Over the past 10 years the market for wood products such as doors and windows has dropped from 50% of total to around 25% due to perceived maintenance costs and insufficient durability. This trend could be reversed by powder coating timber to create durable, economically competitive, aesthetically pleasing products.
This study investigated the use of spray-on, Electro-conductive and adhesion-promoting chemicals that enable timber products to be electro-statically powder coated. The research also identified optimal pre-heating and powder coating resin curing temperatures for timber products, and appropriate oven technologies.
Excellent results were obtained for powder coat adhesion, durability and colour tests on timber, both with and without preservative treatment. Powder coated timber achieved the rigorous Australian standards that have traditionally been applied to automotive painted products designated for exterior applications and coated architectural aluminium for long-term exterior use.
Powder coating timber has the additional benefits of excellent thermal characteristics, minimal VOC emissions, no wet-paint wastage and huge CO2 savings when replacing aluminium windows and similar products.
Reference Number:
PNB156-0910
Video Report:
