Whether it is your semi frameless glass fencing or glass balustrade, you can get the columns and pegs powder coated or anodized.
When choosing a semi frameless glass fencing system for your swimming pool, you may face a dilemma not only to select square or round support columns or pegs but also what type of coated product to select. Material is either aluminum or steel but you have to choose from powder coated or anodized. What are these and how to choose what I need? Here we attempt to help you by digging into these methods.
What is powder coating?
This is an alternative method of applying color to metal. The coating is typically applied electrostatically. Heat is applied to flow the powder creating to foam a skin like effect around the metal that will not chip or flake and tougher than paint. The powder is either thermoplastic or thermoset polymer. But newer technology allows other materials such as medium density fiberboard (MDF) to be used for powder coating. Powder coating is mostly applied to aluminum surfaces. Some square or round clamps or often called spigots that are used in many frameless glass walls or glass balustrade are made of steel could also come in powder coated.
One main advantage powder coating is that it doesn’t require volatile solvents like in paint that pollute the air or affect the health of workers who are applying it. It can produce a much thicker coating than paint without sagging or running. Any overspray can be recycled and wider range of special effects can be easily created for your glass pool walls.
One problem with powder coating is it can be scratched. If the scratching penetrates deep beyond the coating, it could start to affect the metal beneath it. This is why you need to look into products from Dimension 1 Glass.
What is anodized?
Many glass pool walls can come with anodized supports. Anodising (UK) or anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process that is used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of the metal, according to Wikipedia. It increases the wear and corrosion resistance and provides much better adhesion than paint on metals. Depend on the thickness, it can provide interference effects to reflect light. This is most commonly used method to protect aluminum alloys but not a good treatment for iron which tend to flake off. This method results in changing the crystal structure of the metal surface. But due to porous nature of the coating, adhesives are added when anodizing.
Mostly used in aluminum to increase the corrosion resistance, surface hardness, and allow coloring. The process creates a non-conductive surface.
Whether it is powder coated or anodized, Dimension 1 Glass can provide what you need.