LCGB Forums

Could anyone tell me the advantages of a respray compared to powder coating such as finish ,lifespan,rustproof etc thankyou

Finish wise a good paint finish will easily better powder coat for gloss. Paint will allow surface imperfections to be polished out and chips and scratches can be repaired. Powder coat dose give an acceptable gloss finish though and for 99% would be good enough. Also, it is very tough so chipping and scratching is probably a little less likely. That's my view anyway, I have sprayed scooters and cars as an amateur but if I wanted a plain single coat finish I would seriously consider powder coating.....the panels would have to have no filler in them though.

1 question though, based on second hand information, while cheaper & tougher than a paint coat (2 pack is nevertheless pretty tough...) is it the case that when powder coating starts to lift it comes off in sheets, with thanx in advance? The way I see it under panels stuff (cowlings etc) are perfect for powder coating & as Coaster says panelwork/frameloop imperfections can be filled & sprayed over while powder coat doesn't stick to filler & will show any dings...

Powder coat is applied on bare metal, you need it to be pretty decent to get a close to a properly done paint job. It can cover some imperfections (minor pitting) but not all.

I have some stove enamelled (old skool powder coat) steel parts, cowlings and such, that were done in 1990 and they're fine. I had alloy parts that were done at the same time and they were toast. On alloy particularly if any moisture gets under the coat, say from a chip, the alloy can corrode, go that powdery way and pit badly under the coating and you have no idea until you disturb it. Then it does come off in sheets / large chunks. I'm reasonably sure that the same might happen with steel in that it could rust out underneath the coating and you'd be none the wiser till it lost structure.

Example

Personally I wouldent go with a powder finish on a scooter, ok so it may be more durable in the short term than wet spray but you just ain't going to get the quality of finish with powder, it's ok on casings and maybe on the frame but the big killer for powder is it's not uv stable, in other words it will chalk/go dull in a very short space of time when exposed to direct sunlight.