Avoid Bad Powder Coating

Blooming, Blushing, Outgassing, Craters, and More!

It would be great if the powder coating process were fool-proof and every service provider could deliver the same, high quality results as the most experienced shops. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Powder coating is part science, part engineering, and part technique. A lazy shop that falls into bad habits or fails to recognize production issues can leave you with unusable parts, missed deadlines, wasted time, and an overwhelming sense of frustration.

As in most jobs, doing it right takes talent, dedication, and attention to detail.

Poor Surface Prep and Pre-Treatment

Every substrate is unique and requires knowledgeable pre-treatment to assure proper adhesion of the final coating. A piece of industrial guardrail and a hubcap are not the same, nor is a desk and an oil pan.

Being Well Grounded

Powder coating is an electrostatic process, and the metal parts to be coated need to be properly grounded. Poor maintenance practices can result in dirty grounds and bad contacts. This in turn can produce bad coating runs.

Attending to the Spray

Powder coating works best when the air and powder mix is optimal, usually meaning just enough pressure to get the job done. Excessive pressure wears the equipment prematurely and delivers too much powder at too high a velocity. It also prevents the powder form picking up the proper electrostatic charge.

Problems to Watch for in Poor Powder Coating

When powder coating runs go wrong, what can you expect?

• Blooming – a foggy or hazy distortion on the coating surface.
• Blushing – discoloration caused by substrate materials bleeding to the surface.
• Outgassing – Pockets of moisture and contaminants that erupt through the surface during curing and leave tiny pockmarks behind.
• Framing – An obvious, thicker coating or texture change around the edges of a part.
• Cratering – Dips in the coating caused by contaminants in the spray or on the part being coated.
• Orange Peel – The name says it all. This defect is usually caused by too thick a film buildup before curing.

Are there other possible issues that an inexperienced powder coating team might run into? Yes! Unfortunately, it would take a course in powder coating technique and quality control to list them all.

Select the Right Powder Coating Service for You

The most likely scenarios for a poor powder coating experience are when you select an unseasoned team or commission a shop to deliver on a type of part, metal, or at quantity with which they have no experience.

When possible, meet with your powder coating vendor to see if they present themselves as a partner to rely on in the growth of your business. Then, trust, but verify. Before committing the success of your next major project to a service that requires skill, dedication, and a focus on quality, do a test run to evaluate the delivered product.

Why Choose Great Dane Powder Coating?

You’ll find our dedicated crew and cutting-edge automations can paint, assemble, label, pack and deliver your order with a fast turnaround. Need it faster? Don’t hesitate to ask. Large parts, large orders, and high-volume runs – at Great Dane we handle the toughest challenges.

We look forward to providing a FREE QUOTE for your next powder coating project.