Justin Wagner wrote:
> Hey Fred...
>
> The home powder coating is a huge threat to the powder coating
> industry... I think this V.P. is just responding to that threat.
I don't think that the prospect of one company selling a product to home users
for
about $24.00 per pound is much of a threat to an industry approaching $1.0
billion
per year in North America. Certainly not a "huge" threat. It may be a decent
source of revenue for the reseller though, considering that the average selling
price for a pound of powder is less than $3.00/# across the industry. BTW, we
make
the coatings, so I'm not defending the applicator side of the business. Just
trying
to provide a "buyer beware" caution.
> Whether Mr. Bach is correct... that it's an "industrial process"... I
> doubt it matters... $5.00 vs. $60.00... somehow I doubt that the quality
> of the industrial process is 1200% better than the home process... and
> the home hobbiest isn't powder coating F-15 parts... He's just looking
> for something better than Krylon.
>
> The home powder coating is taking the mystery and magic out of the
> process... bad for them... good for us.
If you are satisfied with the quality of the finish you get with the home
process,
great. My concern is that, when it doesn't work as you think it should, "Powder
Coatings" gets that blame instead of the inferior process used. Don't forget,
any
finish, whether it be liquid or powder, is only as good as the surface prep
under
it. Solvent based paints are actually much more forgiving than powder in
respect
to poor substrate conditions, due to the fact that the solvents may dissolve
oils or
certain foreign materials on the surface. Power coatings require either a
blasted
or very clean and passivated surface to get maximum performance, as well as a
full
cure. This is a time/temperature equation, and is also critical to getting
maximum
performance. I think that if you would look a little more deeply into the
subject
you would see that it's not "mystery and magic", but just good fundamental
finishing
practices which are required to get the kind of performance typically achieved
from
powder coatings.
As I said earlier, I'm just trying to prevent my fellow hobbyists from a
disappointing experience.
Regards,
Doug Bach
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