THE door industry journal summer 2025 102 Doorsets, Fire Doors, Safety & Security Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk QUALICOAT - What is Behind this Detailed Specification for Architectural Powder Coating? By Chris Mansfield - QUALICOAT Chair Powder coating is as simple process right? Clean the aluminium, spray the electrostatically charged powder onto the earthed profile and bake. Yes, it may look good from the surface but will it last, well, no it won’t. QUALICOAT, an Association built up of the architectural powder coating supply chain has spent decades working on a detailed worldwide Specification which, when followed precisely, offers unrivalled powder coat performance in any environment. The key to QUALICOAT’s success is that all licensed members, including applicators, powder manufacturers and pre-treatment systems providers of the Association are third party accredited to ensure that processes and products meet the strict requirements laid down in the Specification. Members do this willingly and pay for the inspections so that they can demonstrate compliance by maintaining a license to display QUALICOAT label of conformity. All reputable companies in the architectural powder coating supply chain worldwide are licensed members of QUALICOAT. As a licensed applicator, regular production testing and recording is a prerequisite within the Specification. QUALICOAT licensed applicators must perform a full suite of mechanical and environmental tests on aluminium panels. In practice this means routine in‐house QC, for example, dry cross‐cut adhesion per ISO 2409, bend and impact tests and cure checks on every production batch. Independently, coated test panels, typically AlMg1 alloy 5005, 0.8–1 mm thick, are sent to the QUALICOAT approved laboratory, IFO, for third party evaluation. These samples undergo accelerated weathering tests utilising equipment that offers condensation with intense UV which replicates long‑term outdoor Florida exposure, to track gloss and colour changes. Samples are also subject to corrosion tests that consists of acetic‐acid salt spray and surface durability trials including water spot and Martindale abrasion. These tests verify adhesion, flexibility and corrosion resistance against the four classes of powder formulations in the QUALICOAT Specification and therefore ensure the powder coating will perform over its intended lifetime. Key to offering a robust powder coat finish, the powder coating must be cured using exact parameters, this is known as the ‘curing index’. The curing index quantifies the combined effect of time and temperature during powder cure, it is defined as a numerical index comparing the total cure experienced from the aluminium profile temperature versus time profile to meet the coating supplier’s prescribed cure schedule. Maintaining at least the manufacturer’s recommended cure index is critical because it ensures the powder has fully polymerised and achieved its intended properties including adhesion, hardness, and corrosion resistance. In practice, applicators verify or calculate the curing index by passing a calibrated temperature logger or test panel through the oven to record the stoving curve and comparing the area
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