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HIGH PERFORMANCE POWDER COATINGS
As an applicator
of high performance coatings serving the architectural metals industry,
Windsor is
committed to providing the full array of high performance finishes that
meet the requirement specified in AAMA (Architectural Aluminum Metal
Manufacturers Association) Specifications.
With the recent introduction of a new generation of fluoropolymer
powder coatings Windsor has become equipped to apply the high end powders
that meet or exceed the industries most stringent specifications, AAMA
2604 and AAMA 2605. These include Kynar 500 polyvineledyne Fluoride (PVDF)
and Fluoro Ether Vinyl Ethelene (FEVE) resin based powders.
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While
the durability of powder and liquid coatings using the same resin bases
and pigmentation types (ie PVDF powder vs PVDF liquid or Polyester Powder
vs Polyester liquid) are generally very similar in performance, the powder
coating process substantially eliminates the generation and emission of
VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) to the atmosphere. Powder coating then
becomes the first choice where it is necessary to meet specifications that
include “best environmentally friendly technology” provisions or
institutional support such as the Green Building Coalition to which
Windsor belongs.
When applied
over amorphous chromium phosphate pretreatment (in accordance with
ASTM-B117) these powders ensure decades of enduring performance even in
the most hostile end use environment. The “chrome” conversion coating
pretreatment employed at Windsor is the critical (and mandatory)
first stage in the process to apply high performance coatings (liquid and
powder) that are compliant with AAMA 2605, and is the standard
pretreatment at Windsor, regardless of the coating type to be applied.
Chromium rinse waters are micro managed and the discharged effluent is
well below the EPA’s established Safe Drinking Water Standard. |
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Depending on the resin
selection, powder coatings may offer certain advantages such as harder
surface finish, increased availability of colors and gloss and in some
instances such as FEVE economies over their liquid counterparts. Generally
however, because of the thicker surface coating characterized by the
application process, high performance powders are generally
more expensive than liquid fluoropolymers.
There are many other powder resin systems which offer economies
over fluoropolymers and that are appropriate for a variety of end use
applications, but for exterior elements such as aluminum balcony
railings, sun screens, louvers etc that are to be used in hostile
environments such as those that prevail along the seashore, extreme care
should be taken with powder and pretreatment selection to avoid
disappointing and serious long term consequences.
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