Common Questions about Powder Coatings for Awnings
Stan Bond offers a range of Dulux Powder Coat colours for its range of <a “http://stanbondsa.com.au/exterior-blinds-awnings/”>Awnings so that you can choose the custom colour that best suits your home or business. Through our relationship with Southern Powder Coaters Stan Bond can offer high-quality powder coating for most metal parts of Outside Blinds, Security Doors and even Shower Screens. Here are some answers to common questions we get asked –
My Powder Coating has small scuffs is this acceptable?
Dark Coloured powder coating often shows little scratch/scuff/imperfection marks when inspected very closely. Australian Standard AS 3715 2.5.1 notes in part that the coating on significant surfaces shall be of uniform appearance, colour and texture and free of excessive scratches which penetrate through to the base metal. For all viewing situations, a minimum of 1 metre shall apply.
Stan Bond and Southern Powder Coaters work together closely to ensure the highest level of quality is achieved on all products.
Can I match a powder coating to a paint colour?
Unlike paints which can be tinted to thousands of shades and finishes, powder coatings are formulated and produced in a factory. Powder coatings cannot be tinted successful since the solid particles of each colour do not blend together, causing a mottled, speckled look when two different colours are mixed together.
How do I choose colours?
Choosing an appropriate colour for your home can be difficult. For external products consider the colour of your roof, guttering, garage door and fence and consider choosing a matching or contrasting colour. Avoid colours which don’t quite match as they can catch the eye and look very obvious.
Not all colours behave the same during application or performance on site. In general, light colours are ideal for more applications than other colour groups. Dark colours also show marks and scuffs much more obviously.
Light colours absorb little light because the white pigments help reflect the light. This reduces the heat up effect on parts. Dark colours absorb light and hence heat far more readily, which explains why dark cars are hotter than white cars in the sun. If heat is an important element in the design or use of your product, the effects of light and dark colours is an important consideration.
Bright colours behave differently again. Bright colours not only absorb light and remit this as brightness, but the pigments are more readily damaged by the ultraviolet light reducing the life of the colour as we know that colour. Bright colours, which include, reds, oranges, yellows, bright greens and blues are recommended for applications where colour retention is not critical such as playgrounds and furniture.
How long do powder coatings last?
This is a very common question. We would expect in normal (non-marine/non-extreme) weather environments powder coating should last beyond 10 years with little degradation.
Powder coatings are considered extremely resilient, be a coating of choice for use on gas or oil pipelines which are buried in the earth or underwater. Powder coatings are used on automotive and appliances given their excellent chip resistance, hardness and or chemical resistance.
How do I look after powder coating?
In conjunction with a regular maintenance program, your powder coating will have a long life expectancy and will stay in good condition for many years. Just as washing your car is important for removing dirt and grime, your powder coating needs to be given a regular wash to keep it looking good.
The effects of ultraviolet light atmospheric pollution, general dirt, grime and airborne salt deposits can all accumulate over time and should be removed at regular intervals.
As a general rule cleaning must take place every six months. In areas where pollutants are more prevalent, such as beachfront locations and industrial areas, cleaning programs should be carried out on a more frequent basis ie. every three months.
Three steps to cleaning your Stan Bond powder coated products –
- Remove loose deposits with a wet sponge rather than risk micro-scratching the surface by dusting.
- Using a soft brush and mild detergent in warm water clean the powder coating to remove any dust, salt or other deposits.
- Always rinse after cleaning to remove any remaining detergent.
Quality Assurance
To attain the highest level of quality control with our processes, every year Southern Powder Coaters send samples of our powder coating work to Dulux’s labs to undergo a thorough testing procedure. This test takes three months to complete as the samples are subject to 1000 hours of acetic acid salt spray. This is to determine any imperfections to the powder coated areas looking for adhesions, blistering or corrosion to base metal. They have passed every test. It is also important to note that these tests are not an industry requirement, the testing is undertaken to keep standards and quality at the highest possible level.
