.
- All kinds of decorative surfaces can be obtained with powder coating. Surfaces with a e.g. smooth, shiny, rough, sandpaper-like, and varnished appearance can be easily achieved with powder coating.
