Powder Coating vs. Regular Paint: What’s the Difference?
If you’re looking for a finishing solution for your metal products, your two best solutions are painting or using powder coating. While paint and powder coating are both popular methods for finishing metal products, there are distinct differences between the two processes, including their chemical composition and how resistant they are to damage.
Before choosing powder coating or regular paint, it’s a good idea to learn more about each finishing solution and their advantages. Discover the difference between powder coating and regular paint so that you can decide which of these finishing options is right for your products.
Differences in Compositions
The biggest difference between powder coating in regular paint is their composition. If you’ve ever read the label on regular paint, you’re probably aware that paint contains a wide range of chemicals, as well as volatile organic compounds. You generally have to be very careful when using and disposing of this product.
Powder coating, on the other hand, is is based on polymer resins, and the colors that are available in the powder coating process are developed using hard resins and pigments. This makes powder coating much safer than regular paint, both for people and the environment.
How They’re Applied
Another difference between powder coating and regular paint is how these products are applied to your product. Although the basic application steps are the same, the methods used are much, much different.
Regular paint is applied to products wet and then is allowed to air dry. While this application method is fairly straightforward, it can be hard to achieve a smooth, attractive top coat. With powder coating, the powder is applied to the product and then electrically charged so that it will evenly adhere to your product. In addition to creating a smooth surface, this process can be used to create a textured surface with a single coat. Next, the powder and your metal product is baked and cured, creating a uniform base layer.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Now that you know about some of the major differences between powder coating and regular paint, you need to take a look at the strengths and weakness of this finishing methods.
The advantage of powder coating is that it creates a highly durable protective layer that is also very attractive. Powder coating can be used to create a signature appearance that will last for years to come. The only real advantage of painting is that it can be used for products that can not withstand the curing portion of the powder coating process. Other than that, painting does not create as durable of a layer as you would be able to achieve with powder coating.
Schedule Powder Coating Today
After learning about the difference between powder coating and regular paint, it’s likely that you’re interested in scheduling powder coating for your products, which means you need to contact the powder coating professionals at AR Powder Coating.
We pride ourselves on helping our customers create a gorgeous, long-lasting powder coating finish for their metal products, and we are ready to help you in whatever way we can. Learn more about our services and schedule powder coating for your products today.
