If you want to add colour to your metal work, your two main choices are paint or powder coating. Both of these options have their pros and cons, but here are five signs that you should choose powder coating.

1. You Want the Most Durable Coating

Powder coating tends to be thicker and more durable than paint. As a result, it lasts longer, and you don't have to worry about repainting your metal. In contrast, paint can easily flake off or scratch.

2. You Want Your Choice of Material

If you're painting metal, you typically need to use polyurethane paint, and you have to apply that over a zinc primer or a layer of epoxy. With powder coating, you can choose from a lot larger variety of materials. If you want the coating to be similar to paint in terms of the material involved, you can choose polyurethane, but you can also pick powder coatings that are made of polyester, polyester-epoxy, straight epoxy, or a variety of different acrylics.

3. You Want to Add Textures

In addition to being able to choose a variety of materials when you select powder coating, you can also add a range of textures to the powder coating. If you want the texture to feel rough or feature crinkles or wrinkles, that is easier to do effectively with powder coating than it is with paint. With powder coating, you can also add texture for decorative effects such as creating veins or hammertone looks.

4. You Don't Want to See Signs of Application

When you paint metal, the paint may run or drip. Those application errors show up in the final product. That can look messy and distract from the overall image you're trying to create. In contrast, that doesn't happen with powder coating. When you choose powder coating, it's applied in a way that is completely smooth to the touch. You don't see any signs of application such as drips or brushstrokes.

5. You Don't Mind Paying for Professional Application

Perhaps one of the most convenient elements of painting metal is that you can do it yourself. With powder coating, you generally have to pay a professional to apply the coating for you. When crunching the numbers, keep in mind that the powder coating lasts longer. As a result, the upfront cost of paying a professional may outweigh the cost of repeatedly buying paint and finding the time to do the work yourself.

To learn more about powder coating and whether or not it's right for your project, contact a powder coating specialist directly. They can answer your questions.

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