How electrostatic painting works
Electrostatic painting is an application method for painting metal. From gates and fences to file cabinets. Very little overspray allows painting in a finished environment. Offices, balconies and backyard pools are just a few of the areas the electrostatic painting is an advantage.
The concept is to draw the paint to the surface to be painted rather that spraying the paint at the surface. A much more focused target area for the paint is created.
We use a simple circuit similar to the old battery hooked to a light bulb with a couple of wires. The electricity goes from the positive side of the battery through the light bulb and back to the negative side of the battery. Remove the wire from the negative side and the circuit is broken and the electricity can’t flow.
We use an electrical power supply instead of a battery and we attach what we want to be painted to the negative wire coming from the power supply. The light bulb is replaced by a paint machine that generates a fine mist of paint at the end of a paint gun. The power supply is generating a very high voltage creating a static electric field around the gun. As the gun is brought close to the object to be painted, the static electricity and the paint mist is drawn towards the negative object completing the circuit.
A fun experiment to try at home is blow up a balloon then rub it on your head. You’ve drawn electrons off the balloon to your hair and as you move the balloon away your hair is attracted to it.
More fun, hold that charged balloon over some confetti or light dust and watch the balloon lift it up.
