How to Choose the Right Coating Supplier: Key Factors to Consider

Whether you work in welding, mining, or manufacturing, your equipment matters. You would never let an unskilled worker handle a rotary drill, so why would you expose your precious pump components to the wrong coating supplier?

While thermal coatings can be instrumental in extending the service life of your equipment and machine components, it is crucial to do your research before hiring a supplier. From regular quality checks to lab testing, the right thermal coatings supplier should tick all the boxes.

Are you wondering where to begin when picking the right supplier? Follow along to learn some important questions to consider when choosing your supplier.

1. Do they have a standard written procedure?

Industrial components and mining equipment don’t come cheap. While repairing corroded or worn-down parts is typically less costly than a full repair, entrusting your equipment to an unskilled supplier could spell trouble. A great way to get a baseline evaluation for a potential supplier is to inquire about their written standard procedure.

As a potential client, you should be privy to their standard procedures and processes. If a supplier or firm has established guidelines, it usually means they have considered the best order of operations and know how to handle your parts. These procedures should be readily available for you to check. Additionally, the vendor should offer the option of a shop visit or a quality audit. If you sense any hesitation or tension on the supplier’s behalf, this may be a sign you should explore other options.

Lastly, be sure their standard operating procedures include processes for quality and coating inspections.

2. Do they participate in regular quality checks and lab testing?

Quality is key when it comes to thermal coatings. If you know that your potential supplier is already ISO 9001 certified, you can skip this question. However, if you are adamant about the consistency of your coatings, you should consider selecting a supplier that can undertake lab testing. Suppliers with an in-house testing lab can provide you with quick coating results and faster production turnaround times. Other questions you might want to ask include:

• How do these firms assess the quality of their services?
• Do they use the right instruments to measure coating thickness during the spray process?
• Do they have a coordinate-measuring machine to measure complex or spherical surfaces like valve balls?

3. Is their equipment regularly calibrated and maintained?

The best lab testing in the world won’t mean much if your chosen supplier does not regularly calibrate or maintain their equipment. In some cases, the coating results you want may not even be achievable if the vendor is not regularly maintaining and monitoring their machines. Some sample questions to ask include the following:

• Is the vendor regularly checking their grinding wheels to ensure grit effectiveness?
• Do they have a preventative maintenance plan in place to mitigate errors from machine breakdowns?
• Are the pressures on their power feeder regularly checked?
• Do they regularly check their gun pressures and temperatures?
• Do they obtain material certifications for their wires and powders?

Remember, poorly maintained machinery can lead to longer processing times. It may be helpful to seek out a supplier that uses more modern, well-maintained machinery, such as robotic technology.

4. Do they follow EPA disposal guidelines?

While this factor may not directly affect your coating job, it’s important to be aware of how your supplier disposes of hazardous materials. Certain materials used in thermal spray operations, such as chrome carbide powder and aluminum oxide grit, are hazardous substances and require special handling, storage, and disposal procedures. Understanding how your supplier disposes of these potentially dangerous materials will tell you a lot about their character and quality of work.

5. What is their company culture and level of commitment?

Thermal coatings may be applied to solve issues of corrosion, abrasion, and galling, but your thermal coatings supplier is more than just a one-stop shop. When selecting a supplier, you should assess the company culture, quality of work, and level of commitment. Working with a supplier who doesn’t strive for perfection or value your time could leave you waiting on production delays, vague timelines, and inefficient communication.

Conclusion

While it may be tempting to simply opt for the supplier with the lowest price, sacrificing quality could leave you with inferior results.

Source

Adapted from “Tips for choosing the best thermal spray company.” A&A Coatings. Retrieved on May 19, 2025 from thermalspray.com/tips-for-choosing-the-best-thermal-spray-company.

ASHLEY HUNSAKER (ahunsaker@htscoatings.com) is CEO of HTS Coatings, Madison, Ill.