Opinions on Powdercoat VS Paint

[Captain Awesome]

Happy New Year Everyone,

I'm currently having some floor work done on my GN along with new body bushings put in. The shop is saying they need about 7-10 days to get the work done as their welder is backlogged with other work. Sooo...the idea was brought up to drop the frame and drive train back off at my house (shop is just 1 mile away) so I could pull the engine and trans and do the frame.

My thought is to blast it and powdercoat it. I have a local powdercoater that will do the frame for $250 and to get a mobile dustless blaster to come out is another $350.

What are your opinions on painting vs powdercoating? Should I just get it blasted and painted or do the powedercoating?

 

[forcefed3.8's]

I couldnt paint it for that cheap.

 

[turbobitt]

Happy New Year Everyone,

I'm currently having some floor work done on my GN along with new body bushings put in. The shop is saying they need about 7-10 days to get the work done as their welder is backlogged with other work. Sooo...the idea was brought up to drop the frame and drive train back off at my house (shop is just 1 mile away) so I could pull the engine and trans and do the frame.

My thought is to blast it and powdercoat it. I have a local powdercoater that will do the frame for $250 and to get a mobile dustless blaster to come out is another $350.

What are your opinions on painting vs powdercoating? Should I just get it blasted and painted or do the powedercoating?

Powder coating is nice but sometimes can chip easy. Will still need to make ground connections at some point and something to consider. Powder coating may not offer any corrosion resistance on the bare untreated metal like a good etch primer and/or zinc chromate primer. You should also consider how important it will be for you to fill in any pits or scratchs in your frame. In my opinion the factory welds are crappy and you fill find spatter and wire pieces everywhere so you will have some time grinding to make it look decent. Is the frame notched yet ? Do you think you may install a cage ? All things to consider since at some point you may need to blend in the modified areas.

Be sure to check the body bushing areas for rot and thin metal.
AG.

 

[GNVAIR]

I personally prefer primer and paint to powder coat for most things as you can easily touch it up if you scratch or chip it. Plus you have the benefit of added corrosion protection.
Powder coat has the advantage of giving a smooth finish regardless of how heavy you apply it. It is mostly a 1 step process and fairly quick where primer and paint may require multiple coats.
On my own car I primed and painted the frame using epoxy primer and high solids polyurethane paint. I did the same on the floors.

 

[Johnnie]

I know that for 4130 steel aircraft tubing, the FAA frowns upon powder coating. It can chip, hold
water and corrode --- worse the corrosion can be hidden underneath. They recommend a good epoxy primer and paint. And yes, it is an airplane, but it is steel . That is probably what I would do.... And as mentioned before, you can touch it up .

 

[forcefed3.8's]

Yep, wasnt even thinking about corrosion. I was using epoxy chassis paint from summit.