The Best Method for Painting Conductive Materials

When you were a child, did you ever try rubbing a balloon against yourself and then sticking it to a wall? What happens? The balloon sticks to the wall. That’s the basic idea of how electrostatic painting works. The rubbing of the balloon causes it to obtain more free electrons, which take on a negative charge. The negatively charged balloon will now stick to neutral or positively charged objects. Just like with magnetic fields, two objects that are oppositely charged will attract each other. This scientific truth is the core of electrostatic painting, which uses electrostatic fields to paint metal objects (usually neutrally charged) quickly, efficiently, and with practically no cleanup.

This type of painting works best on all kinds of metal. The primary method of application when electrostatic painting is using an advanced spray machine. It’s by far the most efficient way to paint wrought iron fencing, or fencing where the metal has been heated and then shaped, where the traditional “brush and roll” painting strategy would be far more time-consuming and messy. Because the paint is magnetically drawn to the surface being painted, items such as railings can be painted from one side, and the paint will wrap around to the other side. Electrostatic painting is a great way to save on materials, minimize overspray, save time and money, and have a better, more evenly coated finished product.