AR Iron LLC, uses state-of-the-art technology to improve our processes and to produce a great product that will exceed your expectations. From pre-treatment to powder coating, our equipment and more, we have the tools and experience to get the job done efficiently and right.
Pre-Treatment
The pre-treatment process is the first step in making sure that your product is handled with the utmost care. This process includes: a DI rinse, degreaser, iron phosphate and a sealer to ensure that the product has been properly prepared going into the blasting process.
With these steps in place, pre-treatment assures that the old rust and paint is safely removed before starting the new coat of powder, and the process of media blasting can begin. This kind of pre-treatment is applied to fences, outdoor furniture, gates and several other items that you might wish to have powder coated.
“A very poor coating can perform with excellent pretreatment, an excellent coating will not perform with bad pretreatment” Ed Besterfeldt Coral Chemicals.
Powder Coating
Our process of powder coating is a great way to apply vibrant color that will not scratch or tear your product in any way. For us, this method is simple. A dry powder is applied electrostatically to your product, which is then baked up to 400 degrees. This is an environmentally safe process, which provides you with a surface that will not run or flake, like traditional paints would.
Powder coating can produce a smooth surface or those with many different textures. Additionally, this method can be applied to various items such as wheels, railings, light fixtures and stoves, just to name a few.
Our Equipment
AR Powder Coating has two different lines – an automated conveyer and a batch system, and we offer an unlimited choice of color options.
The conveyer line parts opening measures 2’x8’x20′ with 8-automated Parker Ionic spray guns and 2-manual Parker Ionic spray guns. The conveyer line operates for large production runs and has a fully automatic, 4-stage pre-treatment system, a gel oven and a dry off & cure oven measuring 28’x26’x30′.
The batch system boasts a Parker Ionic spray booth measuring 12’x12’x35′. Batch pre-treatment consists of a reverse osmosis rinse, degreaser, iron-phosphate sealer as well as media blasting. It has an 18-hopper powder spray system that makes it easy for quick color changes and a rapid oven with 450-degree capabilities.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Are your applicators certified?
Yes we have certified applicators from both PCI (The Powder Coating Institute) and CCAI (Chemical Coaters Association). Our coaters have been trained on pretreatment applications, faraday cage coatings, powder application methods, cleaning, chemistry, color selections and more.
Information from PCI (powder coat institute; powdercoating.org)
Why is pretreatment so important?
99.9% of any successful coating requires excellent pretreatment. The cleaner the material, the better success you will have achieving adhesion, smoothness and longevity.
Powder coatings can provide improved performance over liquids when applied to a properly pretreated part. Solvent-borne paints are usually more forgiving of organic soils left on the work piece by sub-par cleaning. Because powder does not have solvents, you need to make sure the washer does a good cleaning job. This is just good operational practice and is not an unusual requirement. Iron phosphate is the most frequently encountered pretreatment used with powder coatings. However, if the highest level of performance is required, zinc phosphate will work admirably with powder as well.
Is primer base coat necessary?
Unlike liquid coatings, powder coatings are more corrosion resistant to the elements. Pretreatment is vital to any coating process. Our coatings go through many different process’s that include degreasing, di rinsing, iron phosphate (etches the metals) and sealers. Also we offer media blasting to remove scale and rust before coatings. Powder coating primers such as our zinc rich primer offer the best corrosion resistance to the products. By adding a powder coating primer, you are adding additional coating life to the part. Areas with exposure to the elements such as sprinklers and pools (chemicals that are in pools can cause corrosion) and high traffic areas can benefit from zinc rich primers by adding more film build thickness and salt spray resistance to the parts.
Are all powders the same?
Two categories of powder coating materials include thermoset and thermoplastics.
There are different chemistries of powder coatings available. These include Epoxy’s, Hybrid, Urethane, Polyester and TGIC Polyesters. Each chemistry serves a different purpose. For instance:
Epoxy coatings offer higher mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. However epoxy coatings must have a topcoat applied as epoxies are not resistant to UV light and can be limited in gloss retention when exposed to sunlight.
Hybrid coatings are an epoxy-modified polyester that has good over bake and application properties such as impact resistance and hardness.
Urethane coatings have excellent uv exposure resistance, excellent impact flexibility and hardness.
Polyester coatings have four excellent properties that include chemical resistance, uv exposure, impact and flexibility resistance and hardness.
How is powder applied?
A process called electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) is typically used to achieve the application of the powder coating to a metal substrate. This application method uses a spray gun, which applies an electrostatic charge to the powder particles, which are then attracted to the grounded part. After application of the powder coating, the parts enter a curing oven where, with the addition of heat, the coating chemically reacts to produce long molecular chains, resulting in high cross-link density. These molecular chains are very resistant to breakdown. This type of application is the most common method of applying powders. Powder coatings can also be applied to non-metallic substrates such as plastics and medium density fiberboard (MDF).
Sometimes a powder coating is applied during a fluidized bed application. Preheated parts are dipped in a hopper of fluidizing powder and the coating melts, and flows out on the part. Post cure may be needed depending on the mass and temperature of the part and the type of powder used. No matter which application process is utilized, powder coatings are easy to use, environmentally friendly, cost effective, and tough!