For multiple reasons, patio furniture refinishing is an entirely different beast from refinishing indoor furniture. Outdoor furniture receives the worst that Mother Nature has to offer: sun, rain, hail, snow, and humidity, especially if you’re in Houston. Refinishing a furniture piece yourself can be a fun and interesting DIY project, but there are times when it’s just not worth it; it could be due to extensive damage of the piece or the amount of time and effort required to perform the job in a non-professional setting. In these cases, it’s better to work with a professional outdoor furniture refinishing company that is capable of restoring your furniture to its former glory.

Companies that offer patio furniture refinishing services should have a detailed restoration process that they are capable of explaining to the customer; this shows that they understand the process from top to bottom, and is a good indicator of experience and expertise in the process. A professional outdoor furniture refinishing company should perform the necessary preparations, including the removal of previous coatings to clear the surface of contaminants as well as to prepare it for the new coating to be applied.

Once the surface preparations are complete, the actual refinishing process can begin. An experienced and patio furniture refinishing company will understand the value of multiple coats, thoroughly coating the entire piece, to ensure that it’s fully protected from the elements. Processes like powder coating involve moving the piece back and forth between coating areas and curing ovens to ensure a uniform flow of the coating material, which ultimately results in a more equal and level finished coat. Quality control is also an important part of the process. An experienced outdoor furniture refinishing company, like Houston Powder Coaters, will ensure that each step of the process is monitored to provide the highest quality product.

In any heavy industry, and especially in the oil and gas industry so familiar to residents of Houston, there is a strong demand for coating technology that protects pipelines from both internal and external degrading factors such as corrosion, chemical breakdown, and physical abrasion. Fusion bonded epoxy coatings, also known as FBE coating, have been a popular choice for this application since their introduction in the 1960s.

What is fusion bonded epoxy coating?

FBE coating is a type of powder coating consisting of a resin and a hardener which, when heated at high temperatures, causes the material to melt into liquid form and flow to cover a substrate to be protected. Once the surface is covered, the piece is allowed to cool, which sets the coating into a solid form. The process of curing and then cooling the powder coating is called fusion bonding. Fusion bonded epoxy coating is different from conventional paint coatings in that it takes advantage of a process called cross-linking in which polymer chains are linked together; this results in a stronger and more resistant coating.

Whether it’s an antique piece that has been in the family for decades or a recent purchase that has fallen victim to some less-than-ideal climate conditions, outdoor patio furniture refinishing in Houston becomes necessary when an important or cherished furniture piece loses that special shine. Harsh climates with heavy rains, unrelenting heat, and salty Gulf Coast air can significantly lessen the life of a piece of outdoor furniture. High-humidity areas are also hard on a furniture piece’s protective coatings. It’s no surprise then that outdoor patio furniture in Houston can take a beating. Refinishing the protective coating on the piece is a good way to extend its life and to ensure it stays in the family for years.

Outdoor patio furniture refinishing in Houston can certainly be attempted as a DIY project. But if a piece has fond memories and its own history attached, it’s usually a better option to choose a professional refinishing service. The price point of a DIY project might be more attractive, but ask yourself if it’s worth the time, effort, and potential poor quality of handling the job yourself. It would be a shame to lose a family heirloom to poor workmanship.

For several reasons, a professional powder coating shop in Houston is much more equipped to handle this potentially delicate job. First, DIYers simply can’t compete with the attention to surface preparation standards and methods that a professional shop offers. These industry experts have the knowledge and tools to use the appropriate burn-off, abrasive blast, or hand-etching techniques to­ prepare the surface to a cleanliness standard that can’t be approached by a DIYer. The process of abrasive blasting with industrial equipment also produces by-product that is simply not feasible for the DIYer to manage. A professional powder coating shop can ensure that the surface is as clean as possible prior to the application of the new finish. This is important since an unclean surface could lead to irregularities that result in a less effective and less attractive finish.