Anodised coating and powder coating are popular services that provide excellent results, depending on what they are covering. They both produce sleek surfaces that look good while also offering a lot of protection.
However, when considering aluminium surfaces, the question remains: Which is the better choice?
The short answer: powder coating. And we at Custom Aluminium are one of Perth’s best powder coating service providers.
If that wasn’t enough of a validation though, then read on and we’ll enumerate the reasons why.
What Is Anodised Coating?
Before we go about discussing the differences, let’s talk about what these processes are in the first place. Anodised coating is a method of treating metals that has been around for centuries. The process uses electrochemical techniques, which essentially make the layer of natural oxide on the aluminium surface thicker.
The paint itself starts out as a liquid but solidifies and thickens once applied. What you get is a coating with strong molecular bonds that offers more protection than standard paint jobs.
What Is Powder Coating?
Powder coating, on the other hand, is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a coating treatment that uses powder to cover the surface of aluminium products via electrostatic means. The powder, which is often made out of resin and colour pigments, is charged and then sprayed on the aluminium surface.
This charge then allows the sprayed powder to stick to the surface of the material. Once that’s done, the coated aluminium parts are then placed in an oven to cure. This produces highly decorative, versatile, and protective layers.
Not everyone can perform this process well though. And this is why it’s worth looking for only the most reliable providers of powder coating services in Perth.
Factors to Consider
When looking into the difference between anodised and powder coating, there are several factors that need to be considered. Among them would have to be the pros and cons of each coating option.
The rest would be the:
- Process – As already noted earlier, anodised coating uses an electrochemical process to do work while powder coating uses an electrostatic effect. This is an important distinction since the former uses liquid while the latter uses solid in the form of powder, which is then turned to liquid before solidifying through curing.
- Variation of Colours – Since it uses liquid materials, anodised coating often ends up using different batches of colour that need to be mixed. As such, this results in some variation with the colours, even if they are minor. With powder coating, the pigments can be much more uniform.
- Cost – When taking into consideration things like the state of the materials, how they are processed and used, storage, and availability, the anodised coating tends to be more expensive than powder coating.
- Surface Limitations – Here’s one of the bigger differences between anodised and powder coating. The former will only work with aluminium surfaces while the latter can be applied to pretty much anything as long as it is solid.
- Maintenance and Repair – Anodised coating can be incredibly difficult or even impossible to rework once it has been applied. Powder coating, however, is the opposite.
- Durability – While the anodised coating is more difficult to maintain and repair, it does last longer than powder coating.
The consideration of all these factors and more, are what makes us at Custom Aluminium one of Perth’s best powder coating service providers.
Why Anodised Coating?
Now that you know which factors to look into, let’s take a look at what makes anodised coating worth your time and what its drawbacks are, as a whole.
Generally speaking, anodised coating is a good choice for aluminium surfaces. It’s particularly good for items that will be placed in areas that get a lot of traffic that subject them to a ton of abuse.
Anodised coating also doesn’t peel off since it’s essentially become part of the surface that it’s been sprayed on. As such, this makes it less likely to allow things like rust or unappealing visuals of age to show.
For those who want the aluminium surfaces to have a deeper, more metallic look, anodised coating also produces a breathtaking level of richness. A lot of this is thanks to the translucent appearance that the coating offers.
Last but not least, sunlight has practically no impact on surfaces that have been covered by the anodised coating.
Then again, an anodised coating can be rather expensive and is much harder to affect with chemicals. The choices of colours can be quite limited, as well. This is a major stumbling block for those who want more variety.
If the materials have been welded together or are meant to be welded, the results are not as clean, either. This is a point that needs to be considered, particularly for construction or architectural projects.
Why Powder Coating?
Now we get to powder coating. While anodised coating certainly has plenty of benefits, as noted above, powder coating is preferred by many for a reason. To start with, powder coating has a near endless range of choices for colours, both individually and in combination.
The durability and resistance to UV light that powder coating is known for would also make it perfect for outdoor applications. They even last for up to 10 years under the harshest conditions.
Powder coating also doesn’t generate volatile organic compounds. This negates the need to destroy them for the sake of safety and environmental friendliness. Speaking of which, you could even recycle the powder for later use. Talk about efficiency and lack of waste.
When you add that last part with how affordable powder coating is, you can easily see how beneficial this option is for your budget. Cost is one of the key aspects that is always considered even by the best powder coating service providers in Perth.
Finally, powder coating has this unique characteristic to easily cover up welded joints. That’s a huge plus for those who put a lot of emphasis on aesthetics.
The Verdict
There you have it. If you’re having an internal debate as to whether to go with Anodised Coating or Powder Coating you now know why the latter would be an excellent choice. Anodised coating certainly isn’t bad, but powder coating is many magnitudes better when all is said and done. Not only is it cheaper, but it’s also much more versatile.
Are you looking for powder coating services in Perth? Contact us today at Custom Aluminium and we’ll make sure you only get top quality powder coats for all your needs.
