>Andy, I beg to differ with you, as long as something is painted/sealed
>completely it will not rust, bare metal will rust, painted metal will not,
>and yes you can get a deeper clearer depth of color with powder than you
>can with paint, within the next 10 years "ALL" autos will be powder-coated,
>why, not only cost and enviros but non-rusting and rust is the biggest
>problems auto makers have always faced, why do you think John Deer went to
>P/C, why is 95% of outdoor furniture P/Ced, why are all of your applianes
>P/Ced, and the list of products that are P/Ced goers on and on, and lastly
>it is the cheapest way to go, one gal of =red enamel paint= (not 2 stage) is
>$180.00, 2 lbs of "Powder' is $5.00, now if you want to call that expensive
>I'm lost and nothing is "irrreversible, especially PC, Better inform BMW
>that powder-coating does not hold up, they 're into full swing. "FT"
>
I'll start my comments out with this caveat " I know powder coating has
improved a great deal in the past few years". Now from my experiences,
for 15 years I worked on SAAB Electronic Training Systems for the
British Army about 7 or 8 years into the job this equipment started
coming from the factory powder coated. Initially powder coating holds up
better than paint it will tolerate about a year in the hands of a
soldier instead of a few minutes. But once the powder coating has seen
some abuse it develops cracks and even the smallest cracks let moisture
get to the metal and it seems moisture can wick a very long way under
the powder coating. I've gone to pick up a piece of equipment that
looked very presentable only to have a piece of powder coating pull off
the part like the shell of a chocolate easter bunny exposing a
completely rusted piece of metal.
Do I think powder coating is better than paint in most applications it
probably is but from what I've seen minor damage to the powder coat if
undetected can lead to major rust that will go undetected until it is
far to late to salvage.
Personally I have used polyurethane truck bed coating on my floor pans
and inner fenders etc. It is easily color matched to your paint, a good
applicator can put it on with a minimum of orange peel to the surface,
and very little will damage it plus it is more flexible than PC so it
shouldn't crack and let in moisture. Most auto parts shops can supply
you with color matched truck bed coating kits for DIY that require no
ovens or special tools but you might want to practice on some scrap to
get you technique down before doing your car and don't use it on
cosmetic surfaces.
I wonder how much extra insurance is going to be on PCed BMWs until it
becomes an industry standard.
Doug Hamilton
1960 Triumph TR3A
1963 Fiat Cabriolet( all the aluminium engine parts are polished and PCed )
1967 Chev C/10
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