Five Common Scams When Buying Powder Coatings: Be Vigilant!

Powder coating is a special main material used in home decoration. It is a coating substance applied to the surface of an object, providing protective, decorative, or other special properties. It holds a special place in home decoration, so homeowners must be very careful when purchasing it to avoid affecting their future living experience. Let's uncover five common scams when buying powder coating!

Scam 1: Selling but Not Providing Service

Many consumers are easily attracted by the immediate effects of powder coatings (such as color and gloss), neglecting the importance of after-sales service. This creates an opportunity for unscrupulous merchants. These merchants only exaggerate the product's advantages during the sales process—such as "scrub-resistant" and "colorfast"—while remaining silent about after-sales service. They neither proactively inform consumers about warranty policies nor clearly define after-sales responsibilities. Once consumers encounter problems after purchase, such as discoloration, powdering, cracking, or blistering of the paint film on the wall shortly after application, they face difficulties when trying to seek redress: contacting the manufacturer will result in them shirking responsibility by saying "you need to contact the distributor"; contacting the distributor will either result in them promising "on-site repair as soon as possible" but failing to act, or simply refusing to take responsibility, ultimately leaving the problem unresolved. Consumers not only waste money but also have to spend time and money to fix the painting problem again, resulting in a net loss.

Scam Two: Deception

Some consumers have a "imported equals superior" mentality, and unscrupulous merchants exploit this to set up scams. Some powder coatings on the market claiming to be "from Europe and America" ​​or "imported brands" are actually expired or deteriorated paints that merchants have acquired cheaply from abroad—these paints may have exceeded their shelf life, their composition may have changed, and they may even have excessive levels of harmful substances. After these "junk paints" are shipped back to China, merchants simply repackage them, put on foreign-language packaging, and affix counterfeit "import certification labels," transforming them into "high-end foreign brands" and selling them at prices far exceeding cost. Consumers who purchase and use these products often experience serious problems within one or two months: large areas of the paint film peel and fade, and the originally bright colors become dull. More seriously, some expired paints emit an odor, and the volatile harmful substances in them continue to be released, irritating the respiratory tract. Long-term exposure may also damage organs such as the liver and kidneys, posing a significant threat to human health.

Scam Three: Local Products Sold at Foreign Prices

The core of this scam is exploiting consumers' misconception that "high price equals high quality." Some powder coatings produced by small local workshops use inferior raw materials (such as recycled resin and fillers with high impurity content) and have rudimentary production processes. The product quality is far from meeting national standards—the paint film is prone to cracking after spraying, has poor weather resistance, and fades and peels after only a few months of outdoor use. However, driven by greed, merchants deliberately inflate the prices of these inferior products, sometimes even matching those of legitimate imported brands, and fabricate lies such as "using imported formulas" and "produced with high-end technology" to mislead consumers. Since most consumers lack the expertise to distinguish paint quality, they are easily misled by high prices, mistakenly believing that paying a premium guarantees a high-quality product. Ultimately, consumers not only suffer financial losses (paying a high price for inferior goods) but also face the hassle of poor coating results and frequent rework, severely impacting construction progress.

Scam Four: Deliberately Exaggerating Functions

While highlighting product advantages during sales is understandable, some merchants deliberately exaggerate the functions of powder coatings without any basis to boost sales, which constitutes deception. Because most consumers lack understanding of powder coating performance indicators (such as weather resistance, corrosion resistance, and solids content) and industry information, they often rely solely on salespeople's introductions when making purchases. Merchants exploit this weakness, exaggerating product functions: for example, claiming ordinary indoor paint can "withstand outdoor rain and sun exposure, and won't fade for ten years"; claiming paint with only 85% solids content has "98% high solids content, resulting in a thick and durable film"; and even claiming it can "absorb formaldehyde and purify the air," all of which have not been tested or verified. Consumers, believing these claims, purchase the product only to find the actual results severely inconsistent with the merchants' descriptions. Not only does it fail to meet their needs, but misjudging the paint's performance may lead to its misuse in the wrong application (such as using indoor paint outdoors), causing rapid damage to the coating.

Scam Five: Concept Fraud

"Concept fraud" is a common scam in the powder coating market in recent years. Merchants create selling points by hyping up popular concepts but fail to deliver on their promises. Currently, "green and environmentally friendly" is a consumer hotspot, and many merchants heavily promote "zero formaldehyde," "all-natural," and "green and additive-free" in their paint packaging and advertising, even forging "environmental certification certificates" to package ordinary paint as "environmentally friendly paint." However, these products may not actually meet environmental standards, and some coatings still contain harmful substances such as formaldehyde and benzene, albeit at slightly lower levels than inferior coatings. If consumers blindly believe these "new concepts" and fail to carefully verify certifications, they are likely to buy products that do not live up to their claims. To avoid such scams, it is recommended to consult coating industry experts before purchasing, or check the product's true certification information through reputable platforms (such as industry association websites), and pay attention to media reports exposing "fake environmentally friendly coatings" to reduce the probability of being deceived.

In short, because most consumers have limited knowledge of the powder coating market, they are easily tricked by merchants when making purchases. Therefore, consumers must recognize these five major scams before buying, do their homework in advance, and not blindly believe in "foreign brands," "high prices," or "exaggerated advertising" to effectively avoid risks and buy truly high-quality products that meet their needs.