The RAL color system is a system of standardization developed in 1927 by the German, "Reichs-Ausschuß für Lieferbedingungen und Gütesicherung" (State Commission for Delivery Terms and Quality Assurance) by inventing a collection of 40 colors under the name of "RAL 840" (source).
Note: Current RAL standards are extremely lax, there is no system in place to govern how far an RAL color can drift from one manufacturer to another.
This eliminated the need to exchange samples to reference elements of each color. After the system was introduced, they could simply rely on number ID's. To date, there are over 2,300 RAL colors including 213 RAL “Classic” colors.
Prismatic Powders offers 180 different RAL color choices!
What is the cure time and temp for RAL colors?
The cure time and temp we recommend for polyester solid tone powder and RAL color's is 10-12 mins at 400F degrees. The cure time starts when the part metal comes up to the curing temperature.
There is nothing inherent in RAL powders that makes them more durable over other powder types, typically RAL powders are formulated as polyester solid tone finishes but other formulation types may be offered.