Powder Coating on Wood
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powder formulations

pretreatment
quality
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racking
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substrates
tape
types of powder

troubleshooting

Meeting the Challenges of Heat Sensitive Substrates

Over the last twenty years, powder coating has revolutionized
the finishing industry by providing a superior, durable, environmentally
friendly finish, particularly for metal products such as appliances, automotive parts, sporting goods and countless other products.

Powder coating is now the fastest growing finishing method in North America.

Now a second powder coating revolution is under way. Technological advancements in powder coating materials and application and curing methods have brought the advantages of powder coating to heat sensitive substrates.

Powder coating is now used on a variety of products that were
thought impossible just a few years ago.

One of the biggest breakthroughs for powder in the heat sensitive substrate market is on medium density fiberboard, or MDF, a combination panel bonding particles of wood with a synthetic resin. MDF is very suitable for powder coating application because of its low porosity and homogeneous surface.

MDF products include office furniture, kitchen and bath cabinets, doors, store fixtures and displays, barbecue trays and ready-to-assemble
furniture for theoffice and home.

Powder coating is revolutionizing the MDF market because it offers design freedoms other finishing methods and laminating processes just can’t provide.

Powder coating provides a beautiful, durable, seamless finish in every color
of the rainbow. And powder coating protects MDF products from chips,
stains, spills, and scratches.

How to Powder Coat on Wood and MDF Products

Some woods and wood products such as MDF have sufficient and consistent moisture content to provide conductivity and can be coated
directly.

Wood parts that require sanding can be cleaned with compressed air to remove any surface contaminants.

To enhance electrostatic attraction, wood can be pretreated with a spray solution that provides a conductive surface.

The part is then preheated to a desired coating temperature, which softens or partially melts the powder when it is applied and helps the powder adhere to the part where it melts a little on impact.

A uniform board surface temperature allows for high transfer efficiency and a consistent appearance.

For powder application, an electrostatic charge is applied from the spray gun to deposit powder on the MDF surface.

Powder materials for MDF can be either thermal cure products or UV-cured powders.

Thermal cure powders rely on infrared ovens, convection ovens or
hybrid ovens that combine infrared and convection heating. The thermal energy melts the powder so it will flow into a level film and eventually cure, or crosslink, into a finished film.

With specially formulated UVcurable powders, the melt and flow can be separated from the curing process and requires minimal heat to cure the
powder. After the parts enter an infrared or convection oven where the coating melts and flows for two to ten minutes, the board is exposed to ultraviolet light for just a few seconds for final curing and hardening
of the finish. Then the parts cool naturally or in a cooling tunnel before they are unloaded from the coating line.

Powder Coating on Wood —Powder Coating Institute

See also: Powder Coating Wood Furniture-PPRC

See also: Powders for Wood Powder Coating-Nordson

See also:  Powder coating on Wood, Plastics and Glass-Powdercoatingonline.com

Interesting article: Powder Coating on Wood Trends -Product Finishing/Trio Industries

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