Epoxy powders cure into dense, tough films with excellent adhesion, chemical resistance and corrosion protection, which makes them the default for primers, pipe, rebar, electrical parts and anything kept indoors or buried. Ultraviolet light breaks down the aromatic backbone quickly, so an exposed epoxy chalks and fades within months outdoors. For exterior work an epoxy is usually topcoated with a polyester.
Customer wants this rail outside for ten years, so it's epoxy primer and a superdurable polyester top.
Also heard as
- epoxy
Do not mix it up with
- FBE: FBE is a specific family of fast-curing epoxy powders applied to preheated pipe and rebar, not any epoxy powder.
Related terms
Polyester powder
Powder based on polyester resin, the standard choice for outdoor parts because it holds color and gloss in sunlight.
Hybrid
Powder that cures an epoxy resin and a polyester resin together, trading some outdoor life for low cost and good flow.
Chalking
A powdery residue on a weathered finish where sunlight has broken down the resin at the surface.
Zinc-rich primer
Epoxy powder primer loaded with zinc dust to give steel extra corrosion protection under a topcoat.
FBE
Fusion-bonded epoxy, a fast-curing epoxy powder applied to preheated pipe, rebar and valves for corrosion protection.