One of the greatest advantages of powder coating is allowing manufacturers to do post assemblies and in some cases post forming on already coated components. In general, powder coating will exhibit far superior flexibility, scratching, scuffing and impact resistance than conventional liquid paint, which enables post drilling, bending and bolting together at the final assembly. Outdoor equipment such as lawn mowers and snow blowers have been powder coated then post assembled for many years with great success. The same goes with snowmobiles and bicycles where you will find many post-assembly steps. What to look for is to enable your assembly process to handle these coated parts. This can be done by using fixtures or templates that would incorporate nonabrasive material. Surface preparation is also a key factor as it will ensure powder coating adhesion to the substrate.

Today's powder coatings can be cured at much lower temperatures and new possibilities are therefore on the horizon. Fully assembled hydraulic cylinders are now being powder coated as well as other heat-sensitive material. With the help of infrared curing technology, it is possible to cure rapidly heavy mass as well as light-sensitive material using a tailored powder coating. Using a conventional convection oven, as little as 275°F for 12 min will provide a durable finish, and the same can be cured in less than 2 min with infrared.