Over the years, many an argument has been made about the correct way to prep for powder coating and many shops may use a slightly different method than we do. Below we have outlined the steps we follow to prep for coating.
- First we disassemble as much as possible. Example, a lot of lawn furniture can be broke down into separate pieces. Patio chair arms can often times be removed in order to get to all angles of the pieces.
- If the part is greasy, oily, or just dirty, we will clean with either soap and water and/or a degreaser. Whether you are chemically stripping or just sandblasting, it is best to keep the extra debris out of your strip tank or your sandblasting media.
- Next we will examine the part and determine how to start the prep. A bare metal part may be just etched. This can be achieved with a light blast from a sand blaster. Some customers may prefer the part to be run through a phosphate rinse or bath to promote adhesion. If there is already a paint or powder coat on the surface it can either be chemically stripped or sandblasted to return it to a white metal state.
- If it is determined that the best way to remove the previous finish is to chemically strip it, we would submerge the part in the chemical stripper for the desired time, remove and rinse thoroughly with water, either air dry or force dry in an oven, followed by a light sand blasting to etch the surface for good powder adhesion.
- Now that we have a clean and abraded surface, we use compressed air to remove any sand or dust from the part, followed by a tack cloth to remove any still remaining dust particles.
- If there are any visible remaining particles on the part we will often take a small torch to them to remove them.
- Lastly we will get the part hung up on our racking system to spray our powder!