Q: We are currently solvent coating several consumable aluminum parts made of thin sheet. We would like to evaluate powder for these applications, but most of these parts do not sport any holes where they can be hung or grounded.
The parts are currently laid flat on butcher paper, painted, and turned over after drying for their second coat. Some have to go through this for both primer and top-coat courses.
Any sort of clamp-on ground/hanger would likely leave a holiday in the coating. How does industry approach this problem?
A: This is a tricky problem. How to hang a part without a hole to place a hook? As you are aware, powder application requires a ground to attract and hold the powder. Clamps are available that squeeze two spring-loaded points to secure a part. This usually leaves an uncoated mark.
What most coaters do is touch-up the clamp mark with an air dry paint matched to the powder finish. A number of companies specialize in touch-up paints for powder and can be found online. I think that a bit of good ole Yankee engineering coupled with a little touch-up paint will do the trick.