Powder coating

[swampu]

I seem to always be behind when it comes to modern technology but I have discovered powder coating!! I love it!. I had a part on my utv pc'ed and can't wait to get some on the boat. I have 2 stacks (not the exhaust pipe but the cover), spotlight housing and support, and maybe my control's (they are pitted). There is a question in all of this, has anyone had any bad experience with using powder coating or is there a better alternative? Thanks Paul

 

[psneeld]

I seem to always be behind when it comes to modern technology but I have discovered powder coating!! I love it!. I had a part on my utv pc'ed and can't wait to get some on the boat. I have 2 stacks (not the exhaust pipe but the cover), spotlight housing and support, and maybe my control's (they are pitted). There is a question in all of this, has anyone had any bad experience with using powder coating or is there a better alternative? Thanks Paul

There have been so many improvements and variations of how to prep/do it...my info is just one little point to consider.

On aluminum....if it gets scratched to bare metal...the rate that oxidation occurs is rapid enough to cause bubbles and flaking in a short amount of time. I see it a lot on older boat's aluminum gauge/switch panels and t-tops/accessories.

I can remember the high end sportfish guys always giving us their new raw alluminum dash panels to be cut for the new marine electronics. After they were cut, they would be prepped and sprayed with epoxy paints as they refused to powder coat. They said the bubbling problem that always seems to happen everytime a screw would be added or removed to work on the panels drove the owners nuts.

Again...I'm sure there may be responses from people who have never had a problem or powder coaters who say hog wash...but I'd check things out pretty well before I went through the hasel of powder coating when modern paint certainly have com a long way quickly.

 

[Marin]

Powder coating is great for many applications and not so much for others. If a component is not going to receive much or any physical above, like a radar tower, it's great.

If it's used on somehting that's likely to get hit or dinged, like a set of davits for example, powder coating can be chipped off and when it is corrosion or rust can get started and will start lifting the surrounding coating.

The only proper fix is to have the item re-powder coated. You can effect a temporary fix with paint but the chances are the corrosion will have migrated under the surrounding coating already so the paint fix will most likely be fairly short lived and the lifting will eventually continue.

This has been our experience with it, at any rate.

 

[psneeld]

I agree with Marin to a point...the problem with even radar towers is that unless the installer is SUPER carefull to not nick the coating ,bubbling will start soon.

It sound easy but the installer has to put bolts through it in multiple places....plus the manufacturer has to make sure they round ALL the edges (which isn't so in my experience) so no sharp edges are exposed or would be with the most minor of bumps/rubs...then the coating is violated

 

[Tom.B]

I powder coated our aluminum side doors when I rebuilt them last year.

Thread:
http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s32/door-runner-upgrade-4612.html

 

[Codger2]

On aluminum....if it gets scratched to bare metal...the rate that oxidation occurs is rapid enough to cause bubbles and flaking in a short amount of time.

My experience has been that powder coating looks great when first applied but doesn't have near the longevity that a good marine paint has.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I've even seen powder coated propellers at the boat show quite awhile back. I worked for a plater that also did PC. I had some ducting (sheet metal) PCd and car wheels. And probably other stuff. Had it done for really cheap. Walt in my experience PC is FAR better than any cold spray or brush on coating.

 

[psneeld]

Any coating is great till corrosion gets under it...that's where paint seems to beat PC....PC seems to be a glove like covering...once violated...it comes right off at a much fater rate than paint.

I'm standing in a marina right now and looking at all the radar arches and mounts that show signs of bubbling.

 

[Codger2]

PC seems to be a glove like covering...once violated...it comes right off at a much faster rate than paint.

That's a damn good description of PC.

 

[psneeld]

That's a damn good description of PC.

I've seen MILES of it flaking off boat parts in my years....

 

[caltexflanc]

Bubbling on a painted or powder coated aluminum where bolts and fasteners are attached is almost always due to using stainless steel fasteners without something like Tefgel to isolate the dissimilar metals.

 

[psneeld]

Bubbling on a painted or powder coated aluminum where bolts and fasteners are attached is almost always due to using stainless steel fasteners without something like Tefgel to isolate the dissimilar metals.

Sure if you are real careful and never scatch it and use isolation techniques that assure the cover coat is never being broken...absolutely..

Me...paints fine...

 

[Nomad Willy]

That piece of ducting I referred to has been out in the SE Alaska weather for 8 years and it's outside in Washington now and I see no rust ect. No fasteners though and it was galvanized also.

Perhaps galvanizing or anodizing prior to powder coating would be very beneficial.

 

[Marin]

The company-- PYI-- that designed and fabricated the short tower we installed under our then-new Furuno radome pre-drilled the holes, radiused all edges including the holes, powder coated the tower, and included nylon (or whatever) inserts to isolate the tower from the stainless fasteners that went through it. So far so good in terms of corrosion or powder coat lifting.

 

[psneeld]

That piece of ducting I referred to has been out in the SE Alaska weather for 8 years and it's outside in Washington now and I see no rust ect. No fasteners though and it was galvanized also.

Perhaps galvanizing or anodizing prior to powder coating would be very beneficial.

The galvanizing I'm sure helped...and I started with I think aluminum is the worst candidate for the reason of most people don't prime it well enough to accept any coating breaks. Galvanizing will often "heal" itself I hear which would help.

 

[psneeld]

The company-- PYI-- that designed and fabricated the short tower we installed under our then-new Furuno radome pre-drilled the holes, radiused all edges including the holes, powder coated the tower, and included nylon (or whatever) inserts to isolate the tower from the stainless fasteners that went through it. So far so good in terms of corrosion or powder coat lifting.

They make god stuff most of the time...they have had some bad shipments years ago...hopefully all corrected. I have used those nylon inserts with towers...didn't remember who used them...hopefully all now. But if you powedercoat..you do have to be more carefull in my opiniion.

 

[caltexflanc]

There is a correct way to paint aluminum. Or powder coat it. Here is an excellent primer ((pun kind of intended) by an airline pilot who knows a thing or two about painted aluminum, from another boating forum:

BoaterEd - Painting Aluminum (Especially Outdrives)

And here is an expensive lesson on powder coating and proper prep.

Fortress Fusion :: Aluminum :: color galv powder coating paint over galvanizing

The issue of bubbling around fasteners is independent of of the paint job. It is a direct result of improperly bedding the fasteners whether the aluminum is painted or powder coated or not.

 

[psneeld]

There is a correct way to paint aluminum. Or powder coat it. Here is an excellent primer ((pun kind of intended) by an airline pilot who knows a thing or two about painted aluminum, from another boating forum:

BoaterEd - Painting Aluminum (Especially Outdrives)

And here is an expensive lesson on powder coating and proper prep.

Fortress Fusion :: Aluminum :: color galv powder coating paint over galvanizing

The issue of bubbling around fasteners is independent of of the paint job. It is a direct result of improperly bedding the fasteners whether the aluminum is painted or powder coated or not.

I don't disagree...I just have seen in my experience that powder coats if hit...a chip comes off and it fails rather quickly eitherfrom a chip, scrape, fastener, etc..etc....

Once it starts failing...I think it fails at a faster rate and being more susceptible to the covering being violated...I will never use it if I can.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I painted my aluminum skiff in Thorne Bay and that was a job. Did it according to InterLux guidelines on their web site. Cost lots of money and even more time. Took about 14 coats on the bottom w 3 kinds of paint/coatings. Still need another coat on the topsides. I mixed 2 different colors to get the buff color I wanted. Grand Banks Beige and Sundowner Buff. Henball Beige. Well I like it.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Hmmm...Boating in the buff eh?