Guides
One-Operator Coating Lines: The Combined Coat-and-Cure Advantage
A combined vacuum coating and IR drying line lets one person run the entire finishing process — from unfinished timber to stacked, dry boards ready for dispatch.
Graeme Thomas
Insights
Expert knowledge on coating technology, timber processing, and vacuum coating systems. Learn from our experience to improve your operations.
Buying Guide
Coating Line Finance: Making Capital Equipment Affordable
Upfront capital cost is the most common barrier to automating your finishing line. Equipment finance makes it achievable with manageable weekly payments.
Graeme Thomas
Industry Solutions
Vacuum Coating for Joinery Workshops: Windows, Doors & Frames
Joinery workshops face unique coating challenges: complex profiles, exterior durability requirements, and small batch runs. How vacuum coating handles all three.
Graeme Thomas
Technical
Drying Water-Based Wood Coatings: IR Tunnel vs Air Drying
Water-based coatings are better for the environment but create a drying bottleneck. IR tunnels eliminate spacer laths and overnight drying — here's how.
Graeme Thomas
Comparison
Vacuum Coating vs Spray Finishing for Timber Profiles
Spray booths and vacuum coaters both apply primer to timber profiles — but the similarities end there. Compare transfer efficiency, waste, and operating costs.
Graeme Thomas
Comparison
Hand Priming vs Vacuum Coating: A Cost and Quality Comparison
Hand priming seems cheaper until you factor in labour, waste, rework, and inconsistency. This side-by-side comparison reveals the true cost of each method.
Graeme Thomas
Industry Solutions
Factory-Finished Timber Cladding: Bringing Coating In-House
Outsourcing cladding finishing means lost margin, long lead times, and quality you can't control. Here's the business case for bringing vacuum coating in-house.
Graeme Thomas
Maintenance
Is Your Finish Quality Dropping? Check These Key Wear Parts
Runs, streaks, and uneven coverage often point to worn components rather than coating problems. Three key parts to check before anything else.
Graeme Thomas
Guides
The Ultimate Guide to Perfectly Primed Skirting Boards
Skirting boards and baseboards demand consistent, defect-free primer coverage on complex profiles. This guide explains how vacuum coating delivers production-grade results every time.
Graeme Thomas
Technical
Why Your Choice of Primer Matters in High-Flow Coating Systems
Not all primers are equal. In high-flow vacuum coating systems, the wrong primer causes foaming, clogging, and orange peel defects. Here's how to choose the right one.
Graeme Thomas
Guides
What Is Transfer Efficiency and Why It Matters for Wood Finishing
Transfer efficiency measures how much coating reaches your workpiece versus how much is wasted. Understanding this metric can dramatically reduce your finishing costs.
Graeme Thomas
Guides
How a Timber Priming Machine Can Transform Your Workshop Efficiency
Manual priming creates bottlenecks, wastes material, and produces inconsistent results. Discover how automated vacuum coating solves these problems at scale.
Graeme Thomas
Product Guides
The Ultimate Guide to Perfectly Primed Skirting Boards - Every Time
Are you struggling with drips, runs, and slow production times when priming skirting boards by hand? Manual application often leads to inconsistent results. In this guide, we explain how switching to a dedicated skirting board primer machine guarantees a flawless finish on every length and drastically increases your workshop's output.
Graeme Thomas
Consumables & Paint
Getting a Flawless Finish Every Time - Why Your Choice of Primer Matters
Constantly tweaking your machine settings but still getting poor results? The problem might not be your hardware—it could be your paint. We explain why generic off-the-shelf primers cause foaming and cavitation in vacuum coaters, and why switching to a purpose-formulated primer like PP15 is the key to a consistent, flawless finish.
Graeme Thomas
Maintenance & Troubleshooting
Is Your Finish Quality Dropping? Check These 3 Key Wear Parts First
When your trusty vacuum coater suddenly starts producing runs, streaks, or uneven coats, it's alarming. But don't panic—it's usually a simple fix related to consumable parts. In this guide, we identify the three most common maintenance culprits that cause a sudden drop in finishing quality and show you exactly what to look for to restore your perfect finish.
Graeme Thomas
Workshop Integration
Why a Smaller Footprint Matters: Integrating a Primer Machine into Your Existing Line
Workshop floor space is valuable. Don't let bulky machinery create bottlenecks in your production flow. We explain why choosing a compact vacuum coater is a strategic decision for better workflow, safety, and easier integration when automating your priming process.
Graeme Thomas
Process Improvement
Hand Priming vs Vacuum Coating: A Cost and Quality Comparison
Are you still priming timber by hand? You could be overspending on labour and materials. In this breakdown, we analyze the true hidden costs of manual finishing versus the speed and transfer efficiency of a vacuum coater to help you decide if it’s time to upgrade your workshop.
Graeme Thomas
Efficiency
How a Timber Priming Machine Can Revolutionise Your Workshop's Efficiency
Manual priming is one of the most significant bottlenecks in timber workshops. Discover how automated priming machines can transform this crucial step from a bottleneck into a high-speed, automated process.
Graeme Thomas