Once a product has been powder coated to the required thickness, it must pass through an oven. During this baking (or stoving) process the powder melts, flows, gels and finally chemically reacts and cures. It is critical to the coating's final performance and appearance that both the temperature and the time at temperature parameters are controlled.
It is imperative not only to ensure there are no hot or cold spots within the oven, but also that the temperature of the product being coated is sufficient to meet the technical specification of the powder coating. Failure to maintain the correct temperature profile can cause problems in the final performance and durability of the coating.
Variation of the oven temperature profile between production batches may lead to changes in the final coating's gloss, adhesion and color. This can greatly affect the product's quality and therefore could be the difference between success and failure.
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