we have powdercoated several frames here...they look really sparp and the finish holds up very well- but it has not been without a "learning curve" #1- if you gotta do some type of repair or welding on it after the fact, it is an unholy pain in the **** to get it clean enough to weld on. #2- all those little nooks and crannies on your frame become a p.i.t.a. if you don't tell your powder coater to MAKE SURE he gets them all to begin with. and supporting the frame with Sawhorses is out of the question- he is gonna have to hang it (otherwise, is leaves marks.) #3- hope you like the color! (cause that stuff is never coming off again. ever. it's there for life. #4- any and all threaded holes will have to be cleaned before you even think about running a bolt into them. period. (think of it like this-friction causes heat, and heat melts powdercoat. and no, it's not like loc-***e. ) that said... #1-impervious to all automotive fluids! #2- dirty? pressure wash that *****! #3-dull? it buffs just like paint. #4-it is really quite difficult to screw up when you (oh say, for example) miss the bolt you were hammering into that control arm and smack it with (again,example) a 40 ounce deadblow hammer. and when you do it again ,but this time hit your thumb with the "Snap-On crush-o-matic 2000"... #5-blood washes right off it! critter parts,too! #6-there are a LARGE array of colors and textures avalible. #7- it doesn't fade out. #8- it sands and acts like primer if you wanna paint it later.
Paint cracks where the metal cracks. Powder coat doesn't. We aren't running in NASCAR but safety is safety.
im not a big fan for frames .the best way to get it clean enough to weld is to grind then get the torch out and burn the area to get the coating off.just grinding wont cut it...
I like epoxy primer, then paint. I have a powdercoated little red wagon that I drag around at swap meets. It's only about 8 years old. I keep it outdoors, but in the shade. It used to be red, then it turned pink after about a year, then really chalky pink, then the powdercoating cracked up, then it rusted underneath the loose flakes of powdercoating like crazy, then big wide sheets of powdercoating cracked off completely. Now it's a useless piece of junk full of holes. I have lots of other old junk that's 40 or 50 years old sitting around in the weather with just some cheap enamel on it, and that stuff might have surface rust here and there and faded paint, but it doesn't just disintegrate and flake off in huge cracked up sheets like that powdercoating does. Hope I'm not ******* off any powdercoaters, but I just don't trust the stuff. Another reason I don't like it is that it can't be easily touched up. The powdercoater people make claims that it "will not fade", but I have seen it fade on every powder coated thing I've ever owned that sat outdoors for any length of time. They sell lots of junk like outdoor lawn furniture now with supposedly superior weatherproof powdercoating on it. It turns to **** in a few years in the sun and fades and dulls and flakes off. Hopefully the powdercoating they put on car parts is better quality than that lawn furniture junk, but I think I'll stick with paint because I know it lasts. Epoxy primer is about the best thing around I think as far as good adhesion to the steel and corrosion protection once you put paint over it.
I had the 9 inch Ford rear housing powder coated ... the backing plates also. I thought that looked real good ... until I installed the rear end ... under a painted frame. BIG DIFFERENCE in looks ... the frame is way more shiny and better looking. Have not yet put it on the road ... so I cannot talk about the durability
Lux Blue summed it up best! My two bits worth is that most guys only get the odd item done so the coaters are not that particular. I have great success with the shop that we use but we run 5 or 6 ch***is per year through plus several other items. They dont always like the small pieces but they have an appreciation for what we are putting together and they pay extra attention. We use semi gloss black on just about everything and it is easy to match to spray bombs as well as exopy paint in semi gloss. Guys that have this stuff "Flake or Peel off" didnt have the metal clean enough or rough enough in most cases or it sat to long between the time it was blasted and coated. Last item is to find a reputable shop! there is lots of small guys out there but this is not always the correct choice. The big guys should stand behind what they do, I know my guys do.
You asked for opinions so heres mine. Some powder coaters are idiots they are not the same! I just had a friends frame powder coated here in the bay area for $300 including some xtra parts like a fourlink setup and a radiator core support. He got some estimate in Sacramento for $2000 bucks what a joke! The frame was blasted then primed then color coated metal flake silver then coated in a wet look hich gloss clear! It looks as good as paint hands down. Exept the imperfections in the metal show if not smoothed out. Most powder coaters just put color on and its not the same as a three step process. Also I had some other power coated parts fail done years ago by someone else and the guy I'm using now blasted them and re coated them so it is removable. Also you can sand it and paint over it if you want. I think you just need someone that knows what they are doing. My vote is for powder coating the frame as it wont chip as easy as paint. LTR Dave
Too risky, you forget to weld something on a frame and you are screwed after it's powder coated. Happened to my buddy, bad deal.
Well you could grind it off same as paint weld whatever then touch it up same as paint hows that a bad deal? Oh and the powder coaters sell touch up paint in spray cans that match the powder finish not a bad deal to me LTR Dave
one more thing to remember is that not all powder coatings are the same. like paint there are different powder coatings for different things. epoxy powder coat is usually used for items that are going to be in harsh environments. less expensive powder coatings are used on things like toys.
I had my frame and running gear on a Zipper Lakester powder coated 7 years ago. A couple of rock dings on the hair pins were easily touched up with a rattle can provided by the powder coater. '35 spoke wheels also PC'd and only a couple of road chips over the years. Like anything else, you get what you pay for. One of the first wheel companies to go to PC was Jackman Wheels in El Cajon in the early seventies.
It's a no brainer in our area. you bring it to the coater and he blasts it and powder coats it for about $400.00 or you can blast it your self, buy $400 to $600 worth of epoxy primer and paint and about 20 hours of your time to paint it. It might not look as glossy as paint but if your powder coater does good work it is much cheeper and more durable.
I used to work in a factory in Woodinville Washington in the powder coat department. One of the things that was mentioned before, but is often overlooked is the prep process. The parts we painted went through an acid wash and power rinse before they were heat dried and IMMEDIATELY sent through a primer booth, quick baked, and sent through the final paint booth. I've seen a lot of powder coats fail, and nine times out of ten it was poor prep before the powder. I guess Powder Coat and Paint really have that in common, if your surface isn't ready, you might as well not bother trying to put it on.
I don't have any experience in doing that, but have been told that touching-up a powder coat job with more powder coating just won't work, and the paint touch up doesn't match. My buddy was forced into that situation on his frame. he got so frustrated they completely stripped the whole damn frame and just re-powder-coated it. I think that's an extreme example gone bad...haha.
Depends on what the car is. Personally I don't like the look of powder coated parts and would never use the stuff.
My two cents: First off, I am a huge powder coating fan, but like anything else, you have to find a good powder coater. My guy knows his stuff, and properly preps the metal first. When you figure in the fact that the metal is getting blasted and prepped, it is VERY worth it! I've been using him for years, and have never had anything peel or crack off. If you're in the Atlanta area, PM me and I'll p*** along his contact info. He's a hot rodder himself, also does a lot of bike frames and so on, and does little stuff, too. Also, garbage in, garbage out, applies here, too. If you take him a rusted-out POS, then don't expect a miracle. But if you take the time to clean up any welds on a part, or smooth out rough spots or seams, the final results will be terrific. The first thing I ever had powder coated was 4-barrel intake for the Y-block in my 56 F100; that was probably five or six years ago and it still looks just as good as the day I bolted it on. He also powder coated the steelies on the truck. I'm running 'em with no hubcaps, and after 4 years, they still look perfect. Oh yeah: front bumper on the same truck: powdercoated black with no fading after several years, and this truck lives outdoors. As for a frame, the only way I'd ever powder coat a frame was if I was 100% sure that I would never change a thing on it. But with me, I'm always doing something to a frame: motor/trans mount changes, spring perches, shock mounts, etc. So I would never powder coat a frame, not because I don't think the coating would stick, or that it would fade, but that I likely end up having to grind some of it off later. But anything else? Powder coat it, and forget it!
Had a GTO frame powder coated this year. Gave it to the guy and got back what looks like an OEM new frame. I'll never paint one again. Some good things to think about have been said above. I've seen some pretty incredible colors and finishes as well. I especially like the consistant finish from every angle. Very tough to do when you paint. Not impossible but a pain in the *** on some.
Preperation like with anything likely is the key point here. I do have a question though. Does paint adhere to powder coating if you wanted to do that? No reason, I'm just curious.
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