Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

December, 2009

Garden Trolley

Q. Hi, I have been asked to design a garden trolley which is going to be stored in the garden and will be used for storing garden utilities. The material used to produce this has to be a metal, I think I am going to use galvanised mild steel maybe with a powder coat. Would it be possible for you to give me some information on why powder coating could benefit such an application? Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

A. Powder coating is an excellent option for this application. However, I suggest you specify that the powder coater first pretreat the galvanizing with an iron phosphate. Since the trolley will outdoors and get extensive exposure to sunlight, I also suggest that you specify a TGIC powder. The combination of a pretreatment and a powder coating will give you many years of use.

Good luck,

Ron Joseph