Powder Coat: Just One More Example of Why Monster Towers are the Best
Our powder coating process sets us apart from the competition, and ensures you have a better boating experience.
One thing we boaters all share: we love our boats, and we want to keep them in the best condition for as long as possible. We bet you’d agree that one of the coolest-looking parts of your boat is the tower, especially if that tower is powder coated, giving it a slick, shiny finish. But powder coating does much more than just add visual appeal – or at least it should. Powder coat can also seal off metal from the environment, protecting it from corrosion and damage. If, that is, the powder coating is done right. And once you understand the lengths we go to when powder coating a Monster Tower, you’ll know one more reason why ours are the best towers on the water.
What Is Powder Coat, In the First Place?
Powder coat is a type of paint, but unlike regular paint, it’s applied in a dry, powdered form with no solvents or thinners. Then it’s heated so the tiny polymers melt, flow, and coat the application surface. Once cured, the polymer forms a hard, durable finish that traditional paints simply can’t match. The application process also provides several other advantages over liquid paints: the application is even and controlled so it doesn’t run or drip like liquid paint; the process emits far fewer volatile organic compounds so it’s better for the environment; it can be applied in a thicker single skin without ill-effect; and it has a glossier finish than liquid paint can provide.
But as is true with all kinds of paints, the secret to superior powder coating lies in the preparation.
Why the Monster Tower Process is Superior
As with any paint, a clean surface with good adhesion properties is necessary for powder coating to work. An average manufacturer applying a powder coat to an aluminum part will use sanding or sand blasting followed by a freshwater rinse to prepare the surface and remove the contaminants and impurities that can cause poor adhesion.
Sanding
But the process is imperfect, and often oil or residue gets left behind. As a result, when the powder coating process occurs the paint’s adhesion is also imperfect. This can result in the coating being unable to stick to certain areas because of an impurity on the surface, leaving dimples in the finish. These dimples go all the way down to the metal, leaving tiny bits of it exposed. Obviously, this not only creates a visual flaw, but it also leaves that part of the metal unprotected from the elements.
Cleaning and Preparation
To make sure this doesn’t happen with a Monster Tower, after a thorough hand-sanding process we chemically etch the surface. Using a pressure wand and a heated fluid with a fluorozirconic acidic liquid concentrate – which is designed to penetrate, emulsify, and disburse both solid and oil contaminants – every inch of the aluminum gets treated to ensures a clean surface, free of impurities. The fluid is also formulated to convert the aluminum surface into a corrosion-resistant coating that’s ideal for powder paint adhesion. Only after this stage is complete do we give the metal a final rinse, and consider it ready for powder coating.
Power to the Powder
Powder Coating
At this point, we’ve already gone well beyond the norm to ensure that you enjoy years of watersports with a great-looking, corrosion-free tower on your boat. But yes, we do take it one more step farther. Before applying the powder on the prepped part, we first heat the application area. This is called “hot coating,” and results in a glossier, smoother finish to the powder coat. Using the hot coating technique also helps to prevent the “orange peel” effect of a dimpled appearance, which you’ll see on some powder coated parts made by other manufacturers – proof that those parts weren’t treated with the same kind of care.
The bottom line? The Monster Tower method of powder coating is simply superior. But you don’t have to take our word for it. You’ll believe it when you see the ultra-glossy finish and wrap your hand around a powder coated Monster Tower.
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