i'm just getting into powder coating and it seems like a very cool thing, one question though, why couldnt an entire car be powder coated? besides the fact that you would need a very large oven, can it be done? any ever tried? am i missing something? since powder can cure in as little as 45 minutes, seems like it would be great to develop a way to coat the whole car, whats up?

it can, it's been discussed here before. bring money. touchups are problematic. metal only, matching fiberglass and/or polymer parts can be difficult. but there are places with ovens big enough to do a complete tub.

there are pics somewhere on our board of a yellow powder coated tub.

I've talked to my guy and he can do it. We didn't discuss price, though.

http://www.autometricsmotorsports.com/products/911/

Chassis coating $2K to $3k

everything i have read about it says that learning how to be good at powder coating is much easier than painting...i see what you mean about the touch-up and money, although considering you'd have it done days before painting, you could spend the extra time prep'ing and make sure it's done right the first time...i want to look more into this, can anyone suggest any links?

damn kellzey, that engine compartment is awesome looking, when they "more durable" than paint, exactly how much more do they mean?

If you want to powdercoat yourself (an entire chassis), you need an oven big enough for the entire car... so you are best leaving it to a professional.

As far as smaller stuff, check out the Eastwood company. They have lots of automotive refinishing products for the do-it-yourselfer.

Also speak with Lawrence on this group. He did his own powdercoating.

See the link above for a company that can do the whole car.

The results look great!

lol, i wouldnt even consider doing my own entire car, i was just wondering if it was possible, and now that i see it is, i think i'll look more into it because you're right, i like the looks of the finished product alot more. there is a place in sacramento that does big projects like that with a couple of huge ovens...maybe i'll swing by and see if they have any openings, no better way to learn than to get paid doing it!

I powdercoated a lot of my car parts... fuel tank, suspension, headlight buckets, etc. Just go to my conversion link below and then click on the progress button.

Better deliver the tub to them stripped and dipped too...

They quoted me $7500.00 for disassembly, and $1,800.00 to dip.

It was $16,000.00 to just drop it off.




M

You must have better luck with powder coating on the west coast! Everything I've ever had that was powder coated turned to shit in no time. The coating flakes off and rusts/corodes underneath. If receive a new part and it's been powder coated, the first thing I do is strip it and paint it. The jet ski aftermarket has embraced powder coating and it's the kiss of death for us who use the parts in salt water. I guess it's OK in lakes. It seems to be porous and allow moisture to get under/in it. It looks pretty in all the pics of 914 parts I've seen coated, but I have to think paint would do just as well if not better. at least in my neck of the woods!

what about up-keep? is it the same as paint(i.e. wax, buffing) or are there other methods used?

Been there...
Stay away from eastwood. I had lots of problems with their products sitting on their shelves too long.
They really do not know about powdercoating. There are different powders for interior and exterior use but they dont bother noting which is which. Their filler (metal-to-metal) is not meant to be used for powdercoating and bubbles at well under 300 degrees.

I must have tried my hood 10 times. I ran into every powdercoat issue there was.. If you dont have a completely dent free car you are much better off painting. I used the same large (4 ft) lamp that eastwood sells and ran into dry spotting, mild orange peel, filler bubbles, filler changing the powder finish, filler cooking to early, and touchup hell.

Smaller parts are a breeze (like a wheel or the headlamp covers) but a whole section is a nightmare. I could not get an acceptable result on the hood. Many powders are not the same color all the way through so a gloss or pearl can not be color sanded.


FYI - upkeep is easy. It does not need a wax to prevent rusting like paint. Since its a solid sheet of plastic and not porus like paint. Exterior window trim is often powdercoated.

BTW: On a lot of new cars its all powdercoat. Just dont compare 1970's metal to todays standard. On non galvanized panels its actually worse for rusting/upkeep. Eastwoods rust encapsulator is about the only great eastwood product. It works as a primer for powdercoating. However, it makes the powdercoat less chip resistant. If you strip the 914 down to bear metal even surface rust will run rampant in a short time. A primer is required.

I have not seen any specs for a powder that is OK in salt water. Check out tiger drylac if your curious.

In short, dont waste alot of time on it ;-)

-Rich

thanks for the advice, i did find one example of a hood and trunk done on the internet, however it was done by the owner of a professional powdercoating company so i'm sure they all the tricks and process down, but it turned out awesome. i think i'll start with smaller parts and work my way up to harder pieces. i just got into this and love the looks, especially the parts that brad had done a while back (even though there was some argument to the color choice, the parts came out looking so good almost to the point that it was a shame to have to use them ) iwant to make sure i get the process down since this isnt the cheapest hobby in the world...

We used to have sun shields powder coated on ammunition lockers. This was on Navy ships that see the most brutal weather you can put metal in. Powder coating looked beautiful for about a month. One nick and the corrosion spread underneath pealing the finnish up in sheets.

I switched to Marine enamel. "interlux" this stuff is tough. made for yachts that live on the water. Not alot of color choices but the white is blindingly bright. lasted the remaining two years I served on the ship. The commanding Officer wanted to know if it came in Grey. I lied and told him nope, I think he wanted to paint the whole ship Goof didn't realize I painted my the 5" guns too.

Last tour in the Navy I was the Quality Control Officer at a repair facility. I found that the process to powder coat is very specific. Quality control is mandatory. clean clean clean. apply to the correct thickness and cook to the exact temp for a specific time. there is a test after to ensure curing. if it fails you have to start over. Give me some good paint any day.

I wouldn't want a powdercoated car. Each panel would need to be PERFECT, because the coating wouldn't stick to any body filler.

Also, part of the key to a good powdercoating job is surface prep. The folks at Columbia coatings preached etching the surface (with something like Ospho or Metal Prep) prior to actually coating and firing the pieces.

If you don't prep the surface beneath, you will see spiderweb rust appear over time. Also, they recommended pre-heating the items before covering them with powder, to help off-gas any residual moisture from the surface. Residual moisture = rust in the long term.

-Rusty

The panel does not have to be perfect.

Body filler would melt, not just prevent sticking

The one-part lab metal columbia sells is what I used as body filler. Great stuff. However, 1 out of 4 times the powder would cure differently around the filler and you could just barely see the repair. I never did figure out why it showed on some cures and not others. I used a lamp instead of an oven so there are more variables involved.

as a side note: most of the powdercoating fillers contain aluminum powder. carefully consider if you want to be around the dust of this stuff for long and how to clean it up. Its not like Bondo..it can cause some serious health issues.

-Rich