urtain coating is the most effective method for applying a perfectly even application of paint to a flat surface. Our system incorporates a gas fired radiant tube drying oven, which is particularly suitable for the two pack acid catalyst lacquers that we use. We offer clear or pigmented (coloured) paint. Our range includes metallic gold or silver, chalk board black or chalk board green.

We do a lot of primer which is a white universal primer. We often finish edges, this is done before curtain coating. customers may want edges coloured when a shadow gap is being formed.

The process, whilst largely automated, begins with our staff visually checking the panels that are to be coated. Once the boards have been prepared they are manually loaded onto the conveyor line into the 'Brush Off Unit'. The initial stage uses high speed soft brushes to remove any dust or other loose particles from the surface of the panels.

Now that they are clean the boards proceed to the actual curtain coating stage. The curtain is a continuous film of paint which falls over the board as it passes on the conveyor.  The 4' wide curtain, is where the operation's name is derived from.

The boards pass through the curtain of paint and emerge on the other side with their new coating.  The curtain is created by pumping the paint through a wide trough which has a narrow opening in the bottom. The trough itself is four feet wide so any panel up to this width can be accommodated. The application is a no contact method and gives a very smooth, even distribution of laquer across the whole board.

The speed at which the boards pass through the curtain is determined by an electronic trigger and is based on the size of the piece to be covered, but as an example it takes only 2.5 seconds to paint an eight foot board. To get a better view of the curtain we have provided larger versions of the two images, just click on either one.

The wet board passes into the 'Flash Off Unit' which expels the solvent from the surface. Then it is sealed by our gas fired radiant tube oven at a temperature of 80°C before moving on to the cooling tunnel. The completed product arrives at the end of the line some 12 minutes after being loaded and is ready for immediate palletisation.