Don’t Miss Out On Powder Coating Profits

Are you looking for a business opportunity that will provide financial rewards without a huge out-of-pocket risk? 

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Are you already operating a fab shop or doing metalwork at your facility? Maybe you’re running a collision repair business or have a custom car, truck, ATV, or motorcycle shop where adding services could capture new business.

Perhaps you’re an entrepreneur looking to start a new business from scratch.

If any of these describe you, launching a new powder coating operation might be a smart business move. Powder coating shops are thriving across the United States and Canada. In many areas, the demand greatly exceeds the capacity of local shops that perform powder coating work for outside customers. If you already have a business where coating could add value, performing powder coating in-house can increase your profits and reduce the headaches associated with sending parts out for coating.

Since 2005, Reliant Finishing Systems has helped over 1,000 small businesses launch professional powder coating operations. The most successful of these companies all have something in common–they invested in Reliant finishing equipment that was appropriately sized for the results they wanted, they make sure their equipment stays clean and well maintained, they use high quality powders and expendables, and they do what it takes to recruit and retain talented, thoughtful employees.

With a little knowledge and the right equipment, it’s easy to start a new powder coating shop that can succeed for years to come. By providing professional quality coating services that meet the needs of a variety of industries, powder coating facility owners can take advantage of a growing market and create a profitable and sustainable business.

Why Is Powder Coating A Smart Choice?

Starting a powder coating business or adding in-house powder coating capabilities can be a lucrative and exciting venture for any businessperson. Powder coating is a steadily growing market that offers a wide range of sales opportunities across many different industries. As new regulations compel businesses to reduce harmful emissions, environmentally friendly technologies like powder coating are replacing older technologies like wet painting. 

From fishing lures and alloy wheels to industrial machinery and agricultural equipment, there is no shortage of products that can benefit from a powder coated finish. There’s also no shortage of demand for coating services, especially in the aerospace and industrial powder coating markets. 

As a new business enterprise, a powder coating start-up can offer significant growth potential to a motivated businessperson. As an add-on service for an existing business, powder coating generates increased business traffic as local customers learn of its availability. Although many professional powder coating businesses are still relatively new, it is easy to build a roadmap to success by observing the recent successes and failures of other shop owners. 

Why Doesn’t Every Shop Succeed?

The powder coating process has been around for decades, particularly in the industrial market segment, but it was unknown by the average person until only a few years ago. Much of its recent popularity is linked to the countless “reality” shows where custom auto, truck, and cycle builders powder coat everything from valve covers to custom wheels to race car frames as part of their work.

Unfortunately, some of the start-up businesses created in response to this relatively recent interest in powder coating failed due to a lack of basic business knowledge and because they made poor choices about how to outfit their new businesses. Below are four common pitfalls that need to be avoided on your path to powder coating success.

Pitfall #1: Not Having A Comprehensive Plan For Success

Starting a powder coating business or adding a powder coating operation to your current business will be a significant investment, so it’s essential to understand your local market, anticipate customer demand, and then purchase the equipment you’ll need to operate your business profitably. Here are some key considerations as you develop a plan for business success:

Market & Demand: You need to clearly identify the sales opportunities that exist in your area, including the types of businesses and organizations that can propel your business forward if you provide powder coating services to them. You need to have a thorough understanding of the sizes and shapes of common parts these customers may want to have coated. You also need to understand how to do business with the companies and government entities that will be supporting you. 

Competition: Learn everything you can about the competing powder coating shops in your area–lead times, what they charge, their strengths, their weaknesses, etc. If you think your area includes everything within an hour drive, do homework on every coating business within a three-hour drive. We constantly see powder coating customers haul parts an extra hour or two to get the service and pricing they want. Once you have a clear picture of your competition, you can develop a plan to differentiate yourself from them via service offerings, pricing, work quality, lead times, or whatever meshes with your business model and gives you a selling advantage.

To maximize your profits, it may be best to choose a balance between doing mainstream work (including walk-ins) and performing more lucrative niche services. Niche business happens when you target specific local industries or customers that need very specific powder coating services, but local providers aren’t meeting their needs. Examples of niche business opportunities would include coating large parts or parts with unusual dimensions, like 42’ long trailer rails or 10’ round agricultural mower bodies. Niche powder coating business opportunities might also involve coating parts that require multiple coats of powder to reach high mil thicknesses, coating parts that have complex masking requirements, or coating parts that must be fast-tracked and returned to service within a matter of hours. By offering niche services your competitors can’t or won’t, you help assure your profitability and future business success.

Space: You’ll need enough space to accommodate your powder coating equipment, provide efficient workflow, protect the safety of your employees, and comply with regulations. What many people fail to grasp is the amount of space required for the “inactive” phases of powder coating. 

You aren’t just coating and curing the parts! First, the parts are staged and hung from racks or loaded onto a conveyor. Then the parts are prepped. This is often done by washing with chemistry designed to make the surface more receptive to powder coating. In some situations, blasting may also be required. This can be done separately from the rest of the coating operation, but in the most efficient layouts, blasting and washing/chemical pretreatment are done as part of a multi-step process where the parts move from station to station, either on rolling racks or by conveyor. The more pretreatment steps you need to accommodate the various parts you’ll be working with, the more space you’ll need. After the parts are prepped, they may need to be force dried to prevent flash rust. The dried parts are then staged for coating. Once coated, the parts are moved to the curing oven and processed. Once the powder has cured, the parts must cool down before being handled. Once the parts are safe to touch, they’re removed from the coating area. 

As you can see, the parts have several steps throughout the powder coating process where they are not being actively processed or handled. During these steps, the parts will require staging room or they will end up in the way. Your best bet is to consult with one or more established coating systems providers, like Reliant Finishing Systems, and have them provide a layout drawing that integrates technical details about their coating equipment with a scaled drawing of your building. This can help you visualize how much room the equipment requires. It also helps you consider factors like the turning radius of your parts rack while you are fine tuning the location and specifications of the equipment you are about to order.

Budget: It’s important to set a realistic budget and consider all associated acquisition costs such as gas plumbing, exhaust ventilation, electrical service, and installation labor expenses. Professional quality powder coating equipment can be expensive, but it’s worth it. Don’t risk your business success by buying used equipment or hobby-grade appliances sold by online sites that prey on eager industry newcomers. Buy the largest, best quality powder coating equipment you can afford and make sure you have room to operate it efficiently.

You also need to have an ample budget for your shop labor. Just like you can’t expect a cheap hobbyist powder coating gun to match the performance of a brand name powder gun from Wagner, Gema, or Nordson, you can’t expect unskilled or semi-skilled workers to instantly turn out professional grade results with the equipment you buy. Powder coating requires technical expertise, so it’s important to hire and retain well-trained and experienced employees to operate the equipment efficiently and profitably.

Plan For Quality: Nothing can make or break your reputation faster than turning out shoddy work. Prevent this by planning ahead! Budget for skilled employees, professional quality powder coating equipment, and brand name powder coatings and prep materials. This will help assure that your finished products are of the highest quality. 

Successful powder coating shops know how important it is to provide premium quality work. When talking with companies that outsource their powder coating, the number one factor they cite when choosing a coating supplier is almost never price. In some cases, turnaround time or the ability to coat large parts may be the deciding factor. In almost all other cases, coaters are chosen because of the quality of their coating workmanship and the level of their customer support. 

It’s important to deliver the best products you can and have quality control measures in place to guarantee customer satisfaction. This isn’t just true with business-to-business coating jobs. Click here to learn about a young entrepreneur who used quality workmanship to build a booming international powder coating business with a customer base filled with pro athletes, celebrities, and business executives.

By forming a thoughtful plan for success, you can make better decisions about the finances, location, personnel, and equipment you will need to successfully launch your new powder coating business or add powder coating services to your current operation.

Pitfall #2: Buying A Coating System That Is Too Small

No customer ever comes back to us saying they wish their equipment was smaller. Fortunately, our booths and ovens are modular in design, so it’s possible to increase the size of the appliances if needed. We sell numerous expansion kits each year to customers who come to realize they should have bought larger booths and ovens, as well as companies that started small and have grown to where they can now afford larger appliances than when they first started.

Many of the unsuccessful coating shops opened in the last few years were started by enthusiasts who were focused on only certain types of powder coating projects. These were typically guys who were into welding, fab work, hot rodding cars, and enjoying the outdoors. They were fans of reality shows that glamorized that lifestyle and featured impressive examples of that kind of work. As a result of their hyper-focus, these new shop owners failed to think big. 

On the surface, their decisions didn’t seem unwise. They could buy a small 8’ x 8’ x 15’ oven from a small company they found online for less than half the price of a 10’ x 10’ x 30’ oven from an established well-known manufacturer like Reliant. They could easily coat rims, truck frames, and machine parts with the smaller oven, so that’s what they bought. 

Unfortunately, we have heard the same sad story countless times: A big customer from a nearby area has several loads of parts that need to be coated for a special project, but they are too big to fit in the budget-priced oven the new business owner chose. So, the customer ends up trucking his parts a couple hundred miles down the road to the shop with an industrial-duty 10’ x 10’ x 30’ oven and the new coating shop loses thousands of dollars of revenue. After enough of these missed opportunities, the new business is on the ropes. 

Pitfall #3: Not Having A Plan For Capturing Profitable New Business 

There’s another issue that can hamper your success if you don’t account for it before you start your powder coating operation. Unless you are in a busy metropolitan area, there are only so many steel truck wheels, alloy rims, cycle frames, lawn chairs, car parts, and small job shop parts in need of coating on any given day. Without a long-term bulk coating contract or an influx of large or complex parts, it is entirely likely that your shop will have the ability to coat all the small jobs you’ve sold in only a couple days a week. If your coating equipment is sitting idle, it isn’t making you money. 

A lack of business understanding caused a small number of powder coating start-ups to fold in the last five years because their equipment wasn’t operating enough hours each week. If the owners had done a better job of attracting larger jobs (such as refinishing agricultural equipment for local farmers) or selling bulk coating projects with high piece counts (like powder coating 2,400 sets of lunchroom table legs for a county school board contract), they might still be in business. 

It is critical that you investigate every potential customer in your area. Think outside the box. Touch base with any business that might benefit from powder coating certain parts or assemblies. Even businesses that coat in-house sometimes use outside coating vendors to handle excess coating work or address specialty coating needs. Along the same lines, companies that are currently doing wet painting in an industrial setting also sometimes make great clients for powder coating because of the benefits it offers over conventional painted finishes. 

Many coaters work to get contracts in place before they open a new facility. This helps mitigate the risk of starting a new business, and the customers who guarantee a certain volume of work get the advantage of discounted pricing. Be sure to have a plan in place that will help assure your initial sales success rather than finding yourself having to scramble to find new sales opportunities. 

Pitfall #4: Being Too Cheap For Your Own Good

One of the main things that separates successful powder coating shops from those that have either failed to grow or have gone out of business is the different level of business devotion shown by the owners and managers. In particular, the difference between the people who take intelligent risks and run their businesses like their lives depended on it and those who operate their businesses like they’re hobbies. This isn’t always tied to how hard people work, but rather how they deal with the opportunities in front of them and how they utilize their company’s resources.

Let’s look at what separates the two types of operations. A primary indicator is how the owner(s) go about spending their company’s money. The successful shop owner performs his own research and checks out numerous references before he buys a quality powder coating system from a reputable manufacturer. He makes sure it includes blasting and/or chemical pretreatment equipment so his coaters can get good powder adhesion. He also buys name brand powder, makes sure his guns are properly adjusted, hires skilled operators, and keeps his finishing equipment well maintained.

At the other end of the spectrum, you have the owner who asks around in a chat group or calls a couple “get rich with powder coating” websites and lets a fast-talking salesperson convince him to buy one of the small, inexpensive equipment packages they offer. He doesn’t really take metal prep seriously and decides to hold off on getting a pretreatment system. Instead, his employees use a bug sprayer to apply a one-step cleaner. Once the part dries, his company uses unreliable hobby guns to apply cheap mail order powder. Rather than hire experienced coaters, he either does the work himself as he has time or hires unskilled labor–often family members. Since they don’t have adequate skill, they turn the powder gun(s) wide open and spray powder everywhere. This approach wastes an extraordinary amount of powder and causes quality issues when dealing with Faraday cage areas. It also clogs the booth’s filters prematurely and increases the costs of maintenance and clean-up. 

Both business owners may be working equally as hard, but the outcomes they are getting are very different. The savvy owner/investor spends his money wisely, while the unwise owner takes shortcuts on the front end that wind up costing him in the long run.

Hours of operation also help predict a powder coating business’ success. The most successful powder coating businesses have regular daytime hours Monday through Friday, and some are open on weekends. Some coating operations also run more than one shift. In contrast, the less successful businesses are open sporadically, usually depending on how much work they’ve sold. 

This creates a self-fulfilling failure situation. At a time where people are used to getting nearly instant responses from businesses via phone and online messaging, not being readily available during normal business hours can be the kiss of death. If the shop is open only when work is being performed, operating hours will shorten whenever the workload declines. If the sales counter is being manned by the same people who do the work, the situation is even worse because when new sales are taking place, no work is getting done in the shop. This cycle goes on until the business cannot sustain itself. Because the owner was not willing to invest in the manpower needed to keep the business office open for weeks or months without new income, the business can only succeed minimally or fail outright.

This self-hampering business approach is linked to another indicator of potential coating shop success: the company’s sales philosophy. Successful shops value their salespeople and recognize that the most valuable thing they can do for their company is sell, sell, sell. Shops that fail to thrive rarely have gifted, well-compensated salespeople who are totally focused on selling. Instead, they’re often order-takers who don’t really know how to sell. Making the situation worse, they’re also usually workers who have to wear numerous other hats.

You can’t have explosive growth if you have the same people advertising the work, pricing the work, selling the work, doing the work, handling the banking and bookkeeping, delivering the work, handling customer service before/during/after the sale, and advertising, pricing, and selling the next job. 

There is no work to be done and no profit to be made without first making a sale. Unless an adequate budget is set aside for sales and support personnel, a company’s success is going to be limited. 

Is It Really That Simple?

This article is filled with examples based on case studies of businesses we’ve encountered over the past several years. Some were customers and others were companies who only wanted our advice. Happily, Reliant Finishing Systems has provided dozens of our customers with multiple systems over the years to help accommodate their growth. 

If you’re considering starting a new powder coating business, bringing coating in-house at your facility, or adding powder coating services to attract new customers, you’re making a smart business move if you plan for success and operate accordingly. Look to the successes of others for guidance on how to get your coating operation off to a great start while avoiding the bad behaviors that led other companies to failure. 

We Can Help!

Contact one of our highly-trained system specialists at (256) 355-9000 to have them help design the system that is just right for your needs. We also provide a wide range of help to troubleshoot or update your existing system to help it run more efficiently and profitably. Call us and find out what we can do for your business.

QC Testing For Your Powder Coating Line

What is QC testing

No matter what you’re powder coating, no matter the size of the line and no matter the type of powder or color you’re shooting, everyone wants to do a great coating job. We all work hard to make sure our customers are satisfied and their powder coated product looks great and performs well. Making sure it looks great is one thing, but how do you check that your coated surface is technically good? Quality Control Testing, or QC testing offers up a range of simple, easy to perform tests and performance criteria to ensure you’re powder coated finish is going to do just that – perform well. The really good news is it’s simple, cheap and easy to do.

You know how it goes. You're carefully applying the powder, and of course the color has to match the standard the coating company supplied - that’s what your customer wants. As well as looking great, we also want some basic performance from that coating too. Performing some simple QC tests will ensure that the powder is going to adhere, protect, decorate and perform exactly as it should when it’s on the part. This gives you the confidence to be proud of a high quality and reliable service and leaves your customers with both a great coated piece and a happy experience that will make them want to work with you again.

There are a few simple QC tests that are quick and easy to perform, so let’s take a look at some of those tests, why we need to do them and what we need to look for along the way.

Who Should QC Test?

At IFS we understand quality. As manufacturers and suppliers of high-quality industrial powder coatings, our production facilities and internal quality control systems are designed with superior quality in mind, and we use the most advanced technologies and experienced staff to QC test our powder at the IFS facilities.

We undertake QC testing before, during and at the end of the production of each product we manufacture. BUT… the it doesn’t and shouldn’t stop there. When it comes to applying powder, testing is just as important. Everyone – no matter what you’re shooting or the type of powder operation you have – can perform simple QC for peace of mind. And it's a great attribute and service to sell to your customers!

These simple QC procedures can be done to ensure that the product will perform as per the Technical Data Sheet (TDS) we provide for you. Every powder coating comes with a TDS and it's a great tool to use to check on performance expectations. Make sure your finished coating is at the required level and that your customer will receive the high-quality coating job they ordered.

If you’re not familiar with the TDS here is some insight... at IFS Coatings, we produce a tech data sheet for each product we make. On that TDS, you’ll find a description of the product, the typical physical properties you can expect the powder to provide if applied properly, such as gloss level, hardness, flexibility and adhesion, application tips, cure schedule and storage requirements.

The TDS gives you a basic level of performance – a quality spec – that the powder can achieve if applied properly. They provide a lot of useful information to you, but you shouldn’t always assume the powder will meet the spec - applying it correctly is a big part of achieving that performance. Here are some of the simple tests that can be performed and what to watch out for.

What are the simple tests that you should be doing?

So now we know who should be QC testing and we know why we do it, but what should we be testing for and how? There are several cheap, easy to perform tests that can make the difference between a satisfied customer and an unsatisfied customer. No one wants to send out a coated product that looks great but doesn't perform. So, to the tests...

Film Thickness Testing: The Film Thickness Meter

Image Credit: PosiTector

Film thickness – and a constant, level thickness at that – is important. It affects how the coating looks (no one wants the finished powder coated surface to have a patchy effect) but also overall performance. 

The simple way to check film thickness is with a Film Thickness Meter or Gauge.

Best used on a flat surface, they’re easy to use. With most meters, you simply press it to the surface, hold it there a few seconds and get a reading.  The reading will tell you what the film thickness at that specific place is. You should repeat the test in several places across the part. It's going to vary, (hopefully only slightly), so you should perform the test in several places to get an average and be sure you're in the required film thickness range. Dave Merritt. one of our technical service managers, shows you exactly how to do this and what to watch out for in this short explainer video.

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There are a range of meters available. The latest and greatest can produce the film thickness grade information as soon as a surface is touched, others take a little longer and many are magnetic.

Knowing your substrate is also important. There are meters that can measure coating thickness on aluminum or steel but be sure that yours can test for both as certain gauges won't measure aluminum. One to watch out for!

Why is this important? Well, most gauges are based on the magnetics of steel or the rebound of the signal from steel. Obviously aluminum doesn't react the same way, so a different type of gauge or a combo gauge will need to be used if you're going to be measuring both substrates.

As with most things in life, you can spend as much or as a little as you like for a film thickness meter. You can certainly find a cheaper film thickness gauge around the $100 mark. The little magnetic ones and the low film mils from one to three mills, are pretty accurate and can certainly do the job. That’s pretty inexpensive and may be all you need.  A middle of the range, high quality, good working gauge that you can calibrate and zero out for bare metal can range from $400-$800. Of course, if you want to go all out you can also spend $2,000!

Film Thickness Testing - What makes it fail?

The thing to remember is that film thickness, of course, is a range. Failure, therefore, would be in where there is too little or too much, or too much variation. Too little results in poor appearance, incomplete coverage of the substrate and failure of other tests such as corrosion and color. On the other end of the scale, too much can lead to poor appearance and failure of other tests such as impact and flexibility.   

Solving film thickness issues:

Fortunately solving film thickness issues in powder coating is pretty simple. Check out the summary table which explains the causes and how to solve them.

Regular testing with your film thickness gauge will help you ascertain if you've mastered good application technique and have solved the problem. 

Problem

Possible Cause

Solution

Uneven film thickness

Distance between gun and part is too close

Move the gun further away from the part.

Powder is delivered inconsistently

Adjust the equipment/air setting to its optimum.

Irregular voltage

Check the entire system (from voltage source to electrode) to ensure continuous electrical charge.

The Solvent Rub Test

How about another example? Let’s take a solvent rub test. This test method is used to measure the degree of cure of a coating. Making sure your coating is fully cured is super important – it simply won’t perform if it’s not! It’s done by checking the degree of resistance the cured film demonstrates to a solvent.

The two main solvents used in the rub test are acetone and more commonly, Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK), which is what most coaters use.

The MEK test is an ASTM standard test, but again, it's simple and easy to do. The test requires you to take a Q-Tip or a cotton swab and then wet that swab with acetone or MEK before firmly pushing on the product surface and rubbing back and forth. In general, 25 double rubs are performed. Pressing all the way up and all the way down is classed as one double rub. The number of rubs that a coating will pass will vary between product type or the resin system used in it. Some powder product types, like epoxies, will handle 50 double rubs.

On completing your 25 double rubs there is a chance that you will see some slight de-glossing of the coating. Most of the time a little bit of de-glossing of the coating is still a pass. However, what we would really call a fail is when you really start to get down into that coating and the coating is removing onto your Q-Tips.

A little bit of color on the end of the Q-Tip is okay, but if you really feel like the coat is softened and it's coming away and your Q-Tip is covered, you've got a problem. It's not cured properly.

There is one little caveat to the test, however. There are certain resin systems that from past experience don't do as well with the solvent resistance test whether they are fully cured or not. It’s something our technical service reps have seen a number of times. In this case, a solvent rub test would fail miserably and of course, we then incorrectly assume the coating is not cured.

However, they then discovered that the resin itself doesn’t perform in the solvent test, cured or uncured. So it’s always best to check with your manufacturer if you’re testing a new product with a different resin system.

The solvent rub test is quick, simple, cheap and easy to perform! What's not to love? Check out this short explainer video, where Dave Merritt, one of the IFS Technical Managers, shows you how to perform it and what to look for. Seeing is believing!

So what should you do if the test does fail? Recheck your oven temperature and dwell time. Did the part have time to reach temperature and THEN spend the required amount of time in the oven? We know what the air temperature is in the oven, but the part won’t instantly be at temperature the moment it goes in – especially with thicker parts. Make sure you allow your powder coated parts time to get up to temperature and then cure. You may be able to put the part back in the oven and ‘top up’ the cure, or you may need to recoat and re-cure. You can always check with IFS for technical advice if you’re having recurring problems.

Solvent Rub Checks - What makes a fail?

Additionally, If you looked at the results of your solvent rub test and you’re seeing a fail, there could be several different reasons, but the most common are typically going to be the temperature and/or the time of which the powder was cured.

Check the tech data sheet - it's going to give you the oven temperature needed to cure the coating and the amount of time it needs in the oven. For example, if a powder was applied and then failed a QC test, you may want to go back and turn the oven temperature up another 10 or 15 degrees to see if that resolves the problem. Alternatively, it may be that it did not spend enough time in the oven. Or, as previously mentioned, perhaps the part had not been given the time to reach temperature, as it’s only when the part reaches temperature, that the cure time begins.

What’s more, don't forget to take into account different thicknesses of metals used on various jobs. Of course, the thicker the metal, the longer it's going to take to come up to temperature and for that temperature to hold to get a full cure.

So, If you do have a failure, start looking in your oven. Am I leaving it in there long enough? Is the temperature high enough? Have I performed oven maintenance so I know it’s performing as required?

Experience

A note regarding the above points is that a lot of that solvent testing comes back to experience. There are things that you may let go with a little transfer, there are other things you won't let go with a little transfer without knowing the full background of what the product will or won't do. It's a general test and over time you will get to know what is working and what isn’t.

The Pencil Hardness Test

Once you’ve established good cure, the ‘pencil hardness test’ is an effective method to test coatings for their hardness and their scratch resistance. ASTM test method D3363 allows the use of pencils of a known hardness to be moved over the surface of the test sample at a fixed angle and pressure to perform the test.

As you may well be aware, pencils come in a hardness range with a ‘B’ pencil being the softest category and ‘H’ pencils being the hardest. Within each category, there is also a numerical domination, such as 2H or 6H, which indicates hardness within that category. As the numbers increase so does the hardness, so 4H is harder than an H pencil.

With good quality powder coatings, you'll usually end up in the H range. So, if the TDS or your customer requires a 2H pencil hardness, then that’s the pencil that should be used,  

To complete the test, you simply sharpen your pencil, then create a flat end with a piece of sandpaper and place it at a 45-degree angle to the coated surface. Press it down into the coating and then push. If that pencil cuts down to the metal, then it failed that test. If there is no scratch on the paint, then it is considered a pass. See how it's done in this short video, where Dave performs the pencil hardness test and explains what to look for. 

This is a simple and cheap test that is easily performed to demonstrate the quality of your application and there are a few things to consider...

Get yourself a good set of pencils and remember that old pencils, junk pencils, or not a name brand are likely to give you different results all day long. If you’re going to use a pencil test, we recommend you buy a decent turquoise brand pencil and for consistency, always use that brand. You can buy them at most art stores and they are available in the full hardness range. Think about testing an additionally coated piece till it fails – you may find that the hardness rating you can offer goes beyond what is required – a great selling point for you!

Also, remember that each person and pencil may get a different result because of the manual nature of the process. Being consistent with the pencils you are using and the pressure that you apply will ensure fair results. Regularly performing the test will help you get to know your own scales and strengths.

Pencil Hardness Testing - What makes it fail?

A pencil test will most likely fail as a result of two things... Under cure or over cure. So again, be sure to look at the tech data sheet for the guidance on the correct curing details, and think about time and temperature in the oven.

Crosshatch Adhesion Test

The Cross Hatch Adhesion Test is a very popular test to assess the adhesion of the coating and essentially provides a visual assessment of the quality of the bond to the substrate. This test is easy and a must for checking powder coating adhesion! 

The test is performed by making a series of cuts through the coating. There are kits available for this as it is important that you use the preferred blade devices for each film. Generally, 5 cuts are made with 5 sharp blades reasonably close together in one direction.  

Then cut across that direction so you've cut through the paint to the metal five times left and right, and five times up and down. It should look like a tic-tac-toe grid when you’re done.

Once you have your tic-tac-toe grid, the pressure sensitive adhesive tape is applied to that area, pressed down real good and then the tape is removed. That area is then judged to see if any paint was removed from the cross-sections that were cut. No coating removal is a good pass. If there is a little corner here or there that has been pulled off it would likely still be ok and would pass the test. Check out Dave showing you how to perform the cross hatch adhesion test in this short video.

To determine performance, there is an ASTM rating scale to make the decision - a 5B result is usually the sweet spot.

The best way to make sure that you have been doing the test correctly is to get an official cross hatch adhesion test kit and maintain it. That way you are guaranteed quality and accurate test results each and every time. Kits cost between $30-$100. 

Remember this is a simple, fast and cheap test to perform, and we highly recommend you get hold of a solid adhesion testing kit and make it part of your QC process.

Crosshatch Adhesion - What makes it fail?

What makes the coating fail a crosshatch adhesion test? Well, it is most likely one of two possible scenarios. One, you could have bad pre-treatment or a poor substrate - the substrate is not clean enough or has not been correctly prepared, which leads to adhesion failures. Therefore checking your pretreatment process, the quality and cleanliness of the substrate should be your first port of call.

The second reason for a testing fail could be if the paint is under cured. Check out the simple ways to check for that we covered in the solvent rub testing section.

Visual Checks

So far we have covered QC tests that require some hands-on tools and physical movement but we can also learn a lot from simple visual checks. Yes, it sounds pretty obvious and super simple but there are still a number of things to consider when completing visual checks. Where should you look at it? On the floor? Outside? Inside? Here are some points to take note of...

It’s important that your visual tests are consistent with how your customer will check and use the coated product. If your customer is going to look at the product in one light then you should test it in the same light.

If you want more of a controlled testing system than going outside or inside, many job shops use light boxes to control the light. This is more of an investment, as light boxes range in cost, but they will provide consistent results. The other element to consider with lighting is the distance from which you are viewing the surface, especially when checking for any type of surface defects. You will get a different result if you look at a 90-degree angle at arm’s length than from a 45-degree angle closer up. Our advice would be to do the visual test with lighting in an office-type setting, out on the shop floor and outside in the daylight too – cover all bases.

Mica metallics, for example, can look like a different color in the light or the dark which can produce conflicting opinions on the color, so it is essential that all parties are aligned and that the test measurements and conditions are clearly stipulated. Not only do you need to consider the light, but also the angle at which you will judge or compare the coating. 

Of course, you could be opening a can of worms if there are too many variables at play, but visual tests are what your customer will instantly do when they receive the coated part, so agreeing what it should look like up front is important.

Visual Checks - What makes a fail?

Visually you could see all manner of defects in the paint – craters, orange peel, window framing…the list goes on. Each of those can be a result of a change or problem in the application process, and we cover each of them in our dedicated blogs on appearance issues and application issues. Right now, let’s deal with the basics – color and gloss.

Depending on the color being used, the results may vary slightly. Generally speaking, if it darkens or yellows and you see some de-glossing, there's a good chance the coating is over-cured. If it is lighter than it should be or bluer in shade and your gloss is too high, there is a good chance the coating is under cured.

If you’re seeing yellowing to the color it could be due to a film thickness variation, or that the coating is over cured or could even be caused by oven exhaust. Problematic, but all easy to check and solve.

Summary

These are just a handful of Quality Control tests that are cheap, easy and simple to perform. You can and should be implementing them regularly to ensure high-quality processes, products, and happy customers. At the end of the day, they will give you peace of mind that the coated parts going out of your door are acceptable. What's more, the more you do them, the better you get at performing consistent tests and judging the results.

You may not want to do them all or may feel that not all are applicable to every part you coat, but the solvent rub test and cross hatch adhesion test are a basic minimum which will give you great results. Of course, on a visual level you will want to see that the color and gloss is right, if not, we all know the customer will be the first one to complain! Keep your reputation as a first class coater in check by visually inspecting each job that leaves your shop.

Fortunately, there isn’t anything difficult about any of the tests above. They are simple and relatively cheap to perform. As with most things, however, consistency is key. Make sure you, your customers and your colleagues or employees are testing in the same way; in the same light, at the same angle, with the same pencils, kits, and meters etc. is key. Remember, experience will count for a lot over time, so the more you test, the more comfortably and quickly you will be able to make a decision on how to pass or solve any questionable results.

For more information, feel free to reach out to our team at coatingsinfo@ifscoatings.com.

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