Powercoating vs. Paint

[71Ford100]

Which is better to do to a frame powercoating it or painting it and putting a clearcoat over it?

How much would it cost to powercoat a frame?

[Faithful Old Road Dog]

I believe that powder coating is more expensive. I powder coated my motorcycle frame. It looks great. It's supposed to hold up better to chemicals and oil. The only thing is that the coating itself is pretty thick. Thick enough to make a difference when putting things back together.

[FORDification]

I was able to get the following parts powdercoated locally:

- frame
- radiator support
- I-beams
- radius arms
- tranny crossmember
- front coil springs

...plus I decided to throw in all my '67 442's front and rear control arms (8 pieces total). The total bill? $222....and that included sandblasting as well.

The local body shop who also does restorations take all their stuff there now too, as he's told me he can't sandblast and paint them for what they can powdercoat the pieces for.

Also, I specifically asked about the thickness of the powdercoating, and was told by the company who applied it that it was only .003" thick...so it really shouldn't adversely affect the reassembly of anything. There isn't much to do with the drivetrain that needs that little tolerance. I suppose anything that's a machined surface should be avoided (with exceptions, of course).

EDIT: Oh yeah, forgot to mention that a powdercoated surface will resist nicks and chips much more so than a painted surface. While assembling my truck I've dropped countless tools on the frame and it hasn't chipped once. I even touched up another part with a rattlecan after it was installed and got some overspray on the powdercoated frame....and the overspray cleaned right off without damaging anything.

I'd most definitely recommend powdercoating the frame if you can find someone in your local area who can do it.

[hardtailjohn]

The two main drawbacks that I have found of powdercoating are that if it does get a scratch or chip, it tends to hold the moisture under the powdercoating and the corrosion creeps along unnoticed. The other one is that it's such a tough coating that it tends to not show a crack that is starting in the metal underneath it, until failure... been there, done that, and didn't have fun on both times!!
John H.

[flyboy2610]

Perhaps I just got bad information, but I was told that powdercoating components that flex, such as coil springs and leaf springs, was not a good idea because the coating has very little 'give' to it. It would crack and peel off, leading to the corrosion problems described earlier.

[FORDification]

Oh no...powdercoating does have a bit of flex to it...enough for coil springs, anyway. You couldn't do anything that had a LOT of travel to it, but for springs they're just fine.

Of course, this is what I've been told by many auto restorers and what I've read online. I guess it remains to see just what kind of life I'll actually get out of it...but from what I know, the springs will wear out before the powdercoating, provided that there isn't any damage done to them during driving, which might crack it.

[hardtailjohn]

I'd put my money on the powdercoating easily flexing enough for that. I had a tube that was completely broken off in an aircraft fuselage that was powdercoated one time and the finish wasn't even cracked! That was the last time anything that was powdercoated got in the door of our airplane shop... it's really tough stuff! Sometimes tough isn't a good thing... like in that case... but on the coil springs I doubt you'll ever see it crack or break.
John H.