Powder Coating and Liquid Finishing

ICT provides systems, installation, and service to optimize your entire coating and finishing process.

Wagner Powder Coating Line System Interior

Our custom solutions are created by utilizing the industry’s most successful technologies, and we are proud to include Wagner Paint, a leading global manufacturer of surface finishing systems, among them.

The long-term partnerships ICT has established with industry giants such as Wagner allow us to provide and support systems to ensure your productivity, efficiency, and success.

Powder Coating

The darling of the finishing world, powder coating is tougher, harder, and more durable than traditional paint, can produce a finish in almost any color or texture, and has the environmental advantage of emitting few VOCs.

Typically, it is a dry powder applied electrostatically by spray. This allows the overspray to be reclaimed and reused, And, since it is cured under heat or with UV light, materials such as metal, plastics, composites, carbon fiber, glass, and MDF can be powder coated.

One of the biggest advantages it offers comes from the simple fact that it is a dry powder. Because it doesn’t contain a liquid carrier that needs to evaporate like paint, powder coating can produce thicker coatings without dripping or sagging, allowing horizontally and vertically coated surfaces to be treated at the same time.

It is also easy to use, opening up this finishing to manual application as well as turnkey automated finishing systems.

Applying Green Powder to Bike Frame with Wagner Powder Gun

Manual Powder Coating

There are two mainstays for manual power coating guns: box feed or hopper feed.

Box Feed

Box-fed powder coating guns are the simplest, plug-and-play models that draw their media directly from the box provided by the supplier. During operation, the platform that holds the box constantly vibrates. These extremely mobile machines offer a fast start-up, low initial investment, and are capable of quick color changes, making them ideal for small shops using many different powders for different small-run jobs. Some limitations of these models are possibilities of spilling, contamination, humidity problems, and inability to use special effect powders.

If you need to get a speedy start time on your projects, need to change powders often and quickly, and need a lower cost, then a box-fed gun may be the right choice for you. Plus, if you decide on a box-fed system first, you can always add a hopper later.

Hopper Feed

A hopper-fed powder coating gun pulls the powder from a sealed container called a hopper that has a perforated plastic membrane on the bottom. The compressed air enters the container through the membrane and constantly fluffs the powder so that it flows around inside the hopper in a process called fluidization. Fluidization helps remove moisture from the powder and ensures that it stays well-mixed. The chance of media contamination is lessened with a sealed hopper, and special effects powders can be used since the powder is better conditioned. If you choose to reclaim your powder, you will need to use a hopper-fed gun.

Hopper feed guns are the right tool for the job if you only use a limited number of colors, are focused on premium finish quality, and want to incorporate special effects powders. Multiple hoppers will be necessary to accommodate different powders, which will increase cleaning time, cost, and storage.

Automatic Powder Coating

When designing, amending, or overhauling an automated powder coating system, everything is developed to be the most effective solution for you. All of the factors that go into your production: workspace, process, materials, turnaround, throughput goals, and budget will be examined to determine what system is best suited for you.

Liquid Finishing

There is no doubt that powder coating gets its fair share of press, but it can’t do everything. It simply isn’t suitable for manufacturing applications requiring even, thin coatings, and is impractical for large parts due to the longer dry and cure times necessary.

Limitations also restrict the range of suitable substrate materials, add lead time for color changes, and include higher start-up costs.

For a lot of purposes, liquid coating is still the most practical approach. ICT provides guns, pumps, and complete systems to create the perfect application process for you.

Mixing

Electronically controlled mixing and dosing system for multicolor and multi-material applications.

Flat Line Finishing

For low-profile pieces, such as doors and panels, flat line finishing is a great option to increase throughput and efficiency, spraying paints, stains, sealers, top coats, or adhesives. With the latest waterborne UV pigmented finishing, cabinetry makers have been able to meet the demand to painted pieces, producing small or large batches in virtually every color.

Curing Systems

To cut your paint and prep time down significantly, Advanced Curing Systems cure filler and coatings quickly from the inside out. Available in handheld, mobile, and installed models, these systems are ideal for repair and paint shops that want to increase their throughput.

Industrial Ovens

Industrial ovens provide heated drying, curing, baking, preheating, and heat treatment for a multitude of purposes in the finishing industry. Get in touch with ICT today to find the best fit for your production processes and budget.

Global Finishing Solutions Continuous Process Oven

Continuous Process Ovens

For high-production systems, continuous process ovens provide an economical method of moving a large volume of similar parts or materials through paint drying, curing, or heat treatment. These convection ovens are engineered to move products through the heat zone at a steady rate using a powered transport system and typically require only one operator.

Global Finishing Solutions Batch Process Oven

Batch Ovens

Batch ovens are designed much more like the oven in your home kitchen. Insulated doors can be opened and closed as product is loaded in or removed, and the heat, airflow, and other curing parameters can be changed for each batch. These ovens are ideal if your parts being cured vary in size, density, or materials, requiring oven adjustment for many different curing specs. Batch ovens tend to cost less, be smaller, and be more versatile than continuous curing oven systems, but will also require more manpower, as the batches are manually loaded into and removed from the ovens rather than being moved automatically by a mechanical conveyor.

Conveyors

For many processes in prepping and finishing, manual or powered conveyors provide companies with vital assistance in labor and a huge time savings. For initial installation or system modification, conveyor systems can be designed to fit the needs of your individual application, with a huge variety of floor-mounted, overhead, enclosed, and power and free configurations.