wecwbe wrote:
I would pass on the powder coating. I hear it is tougher than paint but if it is on something like a skid plate, it doesn't matter how tough it is, it's coming off when you grind it on a rock.
It's not tougher than paint. Powdercoat is inferior to a good liquid paint. In terms of corrosion resistance, UV stability, abrasion resistance... it is weak.
As for "huh?"....
I recently asked for opinions to do the same thing with MOAB wheels. I received several replies from people who've PC'd items from skids & sliders, to bumpers, to wheels, and the majority of them claim the PC is coming off in sheets. Then there was one guy who has been a chemist in the applied coatings industry for something like 18 years. He not only shed light on the subject, he educated many and now I'll share his thoughts on the subject with you.
Quote:
Powder coating is used because it is cheap, requires little training to apply, and has acceptable properties. It quickly goes from a solid to a liquid and then undergoes a chemical reaction in the oven (usually 300-400F). This little time in the liquid phase results in poor adhesion to the substrate (steel in most cases). To overcome this the metal has to be cleaned to a pristine state and pretreated with chemicals to help adhesion. It is this pretreatment that makes powdercoat tolerable. People compare pretreated powdercoat to untreated metal with liquid paint. Given the same preparation liquid paint will outperform powdercoat.
The other issue is touch up, it is almost impossible with powdercoat, as you have to rebake the part. Powdercoat will also not give you the nice smooth finish you get from liquid paint.
Again, this is from a man who publishes data and trains others on applied coatings. As for my opinion - I have to agree with other's (elsewhere, not within this thread) powder coating is a scam. Unless you're refinishing a large kitchen appliance.
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