A buddy avoided the long wait to get his roadster pickup truck painted, by having it powder coated, instead. Nice new metal (Brookville Roadster) body...might be problematic if attempted with old tin, though. Back in his shop in less than 3 weeks! Looks very respectable...cost was quite reasonable, and probably about what getting it primed at a body shop would have cost. Could be cut and buffed, but we all think it looks great as is...why bother!
Let us know how it works out. Pardon my lack of knowledge. I was under the illusion that coating won't flex. It sure looks good.
Did he have the whole body done, or take it in pieces then assemble? Cost v paint? Just a percentage is fine.
Powdercoat flexes very well, so that's not an issue if the prep was done right for good adhesion. The problem is powdercoat is a 'soft' finish. It is a plastic finish after all. You won't have any luck trying to buff it, and it will 'microscratch' easily. Remember those cheap brightly colored plastic supermarket toys? They were nice and shiny when new, but dulled with handling? That's what powdercoat will do from washing/wiping. This is it's one major drawback IMO. The larger the surface and brighter the light, the more this shows. There's a local powdercoater who coats motorcycle tanks and fenders, but he applies a clear coat of hardened clear urethane over the powder to prevent this.
There are many types of powder. Polyurethane, epoxy, polyesters, urethanes, etc. All have their purposes. They are soft but I’ve been able to buff most versions. I’d concerned about getting the body hot enough to cure the powder in all areas. looks good, good luck.
Hmmmm . Juries out on this one. Assuming the body is razor straight, and as T&A said above it can be sanded and polished...how can it be repaired? This stuff doesn't feather edge.
Yeah I’d be pretty concerned about the possibility of repair or touchup if a minor or major accident occurred.
The finish will never look like a high end paint job. You cant fill prime and block it to perfection. A cheap paint job would yield the same results, and a cheap paint job should not land you in paint jail.
It can't be repaired. While properly-applied powdercoat is extremely durable, once damaged to where it needs repairing the only option is a full recoat. Or manage a perfect color match and paint the panel. Getting the finish texture to match will be a trick. Powdercoat isn't paint and doesn't act like it. If a sheet metal panel gets dented, you'll have to metal-finish the repair as I'm not aware of any filler that doesn't show under a recoat. And don't forget that powder needs at least 350 degrees cure heat to 'flow out'. A bit tough to do on a quarterpanel or assembled door.
I like it, hell why not. Agree with @Crazy Steve powder will micro scratch easier than paint. If the shop uses RAL based powder color catalog, pretty standard if they also do industrial work. RAL color chart has paint mix formulas, you can order premix paint from many places. https://www.ralcolor.com/ I don't like powder for my stuff, have had it done, also have an oven and gun. Good paint, correct for application is easier for me and meets my needs. Single stage urethane is some tough stuff.
if you can find a wind that is about 6 hundred miles per hour you might have a problem.! i would rather get a Trunk Monkey it's traditional Does anybody know what traditional is..? I have been around the block a couple times & have seen a lot of different styles that Hot Rods like.! just my 3.5 cents live learn & die a Fool
Damn, you guys would bitch about a deuce on a silver platter. Besides, hotrods are not meant to be PERFECT. That is for customs and street rods. I like it!! A boner's buddy likes it. So there. Ben
If the owner digs it, I’m tickled for him Time to light the tires up the gloss level is probably more consistent with older paint. I’d drive it
Owner is meticulous with his cars. He figured if it ever got really damaged, he would consider the power coat as a primer, and get whatever needed fixing, painted. The finish looks like an older low tech paint job...and as stated above, perfect for a traditional looking hot rod! Base coat clear coat looks fantastic on a $300,000.00 Show Rod, and somewhat out of place on a traditional Hot Rod...IMHO!
The main concern I'd have is what prep was done before coating. Virtually every powder failure I've ever seen was due to a lack of proper prep before coating. Lifting/peeling has two causes; one, the surface wasn't totally clean/dry and two, the surface wasn't sandblasted to apply a good 'tooth' for the powder to grip. I blast every part (new or not) with 80 grit sand to insure good adhesion. If the coater simply wiped it down and no blasting, I'd be worried about it lifting in places. Powdercoat is great stuff in the right place, but it's not for everything....
None...body direct from Brookville. It’s a Hot Rod, and it looks like a Hot Rod. Before powder coating, the powder coat shop owner carefully media blasted it for proper, “tooth”.
Thanks for posting this ! Looks great. From time to time we see similar type paint jobs on finished hot rods, so you may have just helped some find an alternative method of finishing their car for reduced cost.
From my experience, powder coat does not have good UV resistance. That could have changed over the years.
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