Using Powder in Design

Posted by on 25 July 2019

There are generally two reasons for coating something in the design world – three if you’re choosing powder coating.

1. Color. At a most basic level, coatings add color to the part. Whether that is a straightforward solid color, a color with a special effect added, such as a sparkle, texture or vein, or even a pattern, the range and depth of colors and effects available is breathtaking.
2. Protection. Or maybe this should be performance. Either way, this is often an important part of a coating’s job – protecting the substrate and delivering technical functionality. More of that later.
3. The third, which in many industries sees powder coating outshine its liquid competitors, is making a more environmentally responsible choice. Powder delivers improved sustainability advantages over liquid paint that contribute to the sustainability footprint of the product and in achieving the design professional’s sustainability objectives.

Washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, windows, awnings, doors, office furniture, school furniture, lawn and patio furniture, stadium seating, children’s playgrounds, ATMs, ATVs, RVs, wheels…so many products use coatings, especially powder coatings, where adding beauty and functionality are important. So what do powder coatings deliver in the design world?

Let’s start at the beginning, with color.

Color

“Color does not add a pleasant quality to design – it reinforces it.” – Pierre Bonnard

Using color to enhance design is so commonplace, sometimes we don’t even notice it.

Color is used for decoration...                and psychological effect  

                                

Symbolism...                                          and emotional response

                                            

 

Function                                                 and branding and recognition…

                   

Alternatively, sometimes, we get so used to seeing color used in a specific way, that when the mold is broken, it’s a shock. Remember the first time you saw a bright red washing machine, as opposed to the standard white that has been in use since the modern style machines became commonplace?

Powder coatings have a huge role to play in adding beautiful color to an enormous array of products. Take a simple, straightforward color – no special effect added - often referred to as a solid color. The full color spectrum is available in most powder technologies, including elegant blacks and whites, inviting browns, greys, silvers and bronzes, eye popping neons, warm earthy tones, soft pastels, candy colors, striking translucents and everything in between. There are well-known color reference palettes, such as RAL, Pantone, Federal Standards and ANSI, and thousands of them are available in powder coatings.

When choosing color, it’s impossible not to consider the desired gloss of the coating. Gloss is a whole topic on its own – perhaps we will dedicate an entire article to that on our site at a later date – but it can’t be denied that changing the gloss changes the appearance of the color. We often provide gloss rings to design professionals we work with, showing the same color in 4 different gloss levels, and they are nearly always surprised at the difference it makes. A high gloss will add a certain intensity to a color, and a low gloss make it perhaps more subtle. Contrasting the same color in different gloss levels can have dramatic effect – think Darth Vader!

Making the coating sparkle or shimmer is an incredibly popular effect in many industries. Whether it is to emulate a natural metal or really make a part twinkle, soft shimmers, brighter sparkles and even multi colored metallic are all possible. Shades like anodized silver, platinum, bronze, champagne and rose gold are widespread. Even Apple is getting in on the metallic craze, with its new range of IPhone metallic styles.

Color is one thing, but color combined with texture can be extremely powerful. Super fine textures (think confectioner’s sugar) all the way to super heavy textured particles (almost like an anti-skid) have been used on coated parts as varied as building facades, truck cab floors and furniture. A slight texture can also play with how the eye perceives the gloss of the coating, as the light refracts differently. This Manhattan skyscraper designed by Handel Architect uses an IFS ‘terra cotta texture’ on the façade to create a beautiful effect.

There really is a vast array of colors and effects to choose from. Changing the intensity of the color, translucent powders which allow the substrate to show through, glow in the dark products, and wonderfully named effects such as wrinkles, hammertones, multi-component effects and even patterns like woodgrain are all possible with powder. (let’s be clear – wood grain uses powder as the base coat and then requires specialized equipment and materials to achieve the effect).  

Protection & Performance

Looking great is one thing, but so often a powder coating also has to perform. Performance could be many things – UV protection, corrosion resistance, chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, flexibility, scratch resistance…the list goes on.

Powder is used in so many different industries, and to deliver so many different types of performance, that it should come as no surprise that there are many different types of powder coating. In fact, powder as “one generic product” is a myth that often has to be cleared up in the design world.

Many design professionals mistakenly believe “powder coating” is a single product, and specify it as such.  It is not. There are different types of powders that are designed to deliver different types of performance. Powder manufacturers use different ingredients in the powder coatings to achieve the required performance – and yes, they are available in an enormous array of different colors.

This makes sense. When choosing a powder for the inside of a hospital operating room, UV protection is not a high priority, but resistance to strong chemical cleaning agents is. Choosing a high performance powder for the curtain wall of a 114-story skyscraper requires a different type of performance.

Understandably, performance must be measurable. How do we decide what level of corrosion protection is acceptable? How do we check if one coating is more scratch resistant than another?

Fortunately there is a wealth of coating performance testing and requirements out there, the most popular being ASTM testing.

There are literally hundreds of ASTM tests that can be performed on a coating, and many industries have their own performance requirements once those tests are complete. The AAMA coating specifications are one such example, regularly used by the architectural world to show the performance capability of a coating over a range of mechanical, chemical and weathering tests. ANSI and BHMA are others.

Environmental considerations

“Human beings don't have a pollution problem; they have a design problem. If humans were to devise products, tools, furniture, homes, factories, and cities more intelligently from the start, they wouldn't even need to think in terms of waste, or contamination, or scarcity. Good design would allow for abundance, endless reuse, and pleasure.” - The Upcycle by authors Michael Braungart and William McDonough, 2013.

Delivering quality design while reducing environmental impact is important. Sustainability is a factor most design professionals take seriously and consider when making decisions on many different products. Coatings should be no different. Coatings are used on so many different products, so making a more sustainable coating choice, no matter how small it may seem, can have a big impact.

So, powder is a more sustainable coating choice, than say a VOC based liquid paint. Why so?

There are no solvents and therefore negligible Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in powder coatings. There is also no toxic hazardous waste created in the application of powder coating and powder overspray can be reclaimed, and reused or recycled. In a DSM life cycle analysis study, powder coatings were also shown to have both lower VOC and lower carbon dioxide emissions than competing coatings. For these reasons, and more, the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, recognizes and recommends powder coatings as a sustainable coating option.

There are many studies that prove the environmental advantages of powder coating. When using coatings in design, and especially when practicing sustainable design, powder should be at the very least something you familiarize yourself with. Learn about it. Specify it. Repeatedly ask for it –and if it’s not available, ask why not.