A friend wants to protect his steel bumpers from weather and mild
abuse. What is better for that purpose? Paint or powder coat.
Thanks.
mike
Hi Mike,
What is the finish on the bars at the moment? - chrome, already painted?
That plays a part in the equaision.
Powder coating is a durable finish, but,
I myself prefer an industrial 2 PACK POLYURETHANE FINISH because your chasing maximum abrasion/chip/chemical/impact resistance as possible on something like bars. That paint is incredibly hard and strong for a finish.
You can order it in various custom colors as well.
Greg.
Originally powder coat with signs of corrosion.
mike
Refinish in 2 PACK POLYURETHANE.
OK, Basic guideline for a good quality finish, remove all powdercoat with machine or sand blast. (no chrome left on steel).
Prepwash/ Prepsol or Lacquer thinner(no gunwash thinner) wash steel straight away.
If surface rusting occures, machine sand again or treat with Deoxidine to remove all surface rust.
To avoid surface rust occuring, move straight in and Apply 2 Pack Epoxy Primer to a dry film build of 50 microns.
Finish with 2 Pak Polyurethane color.
For tech info like drying times/cure times/flash off times/ sanding paper grades /gun types and setups/gun clean up/ spraying temps/baking temps and baking times/number of coats/ cut & polish info, etc, refer to the paint manufacturers product tech info sheets. Source out American or local Country of origin paint companies for choice of brand paint products. Ordering in Metallics could be a problem as well, solids ,no.
TIPS. - Denib,cut and polish before full cure of Poly takes place, as it is very hard to do so once fully cured.And this paint is best left for the paint shop pro to apply, not the back yard, DIY guy.
BTW, stripping back to bare metal and refinishing with new powdercoat or a 2Pak urethane system, would give good durable finishes., but i think the poly would give the strongest durable finish for that specific application.
Hope that helps,
Greg.
(Pro Auto Spraypainter)