USD
GBP
EUR
After the shelving is manufactured, the final step is surface treatment. In the warehouse shelving industry, we often hear about powder coating and spray painting. Powder coating and spray painting differ by only one word, but what exactly is the difference between them? Is powder coating better or spray painting better? Should you choose powder coating or spray painting? Customers often raise questions about powder coating and spray painting when signing contracts with our shelving company. Now, the editor from Henan Huadu Times Furniture will explain powder coating and spray painting in detail.
1. The powder coating process includes pickling (or shot blasting), degreasing, phosphating, washing, drying, electrostatic powder spraying, high-temperature curing and leveling, and packaging. It is generally an assembly line operation, not sensitive to external climate, and suitable for mass production. 2. The painting process includes pickling (or shot blasting), degreasing, phosphating, washing, natural drying, puttying, primer spraying, topcoat spraying, natural drying, and packaging. It is generally a non-assembly line operation, sensitive to external climate, and cannot be carried out on rainy days. It is suitable for multi-variety, small-batch production.
2. Spray painting uses solvents, while powder coating uses powder, so spray painting has better leveling than powder coating; during the spray painting process, scratches and mistakes can be repaired and recoated at any time; spray painting allows for bending as small as 1mm, and even T-bending; spray painting offers dozens of times more color options than powder coating, and can create different effects from the same material.
3. Powder-coated surfaces are relatively glossy and have high hardness, but their leveling properties are slightly poor, making them prone to defects such as orange peel, which are difficult to repair. These defects are usually remedied by painting, but the color of the painted areas will definitely differ visually from the powder-coated areas. Painted surfaces have lower gloss and slightly lower hardness, but are easier to repair. Their corrosion resistance is almost identical. However, powder-coated layers have poor bending resistance and are prone to cracking after bending, while painted surfaces have higher bending resistance.
4. Because powder coating is an assembly line operation, changing colors is costly, so it's generally difficult to change colors for small-batch production. Spray painting, on the other hand, is more flexible, allowing for virtually any color selection.
5. Spray painting can process almost any steel product in any location, while powder coating is limited to online processing due to the constraints of the production line. Furthermore, due to the limitations of the drying tunnel entrance, it cannot process large or particularly heavy steel components, such as large H-beams or I-beams.
6. Powder coating is relatively inexpensive, costing about one-third of the price of spray painting. Generally speaking, compared to spray painting, powder coating more easily overcomes substrate defects and meets customer quality standards. Improper powder coating treatment can easily lead to pitting defects (bubbles). Electrostatic powder coating is commonly used because it is relatively cheaper, has the same surface hardness as spray painting, and is anti-static. Furthermore, modern powder coating is often mechanized, making it comparable to spray painting. Powder coating has a significant cost advantage, so both shelving manufacturers and customers tend to choose it. However, the choice between powder coating and spray painting should be based on actual usage and customer requirements.