For many years, Graham Architectural Products (GAP) relied exclusively on liquid coatings to protect their world-class window, window systems and doors but added powder coating capabilities in the early 2000's.
At that time, their primary goal was to reduce costs associated with treating and removing wastewater that is inherent in the liquid paint application processes. Powder coatings, on the other hand, are applied using only compressed air and are generally made without solvents that release volatile organic compounds for easier, safer cleanup.
But powder's high materialization rate - the amount of product that ends up on the part - also factored into their decision.
Because powder coating is an efficient electrostatic process that applies charged paint to a grounded part, it is ideally suited for painting hard-to-coat items with sharp edges, recesses and complex shapes, features common on GAP's premium extruded window parts.
Through a product trial, GAP found that PPG CORAFLON® Platinum powder, an innovation that has 20% higher transfer efficiency than standard FEVE powders, deeply penetrated the recessed areas of their geometrically shaped extruded window frames, without heavy edge build up. Even after lowering the powder pressure by 20%, a much better first-pass transfer efficiency was achieved, without sacrificing the required film thickness.
Finally, with PPG Coraflon Platinum powder's expanded gloss range of 5-85, GAP was able to offer a wider range of finishes, including bonded powders, without the need to add new equipment and fluidizing beds.
Read more about GAP's move to HTE powder and how it streamlined their coating processes and broadened their finishing capabilities.
*Hotel Drover project photos courtesy of Graham Architectural Products.
