Aegis Industrial Finishing

Aegis has over 40 years of specialized experience in powder coating. We consider powder coating to be a science and have perfected sandblasting techniques to properly prepare the material-asset that is being coated. Our custom powder coaters with their decades of application experience ensure your project is done right the first time.

You can rely on Aegis to match the requirements of your job to the right coating system to meet or exceed your expectations. We know powder coating.

Types of Coating Powders

There are five basic types of powders used for powder coating. Each type has its advantages, disadvantages and preferred types of applications. Aegis works very closely with our powder suppliers-manufacturers. In most cases the type of powder coating and application the asset needs is fairly standard.

However, when it comes to extreme weather and corrosive environments, experience is invaluable in selecting the right powder coating. The type of material being coated is another major factor in applying the powder coating. Whatever environmental conditions your project may involve, the experts at Aegis will have your solution for powder coating.

5 Types of Powder Coatings

Epoxy Powder Coating

Epoxy powders adhere extremely well to metals. As long as the metal has been prepared properly with sandblasting and-or other pretreatments. The main disadvantage of epoxy coatings is they fade and chalk when exposed to the sun’s UV rays. Indoor applications are better suited to epoxy powder coating.

Polyester Powder Coating

Polyesters are the most common type of powder coating.They offer robust flexibility, impact resistance and chemical resistance. An enormous choice of colors, gloss levels and special effects is one of the biggest advantages of polyester powder coating. The biggest disadvantage of polyesters depends on the color and gloss they offer, as little as one to three years of UV resistance.

Super polyester powder coating is also available.

The advantages over standard polyester powder coating include better color and gloss protection, and five to ten years of extended UV resistance when combined with properly blasted and primed assets.

Epoxy - Polyester Hybrid Powder Coating

Epoxies and polyesters can mixed during the manufacturing of the powder coating by the supplier to form a hybrid coating. These types of hybrids are primarily used on items that require cosmetic appeal along with enhanced functional properties. Appliances such as stoves, washers, and dryers commonly utilize hybrid powder coating.

Fluoropolymers Powder Coating

Fluoropolymers powder coating is primarily used in exterior architectural applications like curtain walls, windows, doors and more. Fluoropolymers offer excellent weathering properties with incredible color and gloss retention. Long term warranties may also be available when applied by a certified powder coating applicator like Aegis. Ask your Aegis expert if warranty applicable.

Urethanes

Urethanes are chemically similar to polyesters. The major advantage of urethanes is their chemical and corrosion resistance. Common applications include fuel tanks, chemical tanks and agricultural equipment.

Aegis has been sandblasting aluminum, stainless steel, hot-dip galvanized steel and other types of steel for over 40 years. Sandblasting aluminum and steel is one of the most effective ways to clean and prepare metal materials for powder coating. Having a clean metal surface that is free of mill scale, rust, oxides and previous coated layers is essential for powder coating. Flawless powder coating results, start with sandblasting.

There are three main benefits of sandblasting:

• Sandblasted Steel and Aluminum material are cleaned
• Sandblasting leaves an anchor profile that increases the bond strength of a powder coat
• Corrosion resistance is increased due to the increased bond strength
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Factors to consider when Sandblasting

When preparing to have a job sandblasted, some factors need to be considered to ensure the job is done as efficiently as possible,to save time and cost.

The age and type of previous coatings can have a significant impact on sandblasting. There are certain coatings we are not equipped to remove, such as lead based paints. In these instances it is usually more cost efficient to have the coating stripped at a blast-only shop, and then we can do a quick sandblast to clean up any oxides that have formed after blasting.

Mill scale, or iron oxide, is a hardened surface on hot rolled steel that is formed during the milling process. Mill scale and steel have different electric potentials which result in the mill scale causing rust to form on the surface steel, leading to the failure of the bond between mill scale and steel substrate. This is why mill scale hardens and cracks during the metal cooling process creating a corrosion cell. In order to insure the corrosion resistance of the powder coating, removing mill scale cracks may increase the time required to sandblast.

Sandblasting is not an effective method for removing grease, oil, or other lubricants. Even the slightest presence of caulking or gasketing can create finishing problems. When oil or grease is present it will contaminate the blast media, and can spread contamination over the entire work product. Contaminants lead to premature coating failure and an expensive media reclaim bill. At Aegis, we are equipped to degrease most parts, but products sent to us free of these contaminants require less time (cost) for sandblasting.

Where and how your part is going to be used dictates how clean the substrate needs to be after sandblasting. Aegis follows the cleanliness standards as defined by NACE and SSPC. If you do not have cleaning specifications for your project, we can provide you with guiding questions to determine how clean your product should be and accurately estimate the time required for sandblasting.

The accessibility of the surface to be sandblasted will have an impact on how we are able to prepare it for coating. We have equipment that allows us to blast the inside of pipes and other recessed – internal areas. Depending on the complexity of the job and the degree of cleanliness required, it is good to discuss other options in the fabrication and design that could reduce the complexity of the job.