Special powder coatings

We will cover why we use special effects, what their chemistry is, how to use them, how they can go wrong, and we’ll give you some top tips for how to use these particular coatings best. Specifically, we will cover wrinkles, translucents, dormants, river veins, multi-components, and fine textures.

Why Do We Use Special Powder Coating?

Most of the time, what it comes down to is what your customer wants aesthetically. Perhaps they need a rusty-looking finish, a rough texture, or an extra something to make the part stand out from the crowd. It is usually driven by the customer needing a specific aesthetic or designers aiming for particular looks. However, the need for a special effect could also come from the need to hide a substrate surface that doesn’t look good. This is the main functional reason for using them.

Wrinkles：

Wrinkles offer a very specific look. Smooth, classy, and sophisticated wrinkles are a comparatively mild special effect that can add real depth to the color and are pretty good at hiding the substrate. Not only are they a great visual effect, but they also have decent weathering, good hardness, corrosion resistance, and chemical resistance, and they are a great special effect for covering up surface imperfections.

In general, urethane-based coatings are good for chemical resistance. They are durable too. But, they do bring a lot of process issues with them. Like wrinkles themselves, if urethanes aren’t applied right, they go very, very wrong.

Translucents：

Translucent powders offer a unique finish in a variety of colors. As the name suggests, translucents cover the substrate, provide color (and they can even have metallic added) to the part, but allow a hint of the substrate to show through. Many customers love that effect of a beautiful hue with the suggestion of natural metal showing through and built-in.

It is pretty common to find translucents in either polyester or urethane chemistries. With the latter, note the pitfalls we listed above. Polyester tends to be more forgiving than urethanes in that department, though it is somewhat limited in smoothness and exterior durability. At the line level, polyesters are easier to deal with, and urethanes, while trickier, can offer a better overall flow and appearance.

Dormants：

Dormants have grown in popularity over the last few years and are bright, almost candy effects but with more depth, brilliance and shine. Dormant special effects are a two-coat system, as a base coat and top coat is applied and baked separately. The base coat, which typically has metallic pigment in it, has a color that will transfer up into the clear top coat upon curing of the second coat. So it’s the top coat, which is actually clear, that really draws the dormant color out and brings the dormant to life. For example, a red will appear as a dull pink before the top coat is added This also means that you need to make sure you use the base coat and top coat designed to work together, otherwise you risk all sorts of problems.

The top coat is a clear powder, which is great news as that means they are resin rich. So when purchasing formant effects make sure you get the base color coat and a clear that is designed to give the dormant effect and work together.

River Vein：

A river vein is a particularly unique effect. Usually, river veins come in polyester technology, though they are available in other chemistries such as hybrids and epoxies too. It is easy for appearance issues to crop up with this special effect. Paying close attention to your film thickness and what the TDS calls for will help here. If it requires three to four mills, you really want to be in that range.

Multi-Components：

How to describe multi-components? Seeing is believing, but many of our customers are simply amazed that such a beautiful effect can be created in a single coat. Given the versatility of multi-components, it is easier to say that what chemistry you use depends on where the coated end product will be used. For example, if the customer needs good weathering, then a super durable could be a great option. Now, due to the nature of this particular special effect, extra attention must be paid during application. We have said consistency is important a lot in this guide…and we will say it again! Be consistent with your gun-to-part distance! It really does make a huge difference.

Fine Textures：

we consider fine sand and grit to be a fine texture. Sometimes, a fine texture can be so faint that it is hardly visible. At the base level, fine textures are powders with a texture added in alongside the pigmentation. They’re great for hiding substrate defects and also for achieving a more matte look.Because of this added texture, one thing to be noted is that the more texture you build up in a film, the lower the gloss effect will become.

Other Special Coatings：

• Glossy finishes

• Low-cure powders

• Matte coatings

• Prismatic finishes

• Textured powder coatings

• Translucent powder coating

We have covered special effects including wrinkles, translucents, river veins, dormants, multi-components and fine textures. They are a versatile category of coatings that offer unique and interesting aesthetics and come with their own pros and cons.

For more types of specialty powder coatings, please contact us!

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