Fencing is an essential part of housing, serving numerous useful purposes. Besides delineating property lines and keeping unwanted characters out, it adds a decorative element to your home’s outdoor aesthetics.
Whenever metal fences lose structural integrity and appeal, most people think painting solves the problem. While painting offers a solution, it’s only temporary and doesn’t improve the fence’s durability. Instead of a painted fence, a powder-coated fence solves your fence’s structural and aesthetic problems.
If someone has proposed this solution to you, and you’re wondering what it is and how it works, you’re at the right place to find out. Here, we will discuss everything you need to know about powder coating, especially its effectiveness for maintaining your steel or aluminum fence.
What is Powder Coating?
Powder coating is a dry finishing procedure that uses fine resins and pigment particles to add a solid, safe, and protective finish to a metal fence. It’s a specialized and multi-layered process that begins with cleaning the surface of the metal fence to remove rust and dirt, applying the powder coating materials, curing the powder particles with heat, and cooling the coating to make it stick on the metal fence.
The powder coating is used on steel and aluminum fences and is currently enjoying widespread popularity for two reasons. First, because it is eco-friendly, and second because it adds a colorful and stylish finish to these types (steel and aluminum) fencing. These reasons generally make it a favorite for many people.
Advantages of Using Powder-Coated Metal Fencing
The following are some of the advantages of using powder coating for metal fences:
Decades of Increased Durability
As earlier mentioned, painting offers temporary protection to steel or aluminum fence types. After a short period, the paint begins to crack, gets scratched, and scuffed, making the fence lose its original durability. However, with powder coating, your fence can enjoy decades-long spells of increased durability.
Due to its specialized application process, the powder coating material will adhere firmly to the fence’s surface. The curing process of the powder coating makes it thicker than acrylic or enamel, offering it much-desired durability.
Low Maintenance Needs
Although powder-coated metal fencing is durable, it requires adequate maintenance. The good news is that, unlike other fence types requiring high, consistent, and sometimes costly maintenance, powder-coated metal fencing has low maintenance needs.
Cleaning once or twice a year is a great maintenance culture to adopt. This requires minimum effort and will help you prevent build-ups that may reduce the longevity and durability of the product.
Resistant to Rust and Corrosion
Aluminum and steel fence types are susceptible to rust caused by rain and other moisture content in the air. If you use regular paint, the paint layer will only withstand the rain impact and moisture content in the air for a short period before the metal fence begins to rust.
However, with powder coating, you can easily prevent rusting and corrosion. Powder coating doesn’t chip, and neither does it scratch the way paints do. This implies that applying it on your steel and aluminum fence makes it resistant to moisture-related damage.
Eco-Friendly Solution
A significant advantage powder coating has over liquid paint is that the former is environmentally friendly, while the latter isn’t. Liquid paints typically contain chemical solvents that pollute the air and are washed down the drain every time it is used. Powder coating, on the other hand, is solvent-free, prevents waste toxins, and drains pollution.
The best part about using powder coating is that it is recyclable. If the coating doesn’t adhere to the steel or aluminum fence during application, the materials can be recycled for another use. This extends its eco-friendly advantage, making it a genuinely “green” option.
Aesthetic Appeal
The biggest misconception about powder-coated metal fencing is that it lacks design variety. Powder coating offers an incredible range of design options, allowing you to choose the most suitable for your fencing needs. Depending on your preference, you may even choose between a glossy or matte finish.
With the variety of options available, you can enhance your curb appeal by choosing the color that syncs with your outdoor painting. The far-reaching benefit of this is that your property increases value when it increases its aesthetic appeal.
Maintenance Practices for Powder-Coated Metal Fencing
Maintenance practices for powder-coated metal fencing are seamless. All you have to adhere to the following suggestions:
● Wipe the fence gently with a wet sponge to remove surface-level dirt and dust.
● Use a soft brush and household detergent to remove hard deposits on the fence surface.
● Ensure you avoid using detergents that contain petroleum-based chemicals and solvents because they can damage the powder coating.
● Once you’re done cleaning, ensure you rinse the detergent off the fence using lukewarm water, then leave it to dry naturally.
You can do this once or twice a year using the handwashing technique. If you want more intensive cleaning, you can get professional pressure washing.
The Cost Consideration of Powder-Coated Metal Fencing
The upfront cost of powder coating is greater than painting, but as with most things, you get what you pay for. Powder coating will last longer and is lower maintenance. This means that while the initial investment is somewhat greater, the expense averaged over the long term is actually less.
Final Thoughts
There’s an increasing number of people using powder-coated metal fencing today because of the advantages it offers. While its cost may be concerning, it’s helpful to understand the long-term value you’ll derive outweighs the initial cost you’ll incur. So invest in the right product and material for your fence to enjoy long-lasting structural strength and appeal.
To get more information on powder-coated metal fencing or inquire about installations, contact First Fence of Georgia through email at info@1stfence.com and by telephone at 770-422-9996.
