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The next process in the development of powder coating was electro-static spraying. This was a well-known industrial process that had been used for many years to apply wet paint. The paint being applied was charged with static electricity causing it to be attracted to an earthed component being sprayed. This was a much more effective method of coating parts as the static electricity resulted in ‘wrap around’ i.e. the charged paint would wrap around up to 50% of the unseen side of the component due to the static attraction, resulting in more efficient use of materials so more of the paint adhered to the work piece rather than being exhausted to atmosphere or adhering to the spray booth s.

Equipment based on the electrostatic equipment used for paint spraying was developed that was adapted to spray the newly developed ‘powder paints’. The powder coating equipment was made up of a hopper that held the powder, a generator that produced the static charge and a spray gun that was used to apply the powder to the components that required coating.

When the trigger on the gun was activated the hopper fed powder through a tube to the spray propelled by compressed air it was atomised into a fine cloud and at the same time charged with static electricity produced by the generator. The operator then moved the gun around the work piece and applied an even coat of powder.

For many parts such as tubular structures and small fabrications the charged cloud of powder ‘wrapped around’ the work piece and it was possible to coat most of the part by spraying just from one side.

Powder coating had many advantages, the main one being that in one pass the operator could apply 60-80 microns of powder. This was the equivalent of spraying 3 coats of paint onto the part in about the same time it would have taken to apply just one coat of wet paint the old fashioned way. There were no volatiles, solvents or thinners in the powder paints that needed drying off.

Working conditions in metal finishing workshops improved dramatically with less fumes and a much safer & cleaner working conditions for the operators.

After coating the parts were placed in an oven and heated up to 180 degrees centigrade and ‘cured’ at that temperature for 10-12 minutes. The powder coated surface would firstly melt and then flow into a smooth coating and then the resins in the powder mixture would cross link and harden after curing for 10-12 minutes at 180-200 degrees centigrade. After cooling the parts were ready for assembly or packing.

From the 1970’s onwards Powder Coating transformed the way in which metal components have a paint type/coloured finish applied to them.