What exactly is powder coating?
How does it differ from paint and Herculiner?
Can aluminum CV boot guards accept it and is it durable enough to apply to them?
Where is a place that can apply it? No one here offers it.
Thanks

 

Powder Coating is kinda a mix between welding and painting. The object you are painting is charged(no sure if it's - or +) and the Powder sticks to the meatal. After you are finished you bake the metal to cure the powder and this makes it VERY hard to get off if done right.


Not sure what metals it can be done on.

There is a HOME POWDERCOAT kit for a fairly cheap price, but there is one catch. You have to use an oven to bake the metal. After you bake the metal that has been powder coated you can never safly use the oven again and you are limited by the size of the oven on what parts you can powdercoat.

 

TxDoc....

Powder Coating is a durable paint system.

The paint itself, is applied in a powder form, and at the same time, it is positively charged with an electric current.

The item that is being painted, is oppositely negative charged.

As in electric, and magnetic theory, opposites attract, and therefore, the bond between the metal and the paint is superior, and cannot be equaled by any conventional paint system currently being used.

After the paint has been applied, the finished product is baked in an oven at 450 deg, to "melt"
the powdered paint, and bond it to the metal.

In the past, this system has been used primarily, ( because of its strength )in industrial and commercial applications, but lately is becoming popular in automotive restoration.
E.G. Air Cleaners, Valve Covers, etc.

The finish, upon completion, is "not" the same as an automotive paint is, it sort of has the texture of orange peel.

This paint system is certainly not indestructable, it can still suffer from rust after being subjected to the elements for an extended period of time, but the fact remains, that its superior hard finish, can withstand a considerable amount of abuse and punishment.

Its increasing popularity, has prompted a number of company's, to make a "kit" available to the back yard mechanic.

All thats needed, is an old electric kitchen oven, and a garage to work in, and thats it.

As far as the different kinds of metal that the system can be used on, I am not sure, but I will tell you one thing, Powder Coating would work excellent on Quad frames, racks, suspension pieces, brush guards etc.

Ron...

 

I've been told that powdercoating weakens the metal, is that true? I wanted to get a few suspension components coated, but now I'm not sure. Any input would be appreciated.

 

Here is a picture of a stock banshee swing arm..with lollipop purple powdercoating.

The picture is not the best...but the light was low.

anyway....about a hundred dollars.
Was it worth it? well it lasted about a year before I dumped a chain and dinged it up on one side. It is tuff...and holds its shine well...But it's all cosmetic.. I don't think I would pay to have it done again...Kinda costly just for looks.

I found that K-Mart carries the same color nail polish as the swingarm...So touch ups were pretty easy.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?...831&p=30047193

 

Powder coating does not make anything weaker, it makes it twice as strong. I was a powdercoater for a year and now everything on my 400 is powdercoated. You can powdercoat anykind of metal, but not plastics. Since I worked at a place it was free but, it is worth the money to get things done, there are thousands of color options.
My frame is silvervein, foot pegs, motor mounts, batery holder, and brake block off are yellow, oil tank and swingarm are red, and bumper, nerf bars, and handle bars are silvadillo,whick looks like chrome.