My chassis is almost ready for finish. Trying to decide between powder coat or paint. Paint seems to be a lot more expensive and the potential for paint jail. Powder is half the price and the turn around is a week or so. Paint I can scuff and weld something down the road but not with powder. Opinions ??? Thanks in advance New Brookville chassis sanded to 220 and covered with Gibbs
I don't know how interesting my comment will be! My friend has the powder coating equipment. Volunteered to let me use it. I was tempted, but with so many parts to coat, I went with paint. Powder coat would have been nice, I just thought it would take me too long. At that time, I think it was 26 parts I painted that day, the next day I had a rolling chassis with working brakes and steering. I don't think I could have pulled off that time frame with powder coat. The frame and car is painted anyway, so a few suspension components being powder coated didnt seem like it was worth it. I am purchasing my own stuff to powder coat in the future, so maybe next time.
It sounds like you are not planning to paint the frame yourself, either. Have you talked to a paint shop about how long it would take, and what it would cost, to have it painted to your desired level of finish? I'd be concerned about getting paint to stick to something that's been covered with oil. It's not easy to get it clean.
Yeah, painters are difficult to pin down, but I have a couple of estimates of time and money. The powder place is an industrial facility which is very experienced and dependable, used them before to coat my sculptures. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Most of the aftermarket frame rails need some body filler here and there, easy enough to do when painting, not sure if fillers hold up in the oven after powder coating. Maybe @CudaChick1968 will way in on the subject.
If its a new frame I would powder coat. I found powder that matched exactly to my paint color. I painted the frame but powdered the axles and hairpin/ladder bars.
i had the Pete & Jakes `32 frame , rear end , front axle and a bunch of misc parts powder coated on my `30 coupe...i think it was a wise choice for me
The powder coater will sand blast everything before he coats. That will eliminate the oil coating. The painter probably won’t. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I don't believe the powder will stick to filler since it is put on with an electric charge. Sent from my SM-G920V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I powder coated the frame and all moving parts up front and rear. I'm glad I did because it is a lot stronger then paint. It has held up great for a driver and I would do it again.
Thanks for replies, not a show car so a few small imperfections is not a big issue. Have to use the Gibbs in this area cause if the high humidity and won’t stop raining this year. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I followed your build and the chassis came out really nice, how is the powder holding up ? Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I kinda talked you into chopping it yourself , or was it more of a nudge ? No reason you couldnt paint it yourself. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
<----- The wheels & grille insert on my old beater were powder coated 30 years ago and are holding up great. HRP
'32 rails are basically the extension of the body panel. Can they match powder coating to the body paint?
It really boils down to durability vs appearance if you take cost out of the equation. There's no question that properly-applied powdercoat will be far more durable in terms of resisting chipping compared to paint, but powdercoat has limitations that you seem to be at least partially aware of. Unless your coater really knows what they're doing, it's much harder to get to the same level of finish you can get with paint and as you point out, touch-up is all-but-impossible.
OK... Wouldn't one paint the frame ,body for a match? No need to waste money and time powder coating.
If the frame has been sanded with 220 using a DA then its too slick to provide adequate tooth for epoxy primer. 80 grit with a DA or 180 grit for hand sanding are the recommended grits for epoxy on bare steel. Given the durability of epoxy primer, I can't imagine using any other type of primer when painting a frame. No advice to offer on powder vs paint, but as it stands now, the frame isn't ready for a paint shop to start blowing primer on it.
We painted the '32 frame on our coupe to match the body... Looking back, should have powder coated the dragsters frame.
Paint over powder isn't uncommon. Powder is a relatively soft finish (it's melted-on plastic after all), and while it resists chipping far better than paint, it also 'mars' and micro-scratches much easier. Think back to the cheap plastic toys you see at grocery stores; nice and shiny when new, after a kid had handled/played with it for some time the finish dulled. Powder will do the same thing over time. Paint is a harder surface compared to powder and up to it's limits will resist this sort of damage much better and can be touched-up. The local coater I use for the stuff that won't fit in my oven does a lot of coating for motorcycles, including tanks, fenders, and other trim. On the 'body' parts, he clear-coats the powder with paint to address this problem.