Why Good Preparation Makes a Better Powder Coat

Powder coating is durable, uniform and great-looking — but only if the surface underneath is prepared properly. We've seen powder coat fail within months because the preparation was rushed. Here's what good prep looks like.

Why preparation matters

Powder coating adheres to clean, prepared metal. If the surface has mill scale, rust, oil, weld spatter or just finger grease, the coating won't stick properly. It might look fine when it comes out of the oven, but within months it will chip, peel or blister — usually at the worst possible time.

What good preparation includes

• Weld dressing: Welds are ground smooth so they don't show through the coating.
• Deburring: Sharp edges and burrs are removed so the coating has a clean edge.
• Cleaning: The part is cleaned of oil, grease and contaminants before it goes to the coater.
• Surface profile: For steel, a light sandblast or etch gives the powder something to grip.

Preparation steps

Before we send parts out for powder coating, we grind, dress and clean them in-house. We check each part for weld spatter, sharp edges and contamination. Then we deliver it to our coating partner, who does the final pretreatment and powder coat. We check the parts again when they come back — if the finish isn't right, we flag it.

Cheap powder coat jobs skip the preparation step. We don't. The extra time on the front end means the coating lasts for years, not months.

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