E-coat, EPD, Electrophoretic painting. No matter what you know the process as, whether you are an end-user or a fabricator in the supply chain, you have probably noticed that E-coating seems to be popping up more and more when it comes to providing corrosion resistance and meeting the salt spray requirements of part specifications.

So why is this? What is it about E-coating that makes it the go-to solution? We have listed some of the key characteristics and highlighted why you will want to look at involving this in your next project if you aren’t already.

Cost of E-Coat

E-coating, unlike powder coating or wet painting, is an almost entirely automated process. Instead of requiring full teams of staff, the process simply requires 1 or 2 people to operate the plant, saving massively on the cost of labour. This makes E-coating significantly cheaper than more traditional coatings, while still providing a quality protective finish for internal parts.

Full Coverage of Parts

Let’s face it, some parts are difficult to fully reach with traditional coating methods. Complicated parts or those with hard-to-reach areas will require extra attention when painting or powder coating, and even then, there may be some parts that are just not reachable. As a full submersion process, E-coating does not have this issue, with the only consideration being allowing air and water to drain from any sealed areas as it enters and exits the coating tanks.

E-Coat Film Thickness

Another benefit of E-coating is down to the thickness of the finish. At around 20 microns, E-coat is ideal for use in high precision fabrications, where a thicker coating such as powder coating would cause issues with assembly and clearances in the finished product. This allows a whole range of uses that would otherwise be difficult to protect fully.

Corrosion Protection.

As a protective coating, E-coating offers fantastic corrosion protection, easily achieving salt spray test results in excess of 1000 hours. While there are other coatings that can match or exceed this, the appeal of E-coat is in the ease of coating compared to other processes such as galvanisation. However, E-coating is not UV stable and will not last very long if left outdoors or exposed to sunlight repeatedly, so this is worth bearing in mind when considering E-coat as a finish for your products.

There we have it! And don’t forget that you can combine E-coating with both powder coating and wet paint in order to provide UV stability, enhanced protection, and unlocking a range of different colours and finished for your completed product.