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20 July 2014

To Learn Importance Of Powder Coating Los Angeles Is The Area To Visit

By Paulette Mason


There are many reasons that are putting conventional paints out of market. Some of them include emission of VOC compounds, low durability, and costliness. As such, other techniques of painting for aesthetic of protection reasons are coming up. Powder coating which entails application of free-flowing dry powder is one of the methods. When one requires experts of powder coating Los Angeles should be the location to prioritize.

Powder coating has several advantages over traditional liquid painting and other methods that previously dominated the market. The first advantage is that handling powder coat is much easier and convenient. Since the substance remains in dry form, it does not easily stick on clothes or other unintended surfaces during application. There is also no need for a solvent to keep it in suspension form.

Application involves electrostatic means through the use of a spray gun. A positive charge is imparted into the particles by the gun during emission. With the positive charge, the particles are attracted to the substrate which is normally negatively charged. The two opposite charges causes a strong bond which is enhanced through heat curing. The resultant finish caused by curing is harder and tougher than that resulting from conventional paints.

Various substrates and surfaces including household appliances, bicycle parts, aluminum extrusions, drum hardware, and automobile parts can be coated using this method. The surfaces coated could be made of different substances including plastic, metal alloy, metal, or wood. Medium density fiberboard, MDF can now also be coated as a result of better technology. With the current technology, more surfaces with be paintable through this process in future.

Powder coats are made into two main forms, that is, thermosets and thermoplastics. A cross-linker is included in the formula of thermosetting varieties. Thermorsets have improved performance because they react with other chemicals within them to result into a polymerization reaction. Polymerization is an additional process in thermosetting variety only because it does not exist in thermoplastic variety. The final product is formed in thermoplastic variety without the intermediate polymerization process.

The dust is manufactured from a number of polymers including acrylics, polyester-epoxy, polyurethane, straight epoxy, and polyester. Polyester epoxy is also commonly known as hybrid epoxy. The production process includes mixing powder ingredients in a mixer before heating inside an extruder. After extrusion, the mixture is rolled into a flat substance, which is then cooled before being broken into small chips.

The application process involves, pre-treating the surface, dust application, and finally the curing process. Pre-treatment involves cleaning the surface by removing any forms of dirt and debris that would affect proper bonding between the surface and the dust. Normally sandblasting is a major cleaning method used. Application involves the use of spray guns to apply the dust onto the substrate while curing involves enhancing the bond formed using heat.

Curing enhances the bond formed hence it prolongs the length of time the coating can last. There are specific machines or rooms for curing and the temperatures inside such rooms must be maintained at certain levels. Deviating from the specified temperatures affects the quality of the final finish.




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