The Benefits of Powder Coating

While the frame of windows and doors is deeply important to overall thermal performance, so is the finish. A high-quality finish protects the material underneath and protects it from Australia’s demanding climate. Powder coating has become a preferred choice for architects and builders thanks to a variety of useful advantages.

Importance of finish choice

Australia is home to some harsh and varied conditions. An architect’s or builder’s choice of frame is an essential part of keeping a home safe, so it’s also necessary to consider how to protect the frame and ensure its performance. From coastal conditions and high UV exposure to bushfire-prone areas, the right finish can significantly extend the lifespan of windows and doors.

The finish choice for your frames must balance aligning with building compliance standards and the visual expectations of clients. There is also a responsibility to achieve sustainability goals and consider the environment as part of the home building process.

What is powder coating?

Where traditional paint is a finish applied as liquid, powder coating is instead applied as a dry powder to windows and door frames. It is a finishing option used across many industries, including automotive and manufacturing, but it provides many notable benefits in window and door supply thanks to its quality and durability.

The powder coating process involves spraying the dry powder onto a metal surface, where an electrical charge causes adhesion to the surface. The coated surface is then baked, helping the powder bond into a hard protective layer. This creates a smooth, consistent powder coat finish that blends durability with aesthetics.

The benefits of powder coating

Powder coat finishes deliver an ideal combination of style and strength, offering a variety of key benefits, including:

• Durability: Powder coating is resistant to wear and tear, including chipping, fading and wear, and able to withstand constant exposure to sunlight, making it particularly ideal for coastal, bushfire and high-traffic areas. It also helps to protect the metal underneath from rust.

• Environmentally friendly: The powder contains no solvents and can occasionally be reused or recycled, ensuring a much lower carbon footprint than alternatives.

• Cost-effective: Because the powder does not take as long to dry compared to liquid paint, it is often cheaper to use. It also requires less maintenance and reapplication over time, with the resistance to corrosion and scratches creating long-term savings.

• Aesthetic: Powder coating offers a wide ranges of colours and finishes, and can often have different texture options like matte and gloss. This flexibility makes it easy to match to a specific design vision.

How powder coating compares to alternatives

There are a number of different choices people use for frame finishing, offering different qualities and benefits. Here’s how powder coating measures up to other popular methods.

Paint

Painting is often the primary alternative to powder coating, especially wet spray painting in the cases of frame finishes. While it creates a similar visual result, it offers much lower durability than powder coating, and tends to chip, fade or peel more quickly. 

Many people point to the lower upfront cost of wet spray painting as a benefit, but more product is often wasted during this process, and the need to reapply more often reduces its cost-effectiveness. The durability of powder coat finishes more than makes up for the initial price difference.

Paint’s biggest advantage is a greater range of colour, though custom powder coating colours can still be manufactured to achieve a specific design.

Anodising

Anodising is a popular finishing method for aluminium frames, where the metal’s natural oxide layer is thickened, making it resistant to corrosion. However, it comes with a limited colour range, and can highlight surface imperfections rather than conceal them. Powder coating provides a more uniform coverage with a greater range of colours and textures.

Raw material

In some cases, people choose not to finish their window and door frames, instead relying on the raw material to provide protection. Unfortunately, aluminium on its own is highly susceptible to corrosion when exposed to the elements without any protection. Similarly, timber is very prone to weathering and requires ongoing maintenance to preserve its structural integrity and appearance.

Powder coating offers an ideal protective barrier, especially when combined with our leading AliClad frames, which combine the durability and low maintenance of aluminium with the aesthetics and sustainability of timber.

The perfect balance

Powder coating is one of the best ways to preserve window and door frames, while also managing compliance and visual appeal. It’s long-lasting, sustainable, and a cost-effective finishing solution that meets the expectations of builders, architects and homeowners.

If you’re interested in exploring powder coating for your next project, or our specialised AliClad windows and doors, get in touch with us. We’ll help you with a solution tailored to your project needs.