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Powder Coat Experiences

old_man

NAXJA Forum User
I have a powdercoat machine and have powdercoated lots of things on the Jeep. Powdercoat is so hard that it is actually brittle. It chips from sand and such on bumpers and oil pans. The chipped places then start to rust. I am doing a body swap on my XJ at the moment and decided to sand down the front bumper and repaint it due to the chips. Heck, the paint is as hard as the metal, but chipped all over. It was a bear to sand down.

I thought powdercoat would have been the best thing, but unless I can score some powder that handles the chips better, I won't be powdercoating anything under the XJ any more.

I just thought I would mention this before any of you spend big bucks to get anything powdercoated.
 
The processing varies. As a polymer, curing cycles and application thickness have an impact on final hardness. A lighter application and staged ovens can yield a very flexible coating.

Commonly, phosphate washing is used. Production coaters recycle their wash. Although phosphate in and of itself will not protect against rust, if the recycling process is not closely monitored for PH and mineral introduction, rust will literally form underneath the powdercoating. I've seen phosphated, uncoated parts hold up remarkably well to rust when done right.

Powdercoating hot rolled is not recomended... curing will seperate the scale. Use cold rolled or P&O sheet, cold finished shapes.

Ever think about trying LP?

--ron
 
Linear polyurethane. Basically, a 2 part epoxy. The finish of choice for masts, topsides, and hulls. Very tough stuff.

Be warned, it's also very nasty stuff, full respirator required.

Awlgrip and Z-Spar have reformulated to be more user friendly and less toxic in the last 5-10 years. Older Z-Spar -101 is still the toughest finish I've seen. It's still available in Mexico. I picked some up in Ensenada for this project...

mast1.jpg


--ron

PS: Anyone know how much a Harbor Freight swager costs? I'm ditching all the Carbon rigging for Nitronic 50. :D
 
old_man said:
I have a powdercoat machine and have powdercoated lots of things on the Jeep. Powdercoat is so hard that it is actually brittle. It chips from sand and such on bumpers and oil pans. The chipped places then start to rust. I am doing a body swap on my XJ at the moment and decided to sand down the front bumper and repaint it due to the chips. Heck, the paint is as hard as the metal, but chipped all over. It was a bear to sand down.

I thought powdercoat would have been the best thing, but unless I can score some powder that handles the chips better, I won't be powdercoating anything under the XJ any more.

I just thought I would mention this before any of you spend big bucks to get anything powdercoated.
I read this scratching my head.
My experience with powdercoating is just the opposite. It gives a tough, flexible coating. I've even had great results powder coating coil springs.
The only problems are that it can get "cut" and will then rust and eventually peel.
I guess, like Ron said, it depends on the material and procedure.
I have a phone number of a local place that I've been very happy with.
I'm sure they can tell you what they use.
PM me if interested.
 
kid4lyf said:
I read this scratching my head.
My experience with powdercoating is just the opposite. It gives a tough, flexible coating. I've even had great results powder coating coil springs.
The only problems are that it can get "cut" and will then rust and eventually peel.
I guess, like Ron said, it depends on the material and procedure.
I have a phone number of a local place that I've been very happy with.
I'm sure they can tell you what they use.
PM me if interested.

I tried all forms of powercoating, if it flexes at all dont power coat it, if it comes in contact with rocks or high speed inpacts (front bumper) dont powdercoat it

I got tired of having people complain of the powder coat finish on the skidplates and rock rails when they actually got used the finish would pop off...now We paint the skids with no customer complaints. Actually using bed liner.

When powder coat pops off its hard to touch up. When bedliiner or paint is scratched up it touches up easily
 
xjnation said:
I tried all forms of powercoating, if it flexes at all dont power coat it, if it comes in contact with rocks or high speed inpacts (front bumper) dont powdercoat it

I got tired of having people complain of the powder coat finish on the skidplates and rock rails when they actually got used the finish would pop off...now We paint the skids with no customer complaints. Actually using bed liner.

When powder coat pops off its hard to touch up. When bedliiner or paint is scratched up it touches up easily
Like I said, I have a set of 3.5"RE coils that I had powdercoated blue.
They flexed a time or two in the couple years I used them.
The coating is still perfect.
I agree with the abrasion bit. I wouldn't use it in a skid plate type of application but then, I wouldn't use bedliner for the same reason (peeling when scratched)
 
If your powdercoating item you want a tought and flexible coating on, make sure the coaters use a urethane based powdercoat not an epoxy based, also besure to get a very clean surface. All oil, dirt and scale needs to be removed, bead blasting then a good washing with laquer thinner works the best. Epoxy based PC's are hard and brittle, and also cheaper to use, therefore are used more often. I had my front and rear bumpers as well as the skid plateing on my old truck powder coated with the urethane based stuff, it held up to some serious abuse, sure it showed signs of the abuse, but it didnt crack, flake up, or chip off. I had no complaints.
 
kid4lyf said:
Like I said, I have a set of 3.5"RE coils that I had powdercoated blue.
They flexed a time or two in the couple years I used them.
The coating is still perfect.
I agree with the abrasion bit. I wouldn't use it in a skid plate type of application but then, I wouldn't use bedliner for the same reason (peeling when scratched)


Good bedliner doesnt peel when scratched and the finish will meld back into itself when recoated, works very well for skids been using it for many years
 
cyrus said:
If your powdercoating item you want a tought and flexible coating on, make sure the coaters use a urethane based powdercoat not an epoxy based, also besure to get a very clean surface. All oil, dirt and scale needs to be removed, bead blasting then a good washing with laquer thinner works the best. Epoxy based PC's are hard and brittle, and also cheaper to use, therefore are used more often. I had my front and rear bumpers as well as the skid plateing on my old truck powder coated with the urethane based stuff, it held up to some serious abuse, sure it showed signs of the abuse, but it didnt crack, flake up, or chip off. I had no complaints.

A few notes:

Blasting is the single most uneconomical way to prep parts for a powder coater. It's also not very effective, and a sign that the coater does not have an automated line. I would reject a coater doing this out of hand, except for reworks.

Phosphate wash line and dryer are the only way to go. The dryer gets the parts to the proper application temp, something lost on most. Take a look at Cardinal application specs.

3 stage oven minimum ... nothing less.

I do not have a single customer that specs out Epoxy. In 25 years of manufacturing in CA, I've never seen it called out, at least in commercial work. Hell, is it even available in CA?

Use CF materials, gets you way ahead of the game.

You get what you pay for, you get what you pay for, you get what you pay for... and make sure you get what you pay for.

--ron
 
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