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Fade & (bleep)ing powder coat


RAC

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So if you've ever wondered just exactly how bad Simplicity Deep Orange powder coat fades just take off a few decals! My Legacy body panel re-paint just became a lot more work. Discovered the orange is powder coat, crap! That means it all has to come off, so probably off to the sandblasting shop. The problem is of course that corrosion can extend an inch or so in beyond any visible surface defects in the coating and unless it's all removed you can't tell. The result is bubbles and peeling from rust under the powder coat on down the road. What was going to be a quick seal coat/base/clear after fixing couple little dings has now become a real paint job... Oh well, another 1/2 pint of paint & primer...

You couldn't pay me to powder coat anything, ever! Every piece of powder coated anything that I've ever owned was corroded under the coating.

fade (450x338).jpg

Edited by RAC
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Nope! wet sanded it a little just to see. It's faded pretty deep anywhere it had sun exposure. Besides The powder coat peeled off from the inside seam edges clear out to the bend in the panel in several places where the hood and side panels bolt together and there was still sign of corrosion under the powder coat even at that point where it was still seemingly tight (and looked pretty good on the surface). Has to come off!

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I HATE powder coated items. NEVER had anything that didn't rust underneath and chip off. Lost count on how many tractors I have owned that the paint didn't flake off while pressure washing with medium aggressive tip.>:(

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From what I'm told there are many grades of powder coat and in some cases a primer is also used. It has much less overspray and gets in hard to reach places. It would appear that most manufacturers go with the cheaper grade and do not have adequate surface prep. I have seen little to no durability in most any powder coated item that I have owned and yes it can't be buffed very well. I have had to sand significant amounts off to bring color back. As stated it is difficult to touch it up because the paint is thick and difficult to sand for a smooth blend line. 

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I've only had 3 newer tractors, two 75th's and one Sov18.  In all cases, the powder coated back ends (sideplates, tranny, rear hitch) were terrible.  As stated above, small nicks or bubbles in the paint had rust underneath (far reaching in many cases) - and all three of them were kept inside. 

For whatever reason, the front frame, hood and seat pan didn't have the same issues.  As @Chris727 stated, maybe a different prep or type of powder coat on those parts.  

Never any of the issues on the "old" tractors.  

 

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I also don't like most powder coating that I have seen in the past 30 years, but Simplicity used to get pretty long lasting protection with their orange in the 60's and 70's. Yes, it fades. But I have seen tractors that sat outside for many years and most of the orange was still intact. Of course sitting in the weeds or buried in the dirt is a different story! 

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So here's what you get with powder coat (this is the outside front of the top hood section nose on the Legacy). This corrosion actually originated inside the hood. Keep in mind that aside from fade and one small ding the panels "looked" pretty good. So much so that the original plans was just to wet sand, seal, and spray a base & clear. Would it have looked good? Yeah, for a while, but it'll eventually spread and the powder coat will peel and the paint along with it. Anywhere there is even a pin prick you see these little spider web corrosion trails.

The powder coat is a royal pain to get off too. 4 hours today and about 1/2 stripped (powder coat too thick requiring too aggressive a sandblast to get off that way, would've caused warping)

corrosion (338x450).jpg

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Powder coat is popular due to usage of paint per pound (like 90+% effecient)  and EPA issues.  The wash system and good prep are key to achieving durability.  Type of powder also has an impact on length of paint job.

All paint does fail, and most times rust is due to the prep work before.  Older wash systems used a zinc phosphate and today most are iron.  Not as good to achieve salt spray results.

Lighter colors, I.E. white have more pigment in the paint, which helps corrosion.

My .02 based upon much life experience.

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That's likely true but one of Powder Coats supposed strengths is also its greatest problem and that's film strength. In paint the film strength is not so great that it can withstand pressure from corrosion and it will come through/bubble pretty readily. Normally if this is from the same side of the panel as the finish is on in ample time to afford a repair before panel replacement would be necessary. With powder though, the film is strong enough to "conceal" corrosion and by the time it shows through the panel/part is often already perforated from the corrosion.  Service/durability? There was about a 2 inch section on this panel where the inside edge of the lip that turns under was gone (completely corroded away) for the first 1/4 inch or so. Nothing left but a sandwich of powder coat. That's on the "inside" of the hood assembly. Never saw the light of day, never any water spray directly on it, no possibility of stone chips, completely protected, yet if left to go another year or two would've been clear through the visible surface of the hood.

Edited by RAC
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7 hours, 1.5 gallons of stripper later.

Rustoleum Aircraft Stripper only thing that would touch it, even then just softened it. Actually had two coats of powder on it. Most effective approach goes like this: Apply stripper, let soften, remove with wire wheel on 4.5 inch angle grinder, repeat. scraping was not particularly effective with all the compound curves.

Next? Bead blast all the rusted edges & spots, sand & primer.

IMG_20181221_154417453stripped (338x450).jpg

Edited by RAC
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