Powder Coat vs Other Options

Hey guys,

So I'm going to purchase that sweet ass C4 fabrication Overland front bumper for my rig, and I'm weighing the pros and cons of painting my bumper vs powder coating.

Obviously powder coating is the way to go, but would painting the steel bumper with hi quality rust protection spray paint and another coat of something else be that much worse?

$350 is what I've gotten for quotes so far on the powder coating. I'd rather put that money somewhere else if I can...

What other options are there?

 

Good quality paint and prep materials I bet will be ~$300 anyway.

Bedliner is another option. I have use Raptor on projects in the past and it seems decent.

 

I was actually thinking about that route, but aren't all bedliner coatings textured? That's my only hesitation. I don't want that rough textured look on the front bumper.

 

Raptor can be thinned and sprayed with a typical paint gun, leaves a much much less textured finish. But yes.

 

Cool I'll check that out. Thanks man!

 

Powder Coat is going to be your best option.

Followed by Steel It.

Since you don’t want texture.

 

Just remember that powder coating does not have any UV protection qualities and will fade over time unless you have it clear coated.

 

This stuff has great reviews. I'm going to touch up my PC Bumper and Sliders with it as soon as the weather breaks.

 

Line-X it in Line-X Premium. I have both bumpers and my flares done.

 

There is a lot of those steel bumpers around town, I should actually say there are a lot of nice trucks with rusty steel bumpers. The salt kills everything here. If it was me, Linex or Rhino. Personally I don't get why the original bumpers needs replacing.

 

Because the original bumpers don't hold a winch or all the fancy schmancy lights I want =D

 

Plus if it's what you want.... why does it matter.... part of why I live in America

 

'MERICA!

 

I use steelit for a lot of things. Stuff holds up great

 

There are many different types of powders for a variety of applications. You need to check with a shop to make sure that they are using a powder that is designed for outdoor applications. Keep in mind that a 50 pound box of powder is expensive so it is unlikely that a shop that needs 5 pounds for a bumper will order a 50 pound box for one job that is going to be used on a truck.

 

This is why powdercoat is shit and I use Line-X. This bumper is less than a year old. I had it coated but not the 2 panels. Now that they are starting to rust, I will remove them and hit them with a can of Raptor liner.

 

If the paint shop does not prep the metal properly, the powder will never have a chance to adhere. They are really just melting plastic onto the bumper at that point. The proper way to powder coat a large steel bumper like that is to start with a zinc phosphate bath, rinse, dry immediately in and oven, followed by applying the powder when the steel is still hot.

So many painters have not studied the process. They just think that they can wipe something down, shoot it, and then stick it in the oven. Also, how many shops are going to want to pay a plating shop $50-$150 to hoist a bumper into their zinc phos tank.

If done correctly, powder coating is very durable.

 

Maybe so, but chip it, rub it on the trail or even for the mall crawlers bump it in the parking lot and you'd have to do that all over again..... and it's still not as durable as bedliner. I know they both look different (I had my rims powder coated) , but the bedliner or even just black paint would be much more easy to tough up

 

Properly applied powder coating should not chip. The powder is just a plastic that is ground into a talcum powder. After it is applied, it just melts into place. The biggest downfall to powder coating is that it is a plastic and can be scratched much easier than a car paint.

Look up cross hatch adhesion tests. Many years ago when I powder coated we had a customer that was obsessive with this test. If you didn't perform everything in post 17 correctly, they would not buy the parts. It sucked but you start spending money real quick on equipment and advisors so that it does not happen again.

 

I guess I’ll chime in. I bought my bumpers and sliders powder coated. Scratched them up, scraped them up, banged them up. At the end of the day I would clean them up and spray some rustoleum on them because whatever I put on is coming right off again.

Lately I’ve been buying armor bare metal and painting them. Not the best paint job in the world but I’m only spending $50 on spray cans and I know it’s going to come off anyways so who cares, as long as I can keep the rust off of it I’m good.

 

Is it going to get used? As in banged on rocks and shit? If so, PC is not what you want. If you chip PC, it’ll hold moisture between it and the metal and rust behind the scenes where you don’t even realize it. Plus it sucks ass to try to touch-up. Use proper prep, a quality primer & spray paint. Does better against rocks than PC, won’t hold moisture behind it and way easier to touch-up. If it’ll never see situations where it can be chipped/chunks taken out, then go with a quality PC.

 

There's some good info in some of these posts. @The Patriot 1776 is correct about the importance of what type of use the particular item, a bumper in this case, will see. And though @crewmaxlmt sounds like he knows far more than most, certainly more than I, about powder coat, I don't think he's familiar with how some of us use/abuse our trucks. Like @Cruzer said paint is often the best option for armor. There's just no coating that can withstand being drug over granite rocks with significant weight on it like the stuff I do to my sliders. For me to PC my sliders would be a complete waste of money so I just rattle can 'em. And my bumpers are welded on so PC isn't an option.
As they say, the devil's in the details. With any coating the prep is the most important, labor intensive and sucky part of the job. With proper prep any of the coatings mentioned will work well. The key is proper prep.

 

I used bedliner rust-oleum, easy to touch up when needed to. You need to prep it good, a lot of patient and curing time is important when doing it yourself.

 

I’ve given this some thought for a project I am working on. I think the 3 options break down like this (at least for me)

Paint- fairly inexpensive and can be done correctly at home with minimal cost and experience. Also can be cheaply touched up if you get some trail rash.

Powder coating - more durable than paint, but also more expensive. Next to impossible to DIY, and also not easily touched up. But theoretically, should require touch up as easily.

Bed liner - probably the toughest of the finishes for most conventional hazards. DIY is an affordable option if you choose. Also can be touched up fairly easily. But you are limited in the colors and textures. There are some that are smoother, but I believe by their nature, they all have a little texture to them.

in my case, I opted for powder coating FWIW.

 

Yeah it's going to get banged up going through the forest trails out here in the PNW. I'm starting to think a good rustoleum type paint with maybe another layer of good rattle can paint over that is the way to go. The Steel It stuff seems like a good recommendation.

 

That looks fantastic! I like this option...

 

thanks! After a week of drying time I finally installed it yesterday

 

Just so expensive is the only downside!!!