Powder Coating Color Charts

The process of powder coating lends a durable, long-lasting, and environmentally-friendly protection to steel surfaces. In addition to its practicality, this coating is also aesthetically pleasing due to multiple coating passes and flow technology which result in an even, bump-free finish. Importantly, the color of the actual coating is versatile as well, with a good variety of standard colors available according to the RAL powder coating color charts and the associated standards, as well as custom or non-standard formulations to match hard-to-reproduce colors.

In many cases, protective coatings must match a very specific existing color. This may be due to the necessity of matching pre-existing surfaces, strict brand standards, or cases where color is used to communicate safety information in a hazardous environment. In many circumstances, the standard RAL powder coating color charts are sufficient for matching desired colors. Developed in Germany in 1927, the RAL color standard defines over 2,300 colors for use in powder coating applications. Such a standard is useful for both powder coating shops and customers of powder coating services because accurate reproduction is important—every application using a specific color should be indistinguishable. If a specific color is used for one job, it should be consistent with another job down the road using the same specification.

In addition to the colors specified by the RAL standard, many powder coating shops can formulate custom colors. This process, albeit timely, may be important for hard-to-match and non-standard colors due to previous jobs using unconventional colors, or the necessity of exact color matching for branding purposes.

Powder coating color charts are an important part of any professional powder coater’s offering. The ability to offer a wide variety of RAL colors—from a variety of manufacturers—is a sign that a powder coating shop is familiar with industry standards in color reproduction and has the connections to offer a versatile color collection. Any trustworthy powder coating shop should include clear information about the colors offered, with powder coating color charts available to help customers in matching swatches.

Powder coating serves an important practical function in providing a protective barrier between steel surfaces and corrosion, rust, abrasives, and other factors that threaten the integrity of the material. However, just because it serves a practical function doesn’t mean that the coating can’t be aesthetically pleasing as well. Powder coating color charts allow for accurate matching of colors to ensure that the coating is attractive as well as functional.