Duality is interweaved in the fabric of life in which we have always been entwined. In the same principle, verbs like ‘painting’ and ‘coating’ are often interchangeably used. It is unlikely they’ll make you wide-eyed unless you ruthlessly critique, gleaning meanings from stray smudges.
Generally speaking, coating gets a substrate covered with an applicant while painting (a type of coating) is merely applying a runny or viscous polymer to a surface that may or may not be pre-treated. Coating bonds best when cured by temperature and pressure.
On the contrary, painting may not require a similar effort. Air drying or temperature curing fuses paint with the surface better. Here’s a trivia you might have unheard of. It is estimated that the demand for painting and coating in the architectural sector will continue soaring globally till 2024.
Understanding the Difference Between Coating and Painting via Applications
Need broader distinction between the two? Here’s an example you can relate to. Property owners get painting and coating done to get the most out of their property’s life. It’s safe to say one is more than just a cosmetic treatment.
So how does it matter choosing one or both?
Well, the question may be as old as the oldest wine except for subtle differentiable trait(s) that experts like Properla can explain better and help you pick what is right for your needs.
|To begin with, let’s get one thing clear. From an architectural and industrial perspective, painting beautifies while coating adds performance. Together, they yield a new lease of life to surfaces while enhancing durability.|
- Like all dichotomies of things, painting and coating are cardinal to certain situations. In the fabrication business, there is fierce competition for perfect finishing.
- In the labyrinthine process of wet painting and coating, the finishing is separately evaluated to arrive at who did it best.
- To put the finishing quality of coating against painting, it’s crucial to grasp what separates success and failure in each method as well as the principles behind them.
Let’s look at some real-world applications of painting versus coating to understand how one differs from the other.
1. Powder Coating Metals
To arrive at an impeccable finish, dry powder is applied with a high-voltage electrostatic charge. This method enhances efficiency by up to 95% because it reduces the wastage of paint and ensures an even finish. The coating forms a tough shield that is many times resilient than wet paint. In powder coating, thermoplastics or thermosets are two popular curing methods. The former is where baking melts thermoplastic, causing it to set with the first coat, while the latter triggers a chemical reaction to result in a polymer finish.
2. Wet Painting Metals
Before powder coating came to be known as what it is today, wet paint was the traditional choice. Today, it has only gotten better from what it was yesterday thanks to technology and years of research.
In the fabrication business, a pump sprayer is popularly used for transferring wet paint onto the metal surface. A slightly sophisticated approach is electroplating where a high-temperature electric arc causes metal to deposit. Plating is popular for gold-plating, corrosion inhibition, and metal hardening among other applications.
When using wet paint method, the surface is wiped clean to improve the adhesion and evenness of the blasted paint, which is usually 15-20 micrometre thick. If you prefer plating, the method varies after cleaning the metal being surfaced.
The process which is slightly more challenging depends on the metal being plated and knowing what type of finishing is required. In an overarching principle, the plating metal is super-heated before being fused onto the metal. In certain variants, the arc is produced in vacuums, liquids, and vapours in lieu of pressure and heat.
3. Architectural Painting
When painting walls most of us would do so with an intent to improve aesthetics. You may have noticed the old paint peel, or they no longer appeal to the eye. Whatever the reason, worn l