Thread: Powder coat or not??.

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You know how everyone talks about powder coating.The Astro site I surf for yrs I at one point talked about powder coating the sub frame for Ole Yellar.Guys there said don't do it.That even as hard as powder coating is(that being a down side),that because it is very hard it does chip and the repair means taking the part off to re-coat it or the repair is very hard to do.

I want to add to this situation that this would be used as a D.D'er.

Opinions please....................

Gary,
This subject has been beat to death several times, and there are opinions on both sides. My experience is that in climates with harsh winters and chemical melts on roads powder coating is a bad idea - it is not flexible like paint, and if there is any flaw the metal will rust madly beneath the powder and you don't know it until the damage is severe. Others show pictures of powder that was put on over the road trucks, and still looks good years later. I've come to believe that the biggest problem with poor powder is poor preparation, just like paint. Bottom line, powder coating is a type of paint, but due to the application method it is a rigid coating and it does not like flex at joints. Here's a link to a very quick search using "powder coating" as the subject: http://www.clubhotrod.com/search.php?searchid=233515

Yepper Roger-I didn't do a search.But that was for a good reason.The link you left didn't work.I thought there might be issues with archives.

Thank you for your input.Hopefully I wouldn't be in the snow belt in the winter.

Originally Posted by 1gary

Yepper Roger-I didn't do a search.But that was for a good reason.The link you left didn't work.I thought there might be issues with archives.

Thank you for your input.Hopefully I wouldn't be in the snow belt in the winter.

Try typing "powder coating" in the search box and you'll get more threads than you want to read this evening.

Thanks Roger.I'll take a peek.I would take the sub frame to a company in SYR,NY that has a oven big enough to handle the sub frame.So it would be pro applied if powder coating is the route I take.They told me most of the costs is the set-up so to add pcs really doesn't cost that much more.

Gary in my opinion powder coating is good for small bits as its easy to redo, I would never do a frame as it can rust underneath and its a bitch to get off again, My mate is a powder coater of some 30 years experience and advised against it on frames. HTH

Powdercoating is like doing a paint job. The job done depends on the prep work before. My buddy has a powdercoating business and has done plenty of stuff for me. He always makes sure the parts are bead blasted clean and pre heated for better adhesion. Pre heating most all parts is really the secret. It allows for any porosity in the metal to dissipate out so when the powder is applied, it flows on nice and smooth and is bonded to the metal.
If a scratch or chip does happen on anything coated you can touch it up with paint to stop any moisture from creating rust as well.

Like they say, small pieces are great to powder. When it comes to paint I used Eastwood ceramic paint for mine. I got what they call the best. They say it won't chip. It does. But what ya gonna do. To me ceramic will chip easier than other paints due to flexability. Just my thought here.
It's pouring to beat the band here. Glad I live on a hill.

The chassis for my car is powder coated - but I did start with all new steel rather then an original. I had painted it but it wasn't holding up to dropped tools, fasteners or other 'errors'. I took it to a powder coater locally (Powder Tech, Duanesburg, NY) that specializes in doing race car chassis. They did an entire media blast to white metal, leaving a good 'tooth' then did the coating. Another member here, Arrowhead, had his '33 Factory 5 done there as well. We are both extremely happy with the job done. Now, had I used an 80 year old rebuilt OEM frame, I would not have had the powder coating done as those chassis' have too many age related cracks and hidden rust.

One of many articles available for review: How to Powder Coat - Powder Coating Manual | Powder Coating Help, information and powder coating advice, others to do with flexibility are found using this Google search term: powder coating flexibility. It is a flexible coating!!!!

Originally Posted by 1gary

Thanks Roger.I'll take a peek.I would take the sub frame to a company in SYR,NY that has a oven big enough to handle the sub frame.So it would be pro applied if powder coating is the route I take.They told me most of the costs is the set-up so to add pcs really doesn't cost that much more.

Gary, it may be nothing, but if I heard those words I would run the other way, fast! As some of the other guys have said, the key is in the prep, and that's also the biggest part of the cost - manhours to media blast, de-grease, and clean, clean, clean before the powder application. They indeed try to get several jobs with common color (only one color can be sprayed in the area at a time) to maximize their efficiency and use of time, but that process saves them money, not the customer. I would be fearful of anyone that says "bring me more pieces and I can just slide them in to bake at the same time." The only break a customer might get is a small share of the oven time - still has to be prepped right or it will not hold up. Just my opinion, and I'm with Steve & Trjohn57 on this issue. Coat things you won't mind taking off to be fixed later.

Well they won't be putting in the oven until ready to bake and different colors can be baked at same time as they are applied in a different area---Its also very easy for them to change colors as it isn't liquid---oven $ is where the costs can be saved and thats where the best guys have maybe a triple oven to allow for preheating in one section while baking in another while emptying/filling the third section( sort of like a shell game)
In recent decades I have when to powder coat or SS with shiny stuff fabbed out of SS and polished

Thanks guys for the feedback.I think I will use the powder coating as you guys suggested for small pcs like a-frames,spindles etc.Well not the bearing surface it's self of course.I have always been a fan of Eastwood's three step paint program for large items like frames and I think it would work well for this if properly prep.I just got to keep reminding myself that this is a D.D'er and not a trailer queen show vehicle.All I want is a clean looking van out of the work I put into it.And with the end goal of migrating down south for the winter months-I should be OK.

Thanks again folks.

I used to work for a good friend doing all his mechanical work for his used car lot in my old shop.I noticed a trend on the cars where the engines/engine compartment and hoods always looked pretty sharp.I asked Jim whats up with that??.He told me well the hoods is what sells the cars.Ya know I need to pay attention to what people see over that which they don't.Not that I would do a bad job,but more over detail to the end of the sub frame and then undercoat/sound deaden the rest.It isn't a rotisserie built van.

Powder coating anything that lives under the vehicle is a waste of time and money. Just my opinion. After all it is a daily driver not a "Trailer Queen". Have you given POR15 any thought? I think it may be the perfect solution. It bonds well, it is flexible, it's easy to repair if scratched, it encapsulates any rust that may be hard to get to when prepping, it's easy to apply, and best of all it's just about impervious to everything. I've used it in many applications and have had very good results. Just something else to think about.

Originally Posted by Smiliesafari

Powder coating anything that lives under the vehicle is a waste of time and money. Just my opinion. After all it is a daily driver not a "Trailer Queen". Have you given POR15 any thought? I think it may be the perfect solution. It bonds well, it is flexible, it's easy to repair if scratched, it encapsulates any rust that may be hard to get to when prepping, it's easy to apply, and best of all it's just about impervious to everything. I've used it in many applications and have had very good results. Just something else to think about.

Thanks Skip.Yep-I have consider that.

Another reason I like powder coating is because its put on with an electrical charge---the paint will go around a corner and get on the backside/inside of every nook and cranny!!!I used to paint farm machinery back late 50s and it was a bitch to get all the corners, etc coated and later race car frames(tubular dragster chassis, pro stock rollcage) and its pretty much impossible to get all the joints and not run on the pipes near a junction---powder doesn't do this