Durable Powder Coat without Teflon

Question:

The company I work for is a design and manufacturing company that develops crash test dummies. Will powder coat adhesion be as good as Teflon coat adhesion on 1018 CRS steel parts? There is quite a cost difference from our vendor between the two. The only reason that the Teflon coat was originally specified was for cosmetic reasons. I need to convince our engineers that powder coat will be as durable if the product is properly cleaned and prime coated before the powder coating is applied. R. R.

Answer:

Isn’t there a rock group called "Crash Test Dummies"? I thought there was, but maybe I am just having a '70s flashback.

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Teflon is a registered trademark of Dupont Corporation. It can be found in many coatings, including in powder form. As you realized, it is very expensive. However, there are few materials that offer the same mechanical, thermal and corrosive properties as Teflon. However, if you are coating 1018 CRS parts for purely cosmetic reasons, you have certainly selected the wrong material.

Many off-the-shelf powder coatings will provide a more aesthetic product for a lot less money. They will even provide some of the mechanical, thermal and corrosive properties that you need, but remember standard powder coatings are not as good as Teflon. This should be an easy sell to your engineers.

Now, if only I could get a list of your customers. I've been looking to change careers and being a crash test dummy sounds appealing to me.