What is Powder Coating?
In industries of manufacturing, the term “powder coating” is fairly common. However, when a client orders custom springs, they may not fully understand what powder coating is and its importance to the durability and longevity of a spring product.
A powder coat is a tough, slender and scratch-resistant coating that is applied to springs to protect them from rust and corrosion. Powder coating has several methods of application but each supplies the same result of colorful protective options for custom springs.
Why Apply a Powder Coating?
Manufacturing springs to ensure long-lasting durability while maintaining the correct size and perfection is an important process. Before powder coating, paint or other protective agents would be applied to springs but these would drip, run or double the width of a spring. With powder coating, a protective film is applied. This film is thin, does not run and does not drip, creating seamless protection around the spring.
The Powder Coating Process
The process of powder coating a spring begins with preparing the spring’s surface after manufacturing. Coil springs require a cleaning that removes any residue such as dirt, grease or oils. Following the cleaning of a spring, we dip the soon-to-be powder-coated springs into an acid bath. This allows the surface to etch, ensuring the powder coat will stick and distribute evenly across the spring’s surface.
Following the acid bath, the actual process begins. While there are different types of powder coatings, the process applies a high voltage to powder coat particles and sprays them onto the spring. The particles stick to the springs by the electrical charge and are held there until undergoing a heating process that melts the coating into the film.
The heating process places the springs into a baking oven that applies temperatures over 400 degrees to the springs. This process cannot be applied to spring products that are plastic but the high-quality metal springs can truly have all the benefits of powder coating.
Powder-coated springs can come in a variety of colors and provide lasting durability to springs that are placed in extreme conditions such as weather that would corrode the spring otherwise. We hope this quick guide has helped you understand the importance and process of this coating.
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