You know it, we know it: Costs are always an issue when planning a manufacturing project. If your project includes metalwork, then finishing is probably one of those costs. Often, industrial powder coating is foregone in favor of the cheaper paint option.
You should know that choosing paint over powder coating is not always the most efficient way to go.
It’s true: Industrial powder coating can be economically beneficial over the traditional paint method. To understand how this works, you need to factor in short- and long-term elements of industrial powder coating costs.
Factors to Consider: Costs & Industrial Powder Coating
Powder coating costs more up front than paint because you’re paying for a multi-layered process -- it’s not just about having a paintbrush and painting. (OK; that’s a little simplified.)
Factors to consider with costs include:
Powder Coating Process
There are roughly five stages that powder coating undergoes before witnessing the finished product. These stages in summary include:
- Pretreating or sandblasting the product to remove things like oil, rust, etc.
- Applying the powder.
- Heating up the product to effect a gel-like consistency or appearance.
- Baking the product in an oven to completely preserve it.
This process is costly indeed when compared to painting. But it is also this process that can save you money in the long-term.
Surface Area
Costs are dependent on the size of the project.
How much surface area must be coated? What type of metal is being used? What is the order volume? These types of factors are standard and will influence the costs of any project, whether powder coating or paint is involved.
Type of Powder Coating
Like paints, powders come in different varieties. You can have a powder based on:
- Polyester
- Epoxy
- Nylon
- Polyurethane
- Fluoropolymer
- Other stuff
Polyester is often the cheapest while stronger types, like fluoropolymer, is more expensive. Costs will increase, too, with non-stick powders or with particular colors, should you desire an unusual one.
You may want to check with your vendor beforehand to what they use and which colors are available.
What You Can Expect
You can expect to pay a little more up front when you choose industrial powder coating over paint options, but you can also expect to benefit in the long run.
1. Cost Efficiency
It’s true, your costs, economically speaking, are lower in the long term.
There is minimal overspray with powder coating, unlike with paint. Powder coating overspray be reclaimed too, so wasted product is nearly nonexistent with this finishing method.
2. Durability
OK, so powder coating is not bulletproof, but it is more durable and impact resistant. Unlike paint, it can withstand extreme weather conditions, serious wear and tear, and other high-impact situations.
In other words, it takes longer to put on than paint, but once on, it is exceptionally difficult to remove. There’s no easy on/off process here.
3. Flexibility
Typically powder coating produces a coat 2x as thick as paint finishes. Though thickness is nice, the real advantage here is the flexibility this thickness nurtures. The powder coating is able to bend with the metal, so components subjected to a lot of twisting and pulling will remain well protected for a longer time.
4. Safety
Safety -- both for humans and the environment – accompanies the use of powder over paint. Powders do not contain harmful chemicals, like volatile organic compounds, which are often associated with wet paint. These types of chemicals have been blamed for ozone depletion in the environment and cancer in humans.
We could all do with a little less of that.
Get Your Powder Coating on Today
Powder coating is an optimal option for your industrial projects. It’s important to design a metal-based project with short- and long-term factors in mind when it comes to costs.
As a one-shop-fits-all business, we can help you design and engineer your project while keeping costs in mind.
