Measuring Up the Product - Part 2

Need to evaluate powder coatings offered by different manufacturers? Some products may appear to  

be identical but have different prices. Which is the better value, which should you buy, and which product best suits your particular need? The following is information on evaluating powder coatings to help answer the above questions.

In order to evaluate powder coatings, you first need to determine the minimum thickness required to meet your needs. The basic requirement will be to determine at what thickness does the product you are evaluating hide the underlying surface.  The coating thickness of the same product may vary depending on the substrate needing coverage.  Using this method, it may be easy to compare products.  If one powder has a much higher specific gravity than another, but hides at about the same thickness, the price of the lower specific gravity product must be low enough to provide the same or better cost per square feet. 

If the products you are evaluating are close, it may be necessary to spray out a test run using both products.  The test run must be long enough to accurately figure out how many square feet of surface area are covered per pound of powder.  Careful monitoring of thickness and square footage is essential for accurate results during the product test.  Following the trial run, it should be easy to compare the products, determining which provides the best value by calculating the cost per square foot at the thickness required. 

Obtaining an accurate measure of the value of coatings plays an important role in cost control.  In addition, it is essential to control the powder coating operation to avoid putting on more powder than necessary.  It will do little good to buy a high-value powder if the application is disorderly and too much powder is being applied to the parts.  So your system efficiency will be an important part of your usage factor. Another important decision is whether you will be spraying to waste or reclaiming this product.  All these factors play a role in determining your true cost. 

For more information like this, please see or download our powder coating technical guide on our website.