Opinions about powder coating

[SGT FURY]

What are your guys opinions and experiences
with powder coating.
Are parts that you do NOT powder coat?
Do you lose any details like part #s?
Does it hold up to your expectations?
Are the colors available factory correct?
Is it worth the cost!
Do you like painting over powder coating?

 

[patrick66]

Depends on how fast I need the item painted or powder-coated. I can paint something within a day, to include prep, gathering materials, and shooting the paint; depending on what that is that I'm painting..

The guy I use for powder-coating takes forever. His work is superb, but if I need something done from him, I don't expect to see it for at least six weeks. He had a few bits of mine for my Hudson for over six months. It was worth the wait, but I get tired of "it'll be a few days" strung out over a couple of months or more.


Are parts that you do NOT powder coat? Engine blocks, heads, transmission cases and parts, stuff like that.
Do you lose any details like part #s? Haven't seen such losses. But since the prep generally involves media or sand blasting, that's something you need to talk with your powder-coating source about.
Does it hold up to your expectations? Yes
Are the colors available factory correct? It really depends on the color you want
Is it worth the cost! I would say yes.
Do you like painting over powder coating? It really depends on what level I need the part to perform to. In a restoration, powder coating was never used back in the '60s and '70s, so painting or plating would be the answer.

 

[live4theking]

Not all powders are created equal. Some are more UV stable than others. Some have a higher resilience to abrasion. You've got to know where it's going to be used in order to pick the best type of powder.

Are parts that you do NOT powder coat? In someways it is no different than paint. Powder coat doesn't like brake fluid, so doing brake parts can be problematic.

Do you lose any details like part #s? If it's a raised part number you'll most likely be able to see it. Recessed ones can get filled just like is possible with paint.

Does it hold up to your expectations? In most case yes.

Are the colors available factory correct? No experience with this.

Is it worth the cost! I cannot comment to this because most of my powder coated stuff has been done where I work.

Do you like painting over powder coating? The one thing about powder coating is that it is difficult to touch up when damaged.

 

[Isaiah Estrada]

Not all powders are created equal. Some are more UV stable than others. Some have a higher resilience to abrasion. You've got to know where it's going to be used in order to pick the best type of powder.

Are parts that you do NOT powder coat? In someways it is no different than paint. Powder coat doesn't like brake fluid, so doing brake parts can be problematic.

Do you lose any details like part #s? If it's a raised part number you'll most likely be able to see it. Recessed ones can get filled just like is possible with paint.

Does it hold up to your expectations? In most case yes.

Are the colors available factory correct? No experience with this.

Is it worth the cost! I cannot comment to this because most of my powder coated stuff has been done where I work.

Do you like painting over powder coating? The one thing about powder coating is that it is difficult to touch up when damaged.

That last part! This is why I decided to paint various components that I initially wanted to have powder coated. I know a guy who restores his own cars. His work is AMAZING. He has a drop dead gorgeous 68 Charger and some other cars too. I was amazed to find that his frame and suspenion related components had been done with Rustoleum Satin Canyon Black. It holds up real nice and is easy to touch up if it ever gets damaged. I have in turn used that same paint on my frame, suspension parts and even the firewall. See my recent posts for examples of how clean it can look.

I was pretty skeptical on the stuff, but surprised at how nicely it lays out and how good you can get it to look with the right prep work.

 

[Big_John]

IMHO, Powder coating can be really nice.... Or it can be a nightmare.

Done right, with the surface prepped correctly, it is supposed to last longer than paint. The problem is that when it fails, it's not pretty.

I wish I had a pic of my old snow blower. Where the powder coating chipped/wore/failed, the surface underneath would start to rust and the powder coat would peel off in sections, showing where the moisture had gotten under the coating. If it had just been painted, I think the rust would have been confined to the chipped and worn areas around the intake.

Granted, that's some rough usage in winter and it was applied in a factory where prep may not have been as careful as your local shop... But the past snowblowers (same brand, Ariens) that were painted, looked better after years of use and I could have touched up the paint easily.

I'll give another vote for Rustoleum. I've used that in a few places and been real happy. Duplicolor engine enamel (applied correctly) seems pretty robust too. Both are easy to touch up.

 

[1970FuryConv]

I like the convenience of paint and touch up, especially with POR 15

 

[cuda hunter]

Bare metal suspension parts - THIS THREAD IS OFFICALLY OVER in Cuda & Challenger General Discussion (ROSEVILLE MOPARTS)

Just passing this along. Bare metal suspension parts are a PITA to keep looking perfectly rust free and I refuse to paint them. So what's better tha

forum.e-bodies.org

Thanks to Mike Ross @ BE&A in Cuda & Challenger General Discussion (ROSEVILLE MOPARTS)

Thanks to Mike Ross @ BE&A in Cuda & Challenger General Discussion (ROSEVILLE MOPARTS) - Page 1 of 1

forum.e-bodies.org

Great threads.

 

[volksworld]

like everything else in this world it depends who you're dealing with...had a guy in ny that was inexpensive and did the blasting himself...i didnt have a cabinet at the time so for stuff that was difficult to prep it was a no brainer...and it would be back in a week or 2....i initially had problems trying to paint vent window posts on a chevy pickup...because of how they were shaped when you finally got a decent coat on one area you wound up getting too much on another...then the areas coated too heavily would crack and lift when they were clearcoated...multiple calls to dupont tech etc...said the basecoat didnt crosslink properly...3 trys later sent them out for powdercoat for 15 bucks each and they were great...basically used the powdercoat guy for anything that needed blasting anyway...powdercoat leaves a bit more of an orangepeel finish than paint (did the chevys fenderwells)....now down here the local powdercoat guy doesnt blast so i'm not thrilled about handing him a baremetal part and having it sit around in 90 % humidity for a couple weeks till he gets around to it....smaller stuff i put in plastic bags with dessicant packs....so usually once i blast it i just paint it myself but a quart of ppg 90 black primer with activator is like $150 now not to mention sandable primer, basecoat and clearcoat so once you price out the materials to do it right just getting some stuff powdercoated is cheaper...spray bomb approach less than powdercoat though, not as durable but much easier to dummy back up later when the rust comes back

 

[75LandYacht]

I agree with all mentioned above. In the mild restoration my 77 NYB I have found powder coating to be well worth the money. Plus my powder coater has a superb turnaround time. And with my limited space and resources for painting, it’s very convenient as well.

Color matching is difficult for Powder Coaters to do, because you’re mixing powder and not liquid, so it’s hard to get that exact color match without going through the complete process of powder coating and baking the part to completion, however if you find the right powder coater with the right resources he may be able to find what you’re looking for.

I wouldn’t recommend powder coating parts that go through any kind of a heat cycle, the expansion and contraction of the park can crack the powder coating. For stationary parts like air breather‘s fenderwells fans pulleys brackets battery trays and things like that, mine turned out really well.

Keep us posted