Curved Powder Coated Aluminium Extrusions

Powder coating is a fantastic way to finish an extruded aluminium product. The wide range of colours, easily matched RAL colour codes and protective layer make it a great fit for window and door frames.

Ritver Paints and Coatings have a great video showing the full powder coating process.

The issue is, when do you powder coat?

Powder coating before bending can cause a higher price. This is Because pre-coated sections are harder to bend without damaging the existing surface. It is therefore recommended to coat after bending, as it simplifies the process.

Powder Coating After Bending

Powder coating after section bending is the simplest solution for getting powder coated curved extrusions. The powder coating process works just as easily on curved aluminium as on straight extrusions and allows for far tighter radii during the bending process.

Powder Coating Before Bending

While not recommended, it is possible to bend after powder coating. Certain aspects of the bending process need to be modified when bending coated aluminium. The surface can be delicate and care needs to be taken not to bend too far or too quickly, as to preserve the coat.

Potential Risks for Bending Powder Coated Extrusions

Cracking

The powder coated surface does not have the same elasticity as aluminium, this raises the chances of cracking int he coating. Because of this tight radii might not be possible, depending on the extrusion, alloy and coating. The bending process must also be slowed down somewhat to allow for more careful alterations to be made while maintaining the undamaged finish.

Chipping

Aluminium Bending is a very manual process, and can be somewhat rough on the sections at times. If the pre-coated section were to be bend as is, it is highly likely that chips or scratches would occur on the powder coat. To counter this, special films and coatings are used to protect the surface from damage. These protective layers again lengthen the bending set up time and increase material costs.

However, with these precautions in place, it is possible to bend powder coated aluminium extrusions without damage to the finish. It is just a more time consuming and intensive process than if the section were to be untreated.

Which ever order you choose, Alubend is the premier suppler of curved powder coated extrusions in the UK, with our reach extending to global markets as well.

We supply high quality curved aluminium sections to a number of markets, with exceptional finish quality.

Contact us today to see what we can do for you.