Pros and Cons of Powder Coating
The pros of powder coating include that it has greater durability than most liquid applied coatings, is friendlier for the environment, in the long run can be more cost efficient, and is generally less flammable than an equivalent solvent based liquid coating. It’s environmental friendliness and long term cost advantage comes from the fact that powder that does not adhere to a target is collected, meaning limited to no waste of coating. Additionally, because the powder stays in the booth little to no VOCs are released into the atmosphere in comparison to solvent based spray coatings.  Powder coating is also  one of the most durable coating types, able to stand up to harsh elements as well as being relatively scratch resistant.













Despite all these positives there are some downsides to powder coating. These downsides include color change difficulties, difficulties applying a thin amount of coating, start up costs, difficulty touching up missed areas, the part has to be able to be grounded, and finish appearance. With powder coating each non adhered powder particle must be collected and can make color changes difficult as the collection area for the powder that does not adhere must be emptied each time a color is changed. Thin film builds (less than 6 mils) are hard to achieve with powder coating. This is due to the powder coating process and cannot be changed; essentially you have less fine control over the amount and speed which powder is applied to the target.