Does powder coating require any special preparation?
The key to a long lasting powder coat finish is in the preparation of the substrate. Very generally, the preparation and coating process involves the following critical steps: 1) Pre-preparation: The part is stripped of all components that are not to be coated and/or cannot tolerate the curing temperatures required for powder coating. The parts are then washed using strong industrial cleaners to remove all surface soils and loose contaminants and as much of the original finish as possible. 2) Clean, clean, clean!: Every part is subjected to intensive cleaning processes that are designed to ensure the substrate is absolutely bare and free of any oils, dirt, rust, mill scale, wax, silicones, etc. These processes most often include abrasive blasting or chemical cleaning (and many times BOTH) to create the optimum surface profile to provide maximum coating adhesion. 3) Pre-Bake: Each piece is pre-baked to purge the surface of any trapped moisture, oils, gasses or other impurities that risk
