Paint Powder Coating and Decoral® Luxury Effects
Spitfire Doors are all powder coated and many customers request doors with an extra treatment, to add a sophisticated finish, like wood, concrete or carbon-fibre effect.
What is powder coating?
Powder coating was first developed in the 1950’s and is a dry finishing paint process used in many industries where a high quality, long lasting finish is required. Powder coating will retain its perfect finish for up to 20 years with negligible fading. Powder coating is noted for its resistance to chemicals, corrosion and weather.
Why choose to Powder Coat?
Since around 1980, powder coating has been increasingly accepted as the preferred industrial finishing process for many products, including residential entrance doors. The reasons for the conversion from wet to dry powder can be attributed to these key factors:
- Material utilization is much higher with powder, with 92%-98% of the powder being utilised versus an average of 60% when using an electrostatic liquid system. The remaining 40% of liquid paint is toxic and has to be carefully disposed of.
- Powder is not considered hazardous waste, so the cost of disposal is minimal.
- Air used in the powder coating spray booth is returned directly to the plant, eliminating heating and cooling costs.
- The cured powder finish is less susceptible to damage than a liquid finish. There is less need for repair work on the finished item. This results in the need for much less elaborate packaging saving time and cost on re-working and packaging.
- Epoxy, acrylic, and hybrid powders provide excellent adhesion and offer improved resistance to chipping, abrasion, corrosion, and chemicals.
- Polyester powders provide additional advantages in ultraviolet and weathering resistance.
- Stringent regulations are being aggressively enforced in an effort to control air pollution and hazardous waste disposal.
- Powder coating eliminates solvent fumes from spray booths and oven exhausts that pollute the air.
- Potentially toxic sludge from liquid paints could contaminate the earth and must be disposed of as hazardous waste.
Every Spitfire door has a powder coated paint finish because it is such a high-quality, durable finish and the painting process is relatively environmentally friendly. This advanced process is available in an almost limitless range of colours and textures, and technological advances have resulted in exceptional performance, which allows us to give a long warranty on our doors, with confidence.
Because powder coated finishes are so tough, they are used on thousands of products that we come into contact with every day. Powder coating is used to protect equipment like JCB’s and aeroplanes, as well as everyday household products like doors and windows. This exceptional finishing process is more durable than a liquid paint finish and is much more resistant to fading or degradation when faced by attack from impact, moisture, chemicals, ultraviolet light or extreme weather conditions. This coating therefore reduces the risk of scratches, chips and corrosion. In summary, a powder coated Spitfire Door looks fabulous, the paint is consistent across the door and frame and the finish will last a very long time.
All of the powders used in the powder coating process are non-toxic, non-volatile and completely safe. Powder coating has no known short or long-term health risks and does not pose a fire risk.
A summary of the key benefits of powder coating
Durability - powder coating is extremely durable which means your Spitifre door will withstand the elements and will stand up well to daily use
Corrosion Resistant – salt, moisture and humidity attack metal. Powder coating provides a protective barrier that helps prevent corrosion.
Chip Resistant - unlike other treatments that can easily crack, peel, chip, scratch and corrode, powder coated aluminium doors are much more durable and will withstand the weather better
Zero Maintenance - because of its durability and resistance to abrasion and corrosion, powder coated aluminium requires virtually zero maintenance. Just a wash down with warm soapy water once a month will ensure that you Spitfire Door will look good for more than 20 years.
Long Lasting, Colour Fast Finish - powder coating is a durable finish that is tougher than conventional paint. Because of this, colours stay brighter and more vibrant for longer than conventional paints.
Environmentally Safe - the powder coating process has very little impact on the environment. No harmful solvents are used and powder coating does not emit vapours or fumes like liquid paint.
10 Year Warranty – a ten-year warranty is only possible because the quality of powder coating is so high and consistent
What is Decoral®?
Decoral® is a patented process for Decorating Aluminium, based on Sublimation, which is a physical-chemical process; the direct transition of a substance from the solid phase to the gas phase. Such technology is also called a ‘Heat-Transfer Process’.
The basic requirement being that Spitfire Doors aluminium profiles and aluminium sheets can resist a temperature of 200° Celsius in an oven for 10 minutes with no deformation.
Using the Decoral® process, countless effects and patterns such as woodgrains, concrete or granite can be transferred onto the aluminium surface of our profiles.
In order to apply the Decoral® process, first all profiles must be powder coated and cured. Then a Decoral® heat transfer film, carrying the desired effect is wrapped around the profile. This sublimination film is printed with special inks which can replicate for example a woodgrain effect. Then the wrapped profile is placed inside an oven for 10 minutes and whichever effect is on the film will be burnt into the powder coated finish. The final finish will faithfully replicate the effect that was previously on the sublimated foil.
Advice for choosing a door when installing in a Marine or Hostile Environmental situation
It is universally recognised that entrance doors installed in close proximity to the sea, an estuary, a swimming pool or certain industrial sites, will be constantly attacked by salt or other corrosive substances. It is important to follow our advice when choosing your front door, so that you enjoy years of trouble-free use and learn how to keep your door in pristine condition.
Which Door would be suitable in a marine environment?
We would recommend you specify our S-500 Series if you live in a hostile environment, because this door series is supplied with a full 5-year marine warranty. Within reason, you are free to choose from any of over 400 designs from this series. View the range of S-500 doors
Door Finishes and Colours
Our textured IGP finishes are the most resistant to attack. This luxurious textured finish is best suited to the following colours:
Which door handle is best in a marine environment?
There are options to consider here:
- Choose a recessed handle outside, so that there is no external furniture, except the brushed steel rosette that reinforces the area around the profile cylinder
- If you choose to order a rain deflector at the base of the door (recommended), always choose a polished finish
- Avoid furniture on the outside of the door, but if you want an external handle, it must be polished chrome
- Avoid fingerprint scanners and LED’s
- All S-500 series furniture is manufactured from AISI 316L. Steel Alloy 316L is austenitic stainless steel, with a high nickel and molybdenum content, which is more resistant with regard to pitting and crevice corrosion in chloride environments
Get in touch with Spitfire Doors
Best door lock for use in Marine environments
We recommend fitting a Spitfire electrically operated lock because it is more consistent in pulling the door slab tight-in against the frame, as the door closes.
Door frame
In hostile environments, we recommend a stronger and more stable outerframe than usual, choose from our AT100 or AT100P profiles.
Cill
We recommend a specifying a 150mm cill in marine environments to take water away from the door more quickly.
Maintenance
CLEANING STAINLESS STEEL – every week is recommended
Stainless steel is a metal alloy that contains at least 10.5 percent chromium. Although stainless steel is resistant to corrosion, it is not stain-proof. If salty water dries on a stainless steel surface, it usually leaves behind a white film. Remove salt spots from stainless steel by using cleaners that are effective yet safe for this surface. If you use harsh, abrasive products to clean stainless steel, you run the risk of making it susceptible to corrosion.
DO
- Use the mildest possible cleaning agents
- Use plastic or wood tools
- Follow any polishing lines if you use slightly abrasive cleaners
- Rinse thoroughly
- Wipe dry
DON’T
- Use steel or metal scrapers as they will cause rust spots
- Allow chemicals, bleaches or chlorides to remain on the steel for more than a minute
- Another method is as follows:
Things You'll Need - White vinegar - Baking soda – Soft cloths
Step 1 - Moisten a soft cloth with white vinegar
Step 2 - Dip the cloth into baking soda
Step 3 - Wipe off the salt spots with the cloth
Step 4 - Rinse the cloth under clean, running water, and use it to wipe off the area. This will remove any lingering residue from the baking soda
Step 5 - Dry the stainless steel surface with a lint-free cloth.
Other advice:
Cleaning the aluminium powder coated external surface of the door - every week is recommended
Powder coating is one of the most durable colour coatings and with very little effort on your part, it will provide you with many years of excellent service. To extend the life of your powder coated door and to comply with our warranty, a simple, regular maintenance program should be implemented.
The effects of ultra-violet light, atmospheric pollution, dirt, grime and airborne salt deposits can all accumulate over time and should be removed at regular intervals.
In beachfront homes, industrial or geothermal areas a cleaning program should be carried out weekly.
Simple steps to cleaning your powder coated Spitfire Door
- Carefully remove any loose surface deposits with a wet sponge
- Use a soft brush (non-abrasive) and a diluted solution of a mild detergent, eg, pH-neutral liquid hand dishwashing detergent in warm water to remove dust, salt and other deposits
- Ensure you thoroughly rinse the surfaces with clean fresh water after cleaning to remove all residues
- Stubborn marks on the powder coating may be removed with methylated spirits
- You can order special aluminium cleaner containing citrus in a 500ml can from Spitfire Doors, to spray on your door, which can be gently buffed to remove water marks and general dirt, like fingerprints.
To speak to a member of Spitfire Doors' customer service team, call 01625 412570, or email sales@spitfiredoors.co.uk
SPITFIRE OPENS THE DOOR TO MACCLESFIELD SHOWROOM
Spitfire Doors was established 3 years ago and we now have 30 Design Partners across the UK and Ireland many with S-500 doors on display. Find out where our Design Partners are located.
We recently opened a new showroom in our Macclesfield head office, where eleven S-500 doors are on display, incorporating Automatic Locking, Fingerprint Recognition, Keypad Entry, LED Lighting, Swarovski Crystal and a wide range of colours and finishes to whet your appetite.
Quite a few visitors to our showroom bring their Architects' drawings with them and are looking for a door with great design and technical features with high levels of security, which would provide them with a grand entrance. Very few consumers are put off by a £5-8k price tag and many expect our doors to retail at £10k+.
Spitfire Doors is recognised as a true luxury brand, with each door combining premium quality Schüco aluminium profiles with engineering excellence. There are over 400 designs to choose from in every RAL colour or combination of colours, durable wood-effect detailing and tactile textured finishes. Contact Spitfire Doors.
The S-500 Series of doors offer a very high level of certifiable security, having passed level RC3, at IFT Rosenheim in Germany and PAS24 at BSI in the UK. This guaranteed level of security coupled with exceptional thermal performance, where doors can be manufactured to achieve U-Values as low as an industry leading 0.7 W/m2K and the opportunity to design your own door, really does offer homeowners the perfect entrance door.
You can design your own door here and we will put you in touch with one of our Design Partner who will be able to discuss your design in more detail. Alternatively, call our Customer Services team on 01625 412570 or email sales@spitfiredoors.co.uk and we will be happy to answer your questions.