Why are Black Fox weathervanes powdercoated?

I wanted to write a series of blog posts explaning the technical side of creating weathervanes and swinging signs, so our customers know exactly why when they buy from us, they are getting the best quality available for anywhere near the price. To do that, I need to explain exactly what is powdercoating?

Powdercoating is a process of metal finishing where dry powder is given a negative charge and sprayed through a gun. The object to be powdercoated, for example a weathervane or swinging sign, is hung and given a positive charge, so the particles of paint are attracted to it. The piece is then baked in an oven at 180 degrees for around 20 minutes, creating a hard, solid finish. The photo below shows a bespoke weathervane (Alice in Wonderland design) hung up and being sprayed with powder.

The advantages of a powdercoat finish for our customers is that is is extremely hard wearing and durable - it is used in all sorts of industrial applications, and is very low maintenance in that it does not need a re coat after a few years like many wet paint finishes would. It is also available in pretty much any colour you could ever want, plus a variety of textures. From our point of view, it is a quick process because it is applied in one coat and there is no waiting around for it to dry, and it is also relatively inexpensive compared to decent quality wet paints. Also, it does not give off toxic fumes like some paints can.

The main disadvantage of powdercoating our weathervanes and swinging signs is that you need specialist equipment. We have debated getting our own powdercoating set up, but the company who does our electroplating also does powdercoating, and they've been doing a great, reliable job of it for 12 years so theres no reason to change really!

The only problem with powdercoating from our customers point of view is that you cannot mix colours in the same way you can with wet paints. As a result there are literally hundreds of different colours available, but they are sold in quite large quantities, so if you wanted an unusual colour that your powdercoater does not stock, it could end up being expensive as you'd effectively be paying for the whole bag.

If you want to discuss a weathervane or sign design, or find out further techincal information about our metalwork, feel free to contact us.