Refurbishing a fertiliser spreader, powder coat or paint?

[Savage]

I’m stripping down a 12 year old KRM / Bogballe M2W with some rust issues. My plan is to sand blast, re paint and re build. Metal is good enough.

I’d like to know if I should get it all powder coated again or paint and with what?

Bearings, etc have been replaced so I think that it’s worth doing with prices of new ones.

 

[clbarclay]

My experience of powder coats is they can be very tough, but lift in sheets once they get a small damage.

You want a coating the keys very well to the metal surface so corrosion doesn't spread quickly when it does get worn through again.

The right surface prep for whichever coating you use is important.

I do wonder how well get it galvanised would work out with feet in the long run.

 

[Timbo]

Dry Blast, etch primer within afew hrs, epoxy primer, coat of 2 pack be rhe ideal.

 

[killie_cowboy]

Power coating is terrible, comes off is big sheets after its been nicked, litterally do anything but

 

[aidan]

Dry Blast, etch primer within afew hrs, epoxy primer, coat of 2 pack be rhe ideal.

What is dry blast, same as regular sand blast with Glass

 

[sheep boy 3000]

I have little faith in powder coating.
Our Argo chassis was powder coated when new and rather than protect it the opposite happened. Water got trapped behind it and was staring to rust the metal.
Removing the sheets of powder coating wasnt easy and took a lot of washing and picking out. It kept blocking the drain plugs.

I would suggest a zinc based paint engineer's use when working with galvanised metal then put a colour on top.
If you can try and make sure the first thing the spreader puts on is lime this is supposed to help.

 

[Macsky]

After whatever paint is applied, what do folks think about a coating of ‘raptor’ or similar inside the hopper? Seems real tough stuff.

 

[sheep boy 3000]

The hopper is a very easy part to clean so shouldn't suffer too much.
The nooks and crannies are the issue.
I generally wash our spreader twice over 2 days and still find missed bits over the winter.

 

[David Bliss]

I used to help out from welding up all sorts of prototype box, it then used to go off for powder coating and came back looking good, odd bits got altered and put to one side, in a short time damp would get under the coating and rust and could be peeled off and under it looked like a road map of roads with the rust trails, there are better ways of powder coating as was told they primer first, yes it takes knocks and scrapes but have not seen any that good paint cant beet in lasting, I used to help a friend with his annual check up on his plane, he got a sort of advisedly before they gave it a pass, the tube frame the engine is held on by had been powder coated, now all powder coating shrinks that I have seen so at every corner weld the powder coating had to be carefully removed as apparently where the coating had pulled away it allowed moister to get in and rust to cause a unseen crack to start, it took days to do as any scratches would have been as dangerous. So paint I reckon is the best.

 

[Welderloon]

I'd look for a decent 2nd hand spreader.
Too many sharp edges on a fert spreader for powder coating to be a success
In my experience if the rust has started on a fert spreader then it will be very hard to stop.

 

[Cab-over Pete]

It sounds like it depends on who you ask to do it.

The company I use will blast, cure, powder and bake in one continuous line in one building, never letting the work get damp.

I paid for zinc rich primer before the powder because, as they state on every invoice: “Powder coat itself is NOT a protective treatment “.

The bare steel MUST have zinc rich primer before the powder is applied.

I rebuilt my BigA spreader 12 years ago and had all the yellow and white treated as above. It has the odd knock and scrape but no rust forming anywhere.

The key to the job is to take any sharp edges down with a grinder before sending them to be treated . Like most coatings, it’s only as good as the preparation.

If you want it done properly, call B G Penny in Coventry and ask for Malcolm Penny.

 

[REStracTORATION]

Preparation preparation preparation is the answer to any job
Powder coating is good but has its flaws with poor prep mainly

I'd go blast then a good sand down then 2k epoxy primer then 2k top coat OR a 1k top coat will be a bit softer ie not as prone to chipping