Powder coating is a type of dry coating, which is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The main difference between a conventional liquid paint and a powder coating is that the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form. The coating is typically applied electrostatically and is then cured under heat to allow it to flow and form a "skin." The powder may be a thermoplastic or a thermoset polymer. It is usually used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint. Powder coating is mainly used for coating of metals, such as "white goods", aluminum extrusions, and automobile and motorcycle parts. Newer technologies allow other materials, such as MDF (medium-density fibreboard), to be powder coated using different methods.


Types of powder coatings

There are two main categories of powder coatings: thermosets and thermoplastics. The thermosetting variety incorporates a crosslinker into the formulation. When the powder is baked, it reacts with other chemical groups in the powder polymer and increases the molecular weight and improves the performance properties. The thermoplastic variety does not undergo any additional reactions during the baking process, but rather only flows out into the final coating.

The most common polymers used are polyester, polyester-epoxy (known as hybrid), straight epoxy (Fusion bonded epoxy)and acrylics.