Colour?

Colour?

Getting the colour that you want in a powder coating is increasingly possible. At Euro Quality Coatings we work hard to find or match the powder coating colours that our customers want us to use on their products. If you require RAL, BS and NCS colour systems or colours matched against pre-coated metalwork (such as Corus ColorcoatPrisma) we will do our best to source the shade that you need.

Katie Smithson from AkzoNobelscolour and design team explains how they match colours in powder for their customers:

Colour is created by adding combinations of chemical pigments (that mimic the world’s natural colour pigments) to the base formulation at the start of the powder manufacturing process.A computer works out the combinations and concentrations of different pigments needed to produce specific colours. It can predict colours to a high degree of accuracy over a wide range. If we are matching a new colour we can choose the nearest approximation and then fine tune.Frequently colours are made for customers, often working from samples the customer has sent in. These can vary from liquid paint to coloured paper and even to bits of a bicycle.Some colours take longer to match; very strong colours like yellows and reds are difficult because the pigments are organic and break down under UV light. The team has to find a way of achieving the colour without losing performance characteristics such as durability and temperature resistance. Special effect paints such as metallic or sparkly are also tricky. As they are not solid colours, the appearance can change depending on what angle you are looking from. It’s definitely challenging.