# Powder Coating?



## Talon1189 (Nov 30, 2011)

I do realize in most restorations that rattle cans maybe common. Many higher volume "Powder Coating" company's would be able to help out to the die hard old school members here with older iron snow machines  Has any member here done any research on getting their own snow thrower being "powder coated" ????????


----------



## JerryJ (Jan 11, 2012)

I bought my Cub Cadet brand new a few years ago (8). There're a couple of us guys that do the entire neighborhood, seniors and widows alike. So, our snowblowers get a good work out.
Even though I serviced mine on a regular basis, it started to rust and rust bad. I found out the original finish is powder coated.
Strictly my opinion, powder coating has its place but NOT for snowblowers that face in the extreme elements.

Try sanding a rusted powder coated machine. The powder coat tends to conceal the rust and the rust keeps eating away. Traditional sanding is out of the question. You need a grinder. To re powdercoat is a personal choice and it does look awesome but down the road, nah not for me. 
I like the Tremclad roll on. Paint temperature and surface temperature are the keys to a good finish 

BTW where is the snow this year? We have had zero snow and we're half way through January


----------



## Talon1189 (Nov 30, 2011)

If the original item was prepared correctly before the "powder coating" process........Would the final result be any different?


----------



## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

Powder coating is much stronger than paint but it needs to be applied correctly just like paint to be effective. A part that is going to be powder coated must be clean of any dirt or oil or the powder coating will not stick to the metal properly. even an oily finger print will cause the powder coating not to adhere properly making a pathway for water to get behind it and cause rusting. The biggest thing i dislike about powder coating is that you really cant get it into the nooks and carnies where two pieces of steel overlap like you can with a liquid product, therefore creating a place for water and salt to get in and rust the metal from behind the powdercoat.

Personally I have had very good results spraying Rustoleum oil based paints which i thin with either acetone or mineral spirits depending on the outside temperature when i am painting.


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Powdercoating*

I kind of catagorize powercoating along with chroming. It lasts a while but when it goes, it goes. In another life I worked for a company that made auto parts, among other things we did was chroming and other finishes. The amount of time, materials and manpower to do it right is very expensive. Things like surface rust can ruin a job. Same thing with power coating, if it's not squeeky clean along with the coating thickness and baking can make it very expensive. Think of things like acid dripping to help eliminate existing rust from used parts to get it all out of there, not cheap or available to most people.

I have to say any rust must be neutalized or removed before proceeding. I'm looking into some products, next one on the list is Evapo-rust and Rust Reformer, I'll see how they work. Once that's done, some rust encapsulation products like Eastwood's or Rust Bullit. Then a good paint. I'm thinking of redoing one machine next year and I'm considering trying my hand at a 2 part paint (epoxy type) to see how that works. It's messy and hard to clean up along with you need a good respirator due to potentially harmful fumes but it's very durable and I'm wondering how it will hold up to snowblower usage.

My thoughts.


----------



## JerryJ (Jan 11, 2012)

I might add and this is my opinion only. 
With snowblowers and any other type of equipment, these machines are designed to be used and often used hard. For the most part they are not show case machines (except in some of our minds  )
That said powder coating is an extremely fine finishing job and a finish to be reckoned with, as far as beauty is concered. When I visit car shows and cruises, I see these powder coat finishes and they're fantasic, BUT they are not rugged. So, in essence they make for a great display and initial sales but the powder coat finish does not hold up to the extremes of winter. I too use the Tremclad series of paints.
Picture the Areins with that bright orange and every thing else is white. 

That white auger, we found, just pops out as a good looking machine.
Besides after a good use of the machine and that auger gets its dose of snow and ice, it's much easier to touch up with paint, let it dry and let it harden. Sanding powder coat is a pain, if you will.


----------



## theoldwizard1 (Nov 23, 2011)

JerryJ said:


> ...When I visit car shows and cruises, I see these powder coat finishes and they're fantasic, ...


Are you sure about that ? Unless something has changed in 10+ years, no car show person would put powder coating on any body panel ! Powder coating is several times thicker than paint and tends to give almost a rippled like finish.

No finish is impervious to everything, but I still believe that properly prepared steel has a better chance against with powder coating over paint.

One possibly explanation of poor performance is the thickness of the metal it is applied to. I believe that powder coating is more brittle than paint and if it flexes or is impacted (rocks, etc), it will fail.


----------



## Talon1189 (Nov 30, 2011)

I am no paint expert here and I do not want to go off topic. I do believe that I read that high dollar cars like Ferrari use "powder coatings" on their cars. Powder coatings are still the future. Technology always has there own bugs before it gets refined in another 5-10 years down the line. Just looking forward to the future in painting technology


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Coatings*

Another one I thought about the other day for inside the auger and impeller housings - sprayin truck bed liners. I've never had one but supposedly something like the Rhino sprayin liner is supposed to be close to indestructable. If it could be sprayed in thin enough so not to cause interference and smooth enough to not inhibit the movement of the snow, I wonder how that would work?

Just another random thought.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

I have heard this come up in other places and I think the general consensus is that bed liner has a sand type grit mixed in with it similar to boat deck paint to make it slip resistant.


----------



## JerryJ (Jan 11, 2012)

theoldwizard1 said:


> Are you sure about that ? Unless something has changed in 10+ years, no car show person would put powder coating on any body panel ! Powder coating is several times thicker than paint and tends to give almost a rippled like finish.
> 
> No finish is impervious to everything, but I still believe that properly prepared steel has a better chance against with powder coating over paint.
> 
> One possibly explanation of poor performance is the thickness of the metal it is applied to. I believe that powder coating is more brittle than paint and if it flexes or is impacted (rocks, etc), it will fail.


 
Clarification
I agree, not the body panels but rather the chassis and other componants. I agree, that would be wierd if the body was powder coated.

Not knowing all that much about powder coating I may agree that the paint app itself is probably stronger but if the surface is not prepared, then the final stage is useless.
That begs the question about all these mainstream snowblower manufacturers: why do they powder coat? and with out any BS how well prepared is the surface prior to powder coating?


----------

