Helpful Hints for Preparing Materials for Powder Coating
Conventional finishes do not produce as good quality coverage as powder coating can. Powder Coating produce better coverage over sharp edges and uneven surfaces but for the best possible results it is a good idea to avoid sharp cut edges, the powder coating will have much great protection. As powder coating creates a thicker coating on material it is important to take this into account when designing a product that will be powder coated. Below we have listed some of the common problems that occur and can be easily avoided.
Porous Materials - Galvanising or casting for example can be coated but may require addition processing to achieve a quality powder coat.
Rough Weld - make sure all welds are ground smooth to improve the coverage of the powder coating.
Corners - sharp corners are difficult to powder coat well, try to make sure the corners have a significant radius.
Narrow Gaps - to have the best possible powder coating make sure there's enough room between gaps.
Joining Tubes - square tubes intersecting with other square material produces a much better powder coated product than that of a circular tube.
Sharp Edges - try to avoid sharp edges as rounded edges will have a much better look powder coating.
Masking or Plugging - to make sure parts that are not to be powder coated don't get powder coated, plug them or mask them.
Recesses - avoid creating products with areas that have recesses as a recess may not be correctly coated and be subject to corrosion.