Thin-Film Powder Coatings – Characteristics and Advantages
The optimum film thickness is an important subject for any coating endeavor. The minimum film thickness for powder coatings typically falls between 60 and 80 µm. Sometimes however, this can still be too thick, in which case a special thin-film powder coating is used. Under certain conditions, these powders can achieve a maximum film thickness of 30 µm. This is made possible by an optimized powder formulation combined with special production technology.
Technical Properties
A thinner powder layer offers technical properties that can be advantageous or even necessary for certain projects. A project may have requirements for precise contouring, little edge buildup and/or improved plasticity making them essential for coating perforated grids for example. For delicate pieces such as engravings and embossing, thin film thicknesses provide better readability. In practice, thin-film powder coatings are often given additional properties such as chemical resistance or special flexibility by mixing in certain additives.
In summary: Thin-film powder coatings are particularly well suited for application in production lines where large numbers of flat parts are coated AND for coating parts with special contour and edge requirements.
Economic advantages for the user
Aside from the technical perspective, there is also a major economic advantage that comes with using thin-film powders: saving on material. Since less powder is needed to cover a surface, the overall powder usage is reduced which in turn reduces the user’s overall coating cost. The savings in costs/m2 are usually in the double-digit percentage range. Furniture manufacturers, in particular, will take advantage of these features for surface finishing in the decorative sector. In addition, they benefit from increased energy efficiency, which also has a positive effect on total costs as well as the environment. The reason for this is that the thin powder layer can be heated to the required curing temperature more quickly.
Comparing standard to thin-film powder coating
| Standard | Thin-Film | |
| Color | RAL 7043 | RAL 7043 |
| Quantity [kg] | 500 | 500 |
| Price/kg [€] | 7,65 | 10,50 |
| Thickness [μm] | 65 | 35 |
| Specific Gravity [g/cm³] | 1,5 | 1,5 |
| Theoretical coverage [m²/kg] | 9,23 | 17,14 |
| Price/m² [€] | 0,83 | 0,61 |
Limitations
To be noted: These advantages are paralleled by functional limitations due to the very nature of a thin-film powder. These should be taken into consideration by the coater when making the final choice:
- losses in scratch and abrasion resistance.
- insufficient opacity with colored shades
- no structures possible
- limited corrosion protection
Our thin-film powder customers prefer to use RAL 9005 and white colors such as RAL 9001, 9003, 9010, 9016. With that being said, thin powder coatings can be manufactured in all colors available by TIGER.
TIGER solutions - fully customizable
Thanks to our in-house R&D Center, we at TIGER are able to develop thin-film powder coatings that are precisely tailored to the individual needs of our customers. Together, we develop a formulation that meets every requirement
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