Have you ever had someone tell you that you can’t touch up powder coating? There is some truth to this, but just because you experience some damage to your powder coating does not mean you have to accept it as being damaged forever. There are still some methods you can use to make small repairs to powder coated parts or surfaces.
When does powder coating need to be touched up in Washington? Read on to learn more.
Touch-up options
It is true that you will not be able to touch up a small area of a powder coated part or surface with powder. This will only result in there being a clear parting line between the original coating and the touched-up area, which will come off looking rough and dry.
However, there are still ways you can touch up the area without using the same powder coating process. One of the most common strategies used for this is to use liquid paint. You won’t be able to get the same level of performance and durability as the powder with an aerosol paint, but it will still provide some needed cosmetic touch-ups that can closely match the color of the powder. If you have a very small area that needs a little bit of a touch-up, this solution might be perfectly acceptable, so long as you understand you’re not going to get as good a level of protection from the new paint as the powder. It may result in earlier discoloration and potential exposure to rust, even with the touch-up.
There are some cases in which you can use a two-component color-matched polyurethane liquid paint and apply it with a brush or spray. With this solution, there still may be a clear parting line between the new and old coating, but if you perform this task properly, it should not be super obvious. This kind of coating will also give you a better level of performance than what you’d get with the standard aerosol paint as described above.
Note that here again, the polyurethane paint mixture will not wear or discolor at the same rate as the powder, which means a poor color match will become more noticeable over time.
If you really care about the performance and durability of the part or are a stickler for its appearance, you might simply want to recoat the entire part after making the necessary repairs. This will involve cleaning and sanding the repair area, then recoating the whole part, which means most of the part will get a second coat. Even one extra layer can be beneficial to the appearance and the performance of the part over time, but this may cost you more money, depending on who was at fault for the failure of the coating in the first place.
If you’re interested in learning more about powder coating touch-ups and other issues related to powder coating in Washington, we encourage you to contact the team at Powder Vision Inc. today with any questions.