Folks,

I am working with a client company who currently buy in a folded enclosed sheet metal panel that is foam filled for insulation purposes. The company buys the panels coloured and has limited colour options on the metal and would therefore like to buy the panel uncoloured and colour themselves to any colour/shade/RAL number.

The problem the company has is that if it tries to powder coat the panels, the heat generated during powder coating melts the foam. We are investigating to see if the supplier can supply said panel with a higher melt temperature foam.

I would however welcome alternative suggested solutions to the problem preferably solutions that do not include spray/painting as the panels are large and the company isn't set up for it.

Thanks in advance.

Kieran

I'm not sure how far it's come, but for a while there have been experiments with 'film' instead of paint.  I think the airforce tried it out on an F16 or something.

However, at least some of them are kind of 'heat shrunk' so not sure it would help.

thinking outside the icebox... maybe there are some other ways to offer color choices.  I would think that the company could imagine a couple of options that didn't require the insulated panel to be coated.   

Why are there limited color choices?? Any vendor worth a grain of salt would happily buy a box of powder in any color I want.

And how is it the company is setup to powder coat something large but can't simply paint it?

How about vinyl film?
I'd simply take that part/drawings to another vendor who has no problem supplying it in any color you want.

The usual procedure would be to paint/powder coat BEFORE applying the foam.   

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

Kieran,

There are a number of different "paint" options: some require moderately elevated temperature for curing (~ 100 C), some require higher temperatures than that (powder coat, 190+ C), and some are air drying.  Formulations based on alkyds instead of epoxy, polyester, polyurethane are usually capable of air drying.  Here are some links to example products:

http://www.watsoncoatings.com/products.htm


http://oem.sherwin-williams.com/us/eng/products/categories/metalplastic/primers_metal_only/


http://www.ppg.com/coatings/truefinish/products/liquid/Documents/SP101HSAlkydPrimer.pdf
 

Thanks for the responses folks. mcgyvr, limited choices due to lack of volume - supplier only offers their 'standard' colour range options. Also they would be sub-contracting the powder coating, they're not set up for it.

Kieran