Powder coating vs spraypaint

[Khan]

Our MF 945 loader has recently got swapped onto a new to us 5455. The paint fade on the loader is horrendous, its gone a salmon pink colour and looks awful on the tractor (2013). Thinking about getting it resprayed, have a local guy who does powdercoating and wet spraying, a lot of his work is moving to powdercoating now. Is this any better than wet spraying, he says paint is cured off at higher temps and has a harder, more durable finish. Anybody any experience?

 

[TripleSix]

If the paint is still relatively intact you might be just as well polishing it to remove the oxidation.

It would have to be stripped right down and blasted to be powder coated I'd say?

 

[Khan]

Tried polishing it before to bring a bit of colour back but no joy. Id be stripping it right down anyway if I decide to do it. Not sure when Quicke took over making MF loaders but the old Steelfab(?) ones used to fade badly as well, much more than the tractors I always thought.

 

[traineefarmer]

A loader is a big old thing to powdercoat. Your local guy will need a BIG oven.

Powder coat is durable but will still chip and is then harder to remedy than undercoat and gloss. I'd just get it blasted and repainted with 2-pack.

 

[Kidds]

Powder coat doesn’t seem as durable to me. It’s fine as long as it doesn’t get scratched, when it does it seems to get water under it and come off in big sheets and looks a right mess. Paint seems to just rust where the scratch is and not spread.
No doubt quality of prep and application plays a part but I would prefer paint on something that is going to have a relatively hard life.

 

[Cowcalf]

done properly powder coat is very durable a lot used on off shore tackle

 

[rob h]

Not a fan of powder coat it always gets under it and rusts. I think propper paint with undercoat lasts longer

 

[davieh3350]

How hot does powder coating get to when being done?
You could ruin the thing by heating it.

 

[Forever Fendt]

Powder coat doesn’t seem as durable to me. It’s fine as long as it doesn’t get scratched, when it does it seems to get water under it and come off in big sheets and looks a right mess. Paint seems to just rust where the scratch is and not spread.
No doubt quality of prep and application plays a part but I would prefer paint on something that is going to have a relatively hard life.

this

 

[jamj]

Should powder coating not be done on top of galvanising
Done on the metal it is a waste of time.

 

[Mursal]

Did you try clear coat?

 

[Grassman]

Red is apparently a problem colour for fading if not high quality and finished with a clear lacquer.

 

[tinman]

Should powder coating not be done on top of galvanising
Done on the metal it is a waste of time.

I have a door here powder coated on top of galv, it's the only thing that's saving it tbh.

The powder coat used in some places {like the crowd that did my door} when baked is like ceramic nearly, it Dosent like any kind of impact be it light or anything else.

But the powder coat that's on the likes of the quicke loader and other machines isn't the same, it's somewhat more durable, is it a baked on powder kind of paint rather than a powder coat?

Tbh, if it was my loader, I'd strip her down, sand blast everything with a fine sand so as not to leave too much of a rough surface finish, two coats {min} of 2k epoxy primer, jotun jotamastik is my favourite as its used on hulls of boats, and I'd use a 2k acrylic top coat of colour mixed to your BS colour chart match.
The acrylic would keep its gloss or semi gloss longer depending on what you choose.
I'm open to correction there but that I'd be my rake on it

 

[GeorgeK]

I've had parts powder coated and it's not ideal for this job for the reasons above, it's incredibly resistant to abrasion but chips and allows rust underneath. Everything that isn't metal has to come off so rams apart, pipes off. There can't be any oil or grease as it will vaporise in the oven and spoil the job so bearings and ideally bushes out, then it is shot blasted. The coating is hard and thick so any threads, holes or tight clearances need masking or it won't go back together (and this leaves areas unprotected). Once it's finished it can't be touched up or painted over successfully, and it's hard to strip off. It's good for aluminium which is hard to get a durable finish with paint and it's also impervious to solvents and brake fluid so has its uses for things like brake calipers, wheels and petrol tanks

 

[jpd]

just cover it in muck and leaking oil
you ll not notice it then

 

[Deutzdx3]

Wet spray has more uv protector than powdercoat. It would have beenmpoweder coated from factory as it’s faster and more efficient for items such as loaders and heavy brackets that heat doesn’t effect. Wet spray will last longer, it doesn’t chip like powdercoat. If you are stripping it to bare metal, have it blasted, 2 coats of epoxy primer, then 2-3 coats of polyurethane 2k in correct colour. It’ll look well for years to come.

 

[Khan]

Ended up on deciding on blast, prime and wet spray. Minimum order qty on powder and he has MF red in stock, saw a few local restorations with it and it looks good. Have 4 tatty wheel rims to do on a trailer so will give powder coating a go on them, Eugene reckoned powder coating on top of properly prepped and phosphated steel hard to beat.

 

[Deutzdx3]

Ended up on deciding on blast, prime and wet spray. Minimum order qty on powder and he has MF red in stock, saw a few local restorations with it and it looks good. Have 4 tatty wheel rims to do on a trailer so will give powder coating a go on them, Eugene reckoned powder coating on top of properly prepped and phosphated steel hard to beat.

I’m fortunate to do both, for things that require high finish I find wet spray can’t be beaten, it a case imo choosing the correct process and finish for the job. Predominantly car wheels are powder coated they chip and then the clear starts lifting and going milky similar to a windscreen de laminating. Tractor wheels will be fine powered coated, I would say good choice.

Interesting or maybe not, jcb now wet spray their dipper arms as it wears better than powdercoat due to it being less brittle.

 

[MF 168]

I dislike power coat. It is far to fond of lifting and allowing water in underneath and causing rust. A good quality paint supplier and get all the materials from them including the thinners and clear coat and you won't be looking at a respray again.

 

[Andrew]

Proper powder is better than wetspray. Getting it done properly is harder than it sounds though and is really only any good being dumped in about 20 different chemical cleaning tanks.

I’d go for wet spray but get the prep right. Not just 10 mins with a wire brush on a grinder.