Another Midwest Coatings Seminar has come and gone. If you missed the opportunity to join us this year, here’s a snippet or two on what you missed!

  • Did you know that Epoxies tend to yellow with overbake, but contain good undercure properties
  • Hybrids offer better color stability than Epoxies

Does your curing oven maintain the same temperature throughout your Production day? How often do you need to test the cure? How do you test the cure?

These are just a few of the questions that our friend and colleague Kevin Biller aka “Joe Powder” answered in detail at the Midwest Coatings Seminar 2014. Kevin was one of the guest speakers for our event this year, and is the President of Powder Coating Research Group.

His presentation began with the trouble we have working with Galvanized material. He explained the world of differences between Electrogalvanized vs. Hot Dipped.  He discussed how to minimize gassing with preheating and spraying warm and moved on to the important processes that should be in place to achieve an adequate cure, with the first step in the process being to consult the Product Data Sheets for important details for the coatings process. He provided excellent information on troubleshooting curing issues:

  • Heavier than normal parts – low metal temp
  • High oven loads
  • Increased line speed not allowing parts to get up to temperature to cure
  • Wrong Powder Coating used in process (check Product Data Sheets!)
  • Overcure – line stoppages or empty lines
  • Chemistry issues

Have you ever seen “orange peel” or cratering on your powder parts? Craters can come from many sources in your paint shop. Do you have any of the following located in or near your paint lines?

  • Oil
  • Grease, lubes
  • WD-40
  • Silicone grease, sealants
  • Other powders
  • Hygiene products – lotions, creams, etc.

Crater contaminates normally occur BEFORE the powder is baked. Introducing a few key procedures can reduce and prevent these issues.

Kevin provided various insights on the recoating of parts and the importance of recoating completely. He also included pre-treatment practices and testing for corrosion resistance. >> Kevin’s column Ask Joe Powder is featured in Powder Coated Tough Magazine

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