Can powder coating be glossy?

The powder coating process produces protective and decorative coatings for a range of surfaces. It has applications across different industries and sectors, such as manufacturing, architecture and automotive.

With a broad scope of applications, there are requirements for different types of powder coating finishes, including glossy finishes.

How the Powder Coating Process Works

Applying powder coating is a process involving three parts:

• First, the surface that you wish to coat requires cleaning and pre-treatment

• Next, you apply powder coating in dry form, with an electrostatically-charged spray gun
• The final stage involves curing the dry coating in an oven.

The powder coating adheres to the surface it is applied to through the spray-gun’s electrostatic charge. This application enables a uniform covering, even where there are tight corners or sharp angles.

Then, under heat, the powder coating melts and fuses together, hardening into a uniform shell.

The final finish of this shell will depend on the type of powder coating you apply.

Because powder coatings combine resins, fillers and pigments, they come in a range of colour shades, and these shades are available in a choice of gloss level.

What Determines Gloss in Powder Coatings?

You can use powder coatings both indoors and outdoors across a range of gloss levels. But what determines how glossy a powder coating finish is?

There are several factors which affect gloss levels:

• The Resin system used
• Loading level of fillers used in the coating
• Particle size, shape and distribution

Generally, using fillers in powder coating that have very small particle sizes will achieve high gloss levels.

As particle sizes increase, the gloss level drops.

You can fine-tune of gloss levels in powder coating through the choice of fillers, such as barium sulphate and ATH (aluminium trihydrate).

What Are the Gloss Levels of Powder Coatings?

Powder coating colour shades are available in different gloss levels:

• Flat Matt used for colour matches to Anodic finishes 10%
• A matt colour shade will have a gloss level of 30%
• Semi-gloss shades have 70% gloss
• Full gloss will have gloss levels of at least 80%.

These levels will vary depending on the individual powder coating manufacturer.

Why Choose Glossy Powder Coating?

Powder coating continues to grow in popularity as a finish for external and internal surfaces.

Depending on the location and end-purpose of the coated material, glossy finishes can add a distinctive decorative touch.

At the same time, this decorative aspect of powder coating does not detract from its all-round durability and practical benefits as a protective coating.

Powder coating also has these benefits:

• Colour stability and consistency
• Good coverage
• Rust and corrosion protection
• Low toxicity
• Environmentally friendly.

For more information about our powder coating range and its many uses, please contact us.