Costs and benefits of powder coating as a business. Powder coating business. How much money is needed to start

What is the article about?

Many metal fabricators use third-party paint services.

This is due to the lack of special equipment or the reluctance to hire additional personnel for such work, and when there is demand, it also creates a business.

One way or another, the demand for painting services for metal products in many regions of our country is quite high.

How to start opening a workshop for powder coating of metal products

Even a novice entrepreneur can open his own business in the powder coating business.

In fact, his tasks are reduced to organizing the production process(searching for a suitable premises, purchasing powder dyes, searching for customers, developing a marketing policy).

How much money does it take to start a powder coating business for metal products?

It does not require large investments to open an organization specializing in powder coating of metal products.

You can start in this area of ​​business with a minimum investment of 200 thousand rubles or more.

However, before starting such a business, it is imperative to conduct marketing research to understand the level of demand for powder coating services.

In the region where it is planned to open a production workshop, there should be enterprises producing metal products in large volumes.

Otherwise, a businessman may have problems finding customers.

Of course, on initial stage you can carry out small orders of individuals. However, the profit in this case will be minimal, and the full return on investment will have to wait for several years.

That's why for successful start it is necessary to find large orders and cooperate with clients for a long time.

What equipment to choose for powder coating

As for the equipment, the entrepreneur will need to purchase several powder coating chambers..

It is advisable to purchase models with automatic sprayers. In this case, losses Supplies when performing painting work will be minimal.

The cost of a powder coating chamber depends on its dimensions and technical characteristics... Models standard sizes cost about 60 thousand rubles.

For painting small-sized parts, you must also purchase hand sprayers..

To attract customers, the company can also provide services for the polymerization of painted metal products..

In this case, the entrepreneur will need to invest some funds in the purchase of a special oven.

How much can you earn from powder coating metal products?

A workshop for powder painting of metal products can bring up to 90 thousand rubles in monthly profit (depending on the volume of orders being executed).

What OKVED should be indicated when registering services for powder coating of metal products

When opening a workshop for powder coating of metal products, indicate the code All-Russian classifier 25.61, used for activities related to the processing of metals and the application of paints and varnishes to them.

What documents are needed to open

Because given view activities aimed at large manufacturers should be immediately issued entity... The package of documents is submitted to the tax service and includes: a copy of the applicant's passport, charter, agreement of all founders to open an activity, a receipt for payment of the state registration fee.

What taxation system to choose for opening an activity

STS with a rate of 6% is optimal when organizing an LLC. It is simple to keep track of and does not require strict cost control.

Do I need permission to start a business

Activity is not subject to licensing. It is necessary to obtain permits from the SES and the fire inspection. But to draw up a package of documents, the workshop premises must correspond to all legislative regulations.

Powder coating technology for metal products

The organization of the business of powder coating of metal products is one of the most simple types activities that an aspiring entrepreneur can handle without much hassle. He will only need to rent a room (or re-equip his own), purchase equipment, and conduct an advertising campaign in accordance with the task at hand.

To open a paint shop, it is worthwhile to analyze the demand for the service, namely to determine which companies need it. Peculiarity this business is to provide services specifically to large manufacturers, since there are very few private clients.


* Calculations are based on average data for Russia

Market overview of powder coating of metal products

Currently, an increasingly popular method for the final processing of finished metal products of any type in many industries is their powder coating or polymer coating.

But not every company producing metal industrial goods is equipped with the appropriate equipment: some do not have enough production space, some do not want to invest in additional equipment, and some - to hire additional workers, moreover, suitably qualified, or to retrain those already working.

Be that as it may, often a third-party specialized organization is engaged in painting a finished metal product, which in fact does not produce anything, but is profitable enough to attract the attention of a novice businessman.

Indeed, providing services for the painting of metal products, the management and the owner of such an enterprise do not risk the invested funds at all: an organization of this type will definitely not remain without work, moreover, many complex production issues - how, what and in what volumes to produce, where to sell the produced or how to provide uninterrupted operation of a plant or factory - this type of business simply does not arise - it is enough just to replenish stocks of powder dyes and other consumables in a timely manner and comply with the terms of contracts with customers.

In principle, not only a novice entrepreneur who first hears about powder coating chambers and polymerization ovens can cope with such simple tasks, but also a third-party manager who can be hired in order not to deal with such, in essence, minor issues.

In general, in this, as in some other such types of business, the entrepreneur is only required to organize the enterprise itself: to buy equipment, hire employees and provide advertising and marketing policy. But even these, in general, elementary things can be entrusted to professionals: managers, advertising and personnel specialists, etc. The main thing is to have an appropriate size of start-up capital, which will serve as an investment in starting a business, and, after waiting for some time (from six months to a year), during which the break-even point will be overcome, work on expanding this business or live a rentier - who cares soul.

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It should be remembered, however, that powder painting and polymerization services are strongly geared towards the availability of relevant customers rather than other factors: geographic location, size settlement etc.

For confident work and successful development a sufficient supply of manufacturing enterprises producing such goods that come to end consumer either in a painted form, or with a layer of polymer (s) applied to the surface (and sometimes both processes: powder painting and formation polymer coatings on metal products).

So before investing money in organizing a powder coating business, you should not just ask, but carefully study the issue of the availability of manufacturers of appropriate metal products in the region.

Do not rely on private orders, even in large cities: yes, individuals sometimes they also resort to such services (especially car owners), but even on mass small orders, the enterprise will not last long - it needs more serious production volumes.

Only the presence of a large number of manufacturers of metal products requiring powder coating can give a paint business a right to exist.

Of course, there is also a factor of customers from other regions, but this is most likely not worth counting on: firstly, similar enterprises may exist in neighboring regions, since their opening is not associated with large investments and costs, and secondly, such a large-scale advertising campaign that will help manufacturers of metal products from another region to learn about your company will be disproportionately expensive with the resulting effect.

Ready-made ideas for your business

So there is only one way to get customers from other regions: to ensure our own presence in the field, that is, to open our own enterprises for powder coating of metal products in these regions.

Powder coating equipment

The most important equipment in a metal powder coating plant is, of course, the powder coating booth. And not even one, but several: depending on the planned production volumes and the approximate dimensions of the painted objects: typical size the working space (LxWxH, mm) is approximately 2000x1100x1700, but for painting large-sized products, you will need special cameras: up to 11 m long, up to 2.5 m high.

A powder coating booth with a recuperation system is designed to apply polymer powder coating to the metal surface of products. It is a metal frame sheathed with polymer-coated steel sheets.

The recuperator is used to capture powder paint that has not settled on the product. Powder paint deposited on the filters of the recuperator is discharged into the hopper, the paint from the hopper (screening) can be returned to the painting cycle.

Ready-made ideas for your business

As you can see, a powder coating chamber is not a technically complex structure and its cost depends directly on its size: a standard chamber costs from 60 thousand rubles, chambers of specific (non-standard) sizes are somewhat more expensive. However, there are also cheaper ones - the so-called single-post (i.e. designed for service by one employee) or dead-end chambers about half the price (about 30-35 thousand rubles) of the indicated ones.

Actually, powder paint sprayers are used directly for painting - tools designed for applying powder paint to products in an electrostatic field, or automatic application chambers.

Sprayers differ only in the size of the container with powder paint: small hand-held units with a container capacity of up to half a liter and portable trolley installations with a reservoir up to 50 liters.

Usually, several copies of each type are purchased: at least one manual for each employee, plus several spare and replaceable (when using several colors simultaneously) and 3-4 (for a medium-sized enterprise, more precisely, services provided) manual spraying units.

The cost of the first type of atomizer is about 9-11 thousand rubles, while the installation will cost about 4.5 thousand euros (which in terms of rubles at the current exchange rate is about 190 thousand rubles). A domestic analogue will cost about 50 thousand rubles, but the quality of such a product and its work may turn out to be low.

An automatic coating booth is, in fact, a powder coating booth equipped with built-in sprayers: painting metal products in such a booth does not require the direct presence of a person in them.

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Typically, manual spray guns are used for small parts, or small-volume orders, as well as for painting parts in various colors, while an automatic camera can quickly and evenly paint one large or several smaller parts in one color. So it is advisable to equip the enterprise with 2-3 automatic cameras as well.

The cost of each of them is approximately 100 thousand Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH), which in terms of rubles at the current exchange rate is about 370 thousand rubles.

For polymerization - the formation of polymer coatings on already painted metal products - special polymerization ovens are used.

There are three types of ovens: electric, gas and infrared. The most common - electrical separately cost from 130 to 180 thousand rubles. (dead-end option) or from 280 to 535 thousand rubles. (pass-through option), however, when purchasing some automatic paint application chambers, you can do without these costs: many of them are like a mini-line, or a full-cycle machine and are equipped with built-in polymerization ovens.

However, it is still worth purchasing one or two separate ovens: in some cases painting of the product is not required - only polymerization (for example, when passing manual painting earlier or ordering only for polymerization, i.e. providing the client with already painted parts).

As mentioned above, all chambers are necessarily connected to recuperators - special devices that allow collecting powder paint that has not settled on the surface of the product.

Each recuperator will cost about 90 thousand rubles, which significantly increases the cost of powder coating chambers (both simple and automatic; however, some models of the latter have a built-in recuperator), however, without using the recuperator, you will not be able to collect the ones that have not settled on the product paint, and therefore reuse it.

Losses of paint will cost a decent amount - quite comparable to the cost of a recuperator. In addition, it is possible to organize the intake and supply of powder paint directly from the hopper directly to the spraying unit, i.e. arrange a closed painting cycle.

In addition, a powder coating plant for metal parts requires its own transport system to mount and transport products through all technological cycles of a powder coating area in a mechanized or manual mode.

It consists of transport trolleys, monorails, supports, struts, supporting columns, transport accumulators, transverse movement links, longitudinal and transverse trusses and beams, carriages, traverse, etc. standard parts for this system.

Accordingly, a mechanical (manual, in which parts are moved around the shop by the muscular strength of workers) transport system will cost only 25 thousand rubles. However, it is suitable only for small enterprises that do not undertake both the painting of large parts and large orders, or are limited in production areas.

Medium and large firms require an automatic transport system, the organization and installation of which will cost at least 110-175 thousand rubles.

Additional equipment includes a vibrating sieve (cost - about 35 thousand rubles), designed for sifting (separating the coarse fraction and foreign inclusions from the main composition of the material) fine loose products, in this case - powder paint with lumps and recyclable paint (screening ) and an industrial water and mud cleaner for its collection (10-19 thousand rubles).

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Market situation

Gone are the days when paints were perceived exclusively as liquid materials, with all their disadvantages: odor, toxicity and fire hazard. This idea changed about 40 years ago with the advent of a fundamentally new type of paints and varnishes - powder paints. These paints do not contain solvents and other liquid components, they are technologically advanced and provide practically waste-free coating technology. This technology has quickly gained acceptance in thousands of businesses. Now just listing all the spheres of its use will take a very long time.
In the Soviet Union, it became widespread in the early 80s of the last century. In those days, only giant enterprises could boast of their own "powder" line.

Nowadays, powder coating methods have been improved. According to experts, applying powder paint using the current technology is 5-10 times cheaper than before. Therefore, in the world, "dry" painting is slowly replacing "liquid".
Most often, "powder" lines are installed at enterprises that produce some kind of metal products. They mainly paint products own production... But there are also a lot of firms engaged exclusively in painting.

Advantages and disadvantages

Powder coating technology has many advantages over liquid coating:
... powder paints are supplied to the consumer in a ready-to-use form. Their preparation, mixing, dilution, stirring, viscosity control is not required;
... the production of coatings is usually limited to a single coat, while liquid paints require multiple coats, the production cycle of coatings is longer;
... the paint can be easily recycled and almost completely returned to production cycle... Thus, a higher production efficiency is achieved;
... energy consumption for the production of coatings is reduced due to the absence of solvents (energy is not required for evaporation of solvents, ventilation costs are reduced);
... the possibility of mechanization and full automation of the coating production process is provided, which makes it possible to reduce the number of personnel and save production space;
... higher quality coatings and better performance are usually achieved.

At present, there is practically no alternative to powder paints and varnishes in industry in terms of technology, economics, and ecology.

Company staff

It takes a worker one week to learn how to paint parts that are not complex in configuration. In comparison, it takes several years to become a high-quality painter in a workshop (where liquid paints are used).
The brigade of an ordinary painting site consists of one or two people (painter + assistant). Depending on the volume of production, the number of employees may increase to 4. The most difficult part of the work is the preparation of the product for painting and loading and unloading operations.

Calculation of the payback period for a set of equipment for applying polymer coatings using the example of a standard complex for powder coating (oven (3000x1800x1600), spraying chamber (3000x1800x900) and lower transport system).

Approximate cost estimate for polymer coating services

Material name Unit rev. Price Note
Polymer coating
White Spirit
Rags
Electricity

Kg.

PCS.

kw

150,00

21,5

1,98

Usr price VAT INCLUDED

Price with VAT

Price with VAT

Price with VAT
Name Norm Price Amount (rub.)
Polymer coating
White Spirit
Napkin
Electricity

0,15

150,00

21,5

1,98

22,5

21,5

0,15

5,94

Total materials
Transport costs 8%
Workers' wages
Social contributions needs 27.5%
Overhead 150%
VAT 18%
Cost of painting 1 sq / m
Market price of painting per 1 sq / m

30,74

2,45

12,00

3,30

18,00

11,96

78,45

140,00

Calculation of the payback period of equipment
Estimated data:
average production area of ​​painting-1870 sq / m per month

Indicators 1 month 2 months 3 months 4 months 5 months 6 months
Investments for the purchase of a set of equipment (rubles)
Number of shifts
Area to be painted in m-c
Profit (RUB)
Balance financial flow cumulative (RUB)

550000

1870

115098

434902

1870

115098

319804

1870

115098

204706

1870

115098

89608

1870

115098

25490

1870

115098

Marketing direction

Powder paints on consumer market- the fastest growing segment in the structure of all paints and varnishes.
Purpose of thermoplastic and thermosetting powder paints: transport and agricultural engineering, machine tools, pipes, parts of cars and motorcycles, bicycles, instrument making, electrical, radio and electronic industry, transformers, capacitors, devices, tools, production of goods popular consumption, household appliances, refrigerators, water heaters, air conditioners, heating radiators, vacuum cleaners, metal furniture, sewing machine parts, gas and electric stoves, washing machines, construction, facing facade tiles, asbestos-cement, ceramic, roof tiles, consumer goods production, decorative ceramic products, plastic products, etc.


Technology and production

The technological process of painting with powder paints includes the following stages as standard:
... surface preparation;
... applying powder paint;
... coating formation (curing / polymerization).

Surface preparation:
The technology of surface preparation before painting practically does not differ from the technology used in traditional methods of applying paints and varnishes - degreasing, etching, and phosphating of the surface are also used here.
For non-corroded surfaces, degreasing by wiping with a material moistened with organic solvent or annealing may be sufficient.
- Powder coating:
Most powder coatings are produced by electrostatic spraying.
Electrostatic powder coating is based on imparting an electrical charge to the powder particles.

The essence of this method is as follows: particles of powder paint, passing through the sprayer, receive an electrostatic (negative) or tribostatic (positive) charge and are applied to the surface of the product in a uniform layer, since the product is grounded and has an electric charge of the same polarity.

Powder during electrostatic application is distributed evenly over flat surfaces of the product and a slightly thicker layer on sharp corners and edges of the product, which improves the quality of the coating.
- Coating formation:
The coating formation process takes place in the curing oven (in the polymerization chamber), regardless of the method of powder coating used.
After applying the powder paint, the painted product is placed in an oven and kept at a temperature of 120-250 ° C for 10-20 minutes.
When heated, the paint melts and spreads evenly over the surface of the product, forming a thin and durable film 60-80 microns thick.
The most common method for curing powder paints is by heating products in a conventional way, which provides for the complete heating of the entire product to the desired temperature.
The low-temperature curing method (at 120-130 oС) is used for painting products that are sensitive to high temperatures. But this method Curing is only applicable to epoxy powder paints.
The method of infrared curing of powder paint allows for a short time to completely heat the product to the desired temperature, which significantly reduces the size of the equipment and reduces technological process.
But this method is suitable only for products of a simple configuration that do not cast shadows on themselves, and also provides for the selection of a special paint formulation.

Equipment:
- Polymerization oven. Operating temperature range: from +25 to +250 ° C. Furnace with digital control unit.
- Spraying booth, designed for painting with polymer powder paints.

- Transport system (lower, upper).
- Sprayer
- Compressor

Enterprise capacity:
One team per shift (10 hours) can paint from 50 to 250 m², depending on the size and shape of the part.

Powder coating is becoming more and more popular today. What is it? it modern technology, designed to obtain high quality decorative and protective coatings. The work uses polymer powders (hence the name - "powder"). They turn into a coating due to the effect of high temperatures. Due to this feature of the procedure, powder coating of metal and glass is most common.

Advantages

This process has a number of positive aspects. These include:

Profitability. The fact is that such paint can be reused if it does not settle when spraying.
on the treated surface. Thus, the loss of material is no more than 5%. By the way, this figure for ordinary paints will be 8 times higher - about 40%. Also in this case there is no need for solvents.

Ease of use. Materials for this type of work are produced completely ready-made. This guarantees a consistently high quality of coatings. In addition, it is very easy to clean the equipment after work, because the powder is easily removed from the parts.

Speed. Powder coating does not require drying products before placing them in the oven. If surfaces covered with ordinary paint must be dried for a rather long time, then in this case the process is reduced significantly.

Durability. The technology of these works involves the polymerization of a layer of elastic plastic, which has a fairly high adhesion, directly on the surface that is painted. The result is a durable coating that boasts excellent electrical insulating and anti-corrosion properties, as well as resistance to various substances.

Environmental friendliness. As already mentioned, solvents are not used in this case, which has a beneficial effect on the environment. Waste-free production also plays a role.

Decorativeness. Powder paints make it possible to obtain a surface of any shade. The palette of the presented materials today has more than 5 thousand colors and shades with various textures. If desired, you can get a glossy or matte surface, as well as granite, moire, etc.

Powder coating as a business idea

Considering all the advantages of this type of work, it becomes obvious that such a business will be quite profitable. If you do not have the opportunity to immediately invest a large amount in your business, it is advisable to at least just find out how do-it-yourself powder painting is done.

But it is worth considering that you still have to spend money. First of all, you will need to take care of the availability of special equipment and a separate room. As the latter, a simple garage is quite suitable, but provided that there is enough space in it to accommodate all the tools and directly carry out the work. What equipment is needed for powder coating?

Camera

The work will be impossible without a special camera. It is in it that most of the entire process is performed. A powder coating chamber is needed to clean the air (recuperation process), in addition, it is precisely due to it that it remains possible to reuse the material. Here, the paint that does not get on the surface to be treated is sent to the filters and then discarded.

Such equipment can be of various sizes. Which one to choose - you need to decide in each case individually, having previously determined which products you plan to work with.

Stove and pistol

You will also need a reflow oven. This is a prefabricated structure consisting of panels (their thickness is 100 mm). Thermal insulation material - basalt fiber. If you are just trying yourself in this type of work, it is not necessary to immediately buy a special oven. For this purpose, it is quite possible to use a conventional oven. However, to build a business, it is still recommended to purchase professional equipment.

Powder coating technology also requires a spray gun that allows the use of compressed air. You can also use a compressor as it. If you have made a choice in favor of the latter, then please note that a high pressure filter must be installed on it.

Recuperator and transport system

Powder paint residues are collected using a recuperator. Instead, at first, you can use a cyclone-type vacuum cleaner. In this case, you must first check the power supply in the room and make sure that grounding is present.

If you plan to work with large-sized items, then you should also consider purchasing transport system... In it, the workpieces are moved on special carts that move along the rails. Thus, a powder coating line is built. Such equipment improves the productivity of the process, ensuring its continuity.

Powder coating technology

The process of performing the work itself is divided, as it was already possible to understand, into several stages:

  1. We will tell you about each stage separately. Preparation of a product, or rather its surface, for processing.
  2. Powder paint application.
  3. Polymerization, i.e. heating the product in an oven.

Preparatory stage: cleaning, degreasing

We can say that this stage is the most time consuming. And it depends on him how high-quality and durable the coating will turn out to be. In the process of surface preparation, it is necessary to remove all contaminants from it, degrease it.

Cleaning is carried out by means of a mechanical or chemical method. The first option involves the use of steel brushes or a sanding disc. Alternatively, lapping can be done with a clean cloth soaked in solvent.

The second cleaning option involves the use of an alkaline, neutral or acidic composition, as well as solvents. Their choice depends on how dirty the surface is, what material the product is made of, what type it is and what dimensions it has.

Phosphating and chromating

Further, a conversion underlayer can be applied to the product, which will prevent moisture and dirt from getting under the coating. Phosphating and chromating procedures ensure better adhesion and protect the surface from rust. For this purpose, iron phosphate (for steel), zinc (when working with galvanic cells), chromium (for aluminum) or manganese phosphate and chromic anhydride are most often used.

Then you will need to remove oxides, which is carried out using abrasive and dry cleaning. The first is produced by means of abrasive particles (shot, sand), walnut shells. These substances are supplied with compressed air with a fairly high speed... As a result, the particles "bump" into the surface of the product and bounce off it along with the dirt.

Etching (chemical cleaning) is the removal of various contaminants using special etching solutions, the main components of which are sulfuric, hydrochloric, nitric, phosphoric acid or caustic soda. This method is considered more productive, however, after such processing, the product must be rinsed from solutions.

Passivation

This is the final step in the surface preparation phase. It is necessary to process the part with sodium and chromium nitrate compounds. This is done to prevent secondary corrosion.

After all the preparatory work has been done, the product is rinsed and dried in an oven. Now the surface can be directly powder coated.

Paint application

What is the powder coating technology itself? The prepared product must be placed in the chamber. Here powder (paint) will be applied to it. If you have a dead-end box, then only small parts can be painted in it. Large products can only be processed in long chambers.

The most common method for applying paint is electrostatic spraying. In this case, powder paint guns are used. Such instruments are also called spray guns or applicators. This device is a pneumatic spray gun, with the help of which an electrostatically charged substance is applied to a pre-grounded part.

Coating formation

We pass to the next stage of work. The paint has been applied, now you need to form the coating. First of all, the product is sent to the oven for polymerization. Such cameras can be different: vertical, horizontal, again, dead-end or walk-through, single and multi-way.

The aforementioned equipment for powder coating provides heating of the surface to a certain temperature - 150-220 o C. The treatment lasts about half an hour, as a result of which a film is formed. On this stage it is important that the part warms up evenly, which is possible only if the temperature in the chamber is stable.

Which mode to choose for processing a particular part depends on it itself, on the type of paint and equipment. After the polymerization is completed, the product must be air-cooled. That's it, the job is done.

Applications

As you can see, powder coating is a rather laborious job that requires some investment. What products are exposed to it? The painting method in question is ideal for processing aluminum or forged products as well as galvanized surfaces.

Powder paints nowadays find more and more "fans". Now they are used in instrument making, in construction, and in the automotive industry, as well as in other areas. With their help, they paint medical equipment, roofing materials, household appliances, ceramics, plaster and glass items, furniture. Powder-coated discs are becoming increasingly popular among motorists.

Business organization

These works in specialized centers are quite expensive today. If you want to try yourself in this business, then if you have the financial means, you can quite start. Of course, the powder coating line ( automated system) is not affordable for everyone, but thanks to our recommendations, you can replace some elements with other tools at first.

Start with small items. These can be gypsum figurines, ceramic dishes and much more. Try to paint something in your house first (start by saying that you don't mind ruining it). Gradually, you will acquire the necessary skills and dexterity, then you will be able to take orders from friends. However, you should not expect a lot of income if you only interrupt with one-time orders from individuals.

The best scenario assumes a large start-up capital... In this case, you can immediately purchase necessary equipment and hire workers. Clients should be looked for among enterprises engaged in the production of metal products. Only the presence of such customers will allow your business to exist and develop.

Powder coating is modern method coating almost any surface. But if, when using ordinary paint, up to 40% of the original material is lost, then with powder painting, the return of the painting material is allowed, and only 5% is written off for losses.

In the process, polymer powders are used. They are applied to the surface due to electrostatic attraction, and then the particles, when heated and polymerized, create a uniform and homogeneous coating that perfectly protects against rust, mechanical and natural influences.

We will learn about other advantages of powder coating, and find out how you can successfully use this method of staining.

  1. Easy to use. The source material is sold ready-made. It does not need to be thinned, diluted or mixed. Just load the spray gun with powder and start working. Keep in mind that any unused powder is easily scraped off the equipment and returned to the painting process.
  2. Rapidity. After dyeing, the product is immediately sent to the oven for half an hour to create a uniform coating, and after cooling, the part is ready for use. In contrast to this method, products coated with ordinary paint have to dry for at least 12 hours.
  3. Durability. The forming coating, firstly, covers the surface with a continuous polymer layer, which protects well from outside from external influences, and secondly, due to careful preliminary preparation, the formed film adheres well to the surface of the product, and such a coating is almost impossible to remove mechanically.
  4. Environmental friendliness. When powder painting, no harmful substances or solvents are used, which may indicate a waste-free production.
  5. Huge color palette. To date, the range includes more than 5 thousand shades that imitate different materials. That is, when painting, you can achieve not only a single color, but also get surfaces like granite, marble or terracotta.

Video on the topic: DIY powder painting video

It is clear that the advantages are good, but without the initial capital it is difficult to establish a paint production. It's great if you have the opportunity to buy a ready-made line right away, but before that, try to find several large orders for painting metal, ceramic or plaster products.

If you don't have big money, but there is a case where painting of some details is required or building materials, then you can buy everything you need for the first time and try to establish a sustainable production structure, which, depending on the volume, will be able to carry out one-time orders: painting of car rims or shingles.

Equipment that must be present for powder painting

Consider a situation when you do not have money for a whole line at once. First, find a suitable room where you will place all the purchased equipment. You can adapt a garage for this, provided that it is completely free. We will find out what you need to purchase.

  1. Painting chamber. A special chamber is necessary for the painting process, and in it, due to the recuperation system, it is possible to clean the air with suspended powder by passing it through special filters. All collected material is reused. Cameras come in different sizes, it all depends on what you are going to paint in it and in what quantities.
  2. A gun or spray bottle. This is a special device that atomizes powder using compressed air. You can replace it with a compressor, but you need to install a high pressure filter on it for stable operation and creating an electrostatic field.
  3. Reflow oven. Its metal panels reach a thickness of 10 cm, and thermal insulation is provided by basalt fiber. Products will have to be heated up to 200-250 degrees, and at first you can get by with an ordinary oven.
  4. A recuperator that will collect unused powder from the chamber. You can use a cyclone-type vacuum cleaner, but with an obligatory grounding, and take care of good electrical wiring and normal power in the mains.
  5. The transport system is necessary for moving large surfaces. It is presented in the form of carts, on which the products are attached, and they move along the rails. The purchase of such a system is necessary if you decide to launch a line continuous process coloring.

The most difficult stage in powder coating technology is the preparation of the product, which includes various cleaning methods, applying a protective layer and passivating the product before painting. The rest of the steps are less time consuming and require less time. Let's consider the entire technological process in stages.

Here is a photo of a car rim before and after cleaning:

Preparation of the product before painting

The better the preparatory process goes, the stronger and more uniform the coating will be. The preparation consists of the following steps:

  1. The following methods are used to clean the product:
  • Mechanical cleaning with brushes or grinding wheels if you are manually carrying out the process. In production, oxides and rust are cleaned in special boxes, where various particles are supplied with compressed air: sand, nutshells or metal balls (shot). With the help of an abrasive, the scale is chipped off along with the particles. This method cannot be used to clean products with a wall thickness of less than 3 mm, complex shapes and structures. And you need to carefully consider the choice of abrasive, so as not to violate the surface structure with potholes and dents.
  • Degreasing. It can be carried out both with conventional organic solvents and with alkaline compositions or emulsion suspensions, including both the first and the second. This cleaning is from a series: we wet the rags and clean the part, then wipe with a clean cloth and dry. If there is not enough wiping, then you can soak the part in the appropriate reagent for a while, and then wash and dry.
  • The chemical method or etching is a method that is often used in production. With this method, the parts are soaked in solutions of hydrochloric, sulfuric, phosphoric and nitric acid or in dilute alkali. Ready-made pickling mixtures contain additives that protect the cleaned surfaces from further exposure to acids and alkalis. After etching, the product must be rinsed from chemical compounds and dried. Etching differs from degreasing in that in the first case, the solutions react with oxides. When degreasing, reagents simply wash away stains.
  1. Formation of a conversion sublayer that protects against the ingress of dirt and moisture under the coating. The material used determines which reagent should be selected for the conversion layer. For steel surfaces, the layer is formed by iron phosphate, galvanic - zinc phosphate, aluminum - manganese phosphate or chromic anhydride.
  2. Passivation sets the anti-corrosion coating. For this, sodium nitrite or chromium compounds are applied to the surface. It is not necessary to carry out all stages of preparation. For frequently used surfaces made of steel, galvanized steel, aluminum and its alloys, there are proven preliminary preparation schemes.

How is powder coated?

Further, the washed and dried parts are placed on necessarily grounded frames or stands. Using a spray gun, from which contaminated powder particles, flying out, are attracted to the grounded part due to electrical attraction, the part is uniformly painted.

All powder that does not stick together with the air enters the recuperative system of the chamber. Powder is collected from the floor of the painting booth with a cyclonic vacuum cleaner or a special recuperator. Then the coated product is sent to the oven.

In order to form a normal, uniform and durable coating, the part is heated to polymerize the powder. The main quality of a good oven is the ability to ensure even heating of the part. The optimum temperature for film formation ranges from 150-220 degrees.

Furnaces come in different shapes, modes of operation and modifications, the technological process, shape and number of products have a special influence. The part heats up for half an hour, and then cools down in the fresh air, and you can prepare it for shipment.

Where is the powder coating method used?

Any steel, forged or aluminum parts and products, galvanized surfaces, ceramics, glass, gypsum - this is an incomplete list of materials that can be painted well in this way.

Both bulky metal parts and structures and small components for appliances and household appliances are subject to painting. This method is used to paint medical equipment, which should be as safe as possible for patients, and roofing materials that are distinguished by their strength and durability. Automobile workshops use this method for painting rims.

Ideally, if you have in mind a customer who needs to provide a service for painting a batch of parts, and the initial capital for the purchase of a finished line. It is good if powder coating can become a separate service for your main business, car repair, refrigerator or other equipment. But if you decide to start from scratch, then try it, but do not expect instant big profits and buy only the essentials for a start.

 

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