Recoating powder coated metal

[Kiriesh]

Hey guys, let me know if this isn't the right section. I have some rails on my bedsides of my Tacoma that I use to mount my bed rack, mount crossbars for hauling kayaks, and are just general purpose tie downs (they're built from a modified Adarac for the curious). Over the past couple years they've gotten scratched up and the powder coating has been scratched down to bare steel in places. Because of this I've had some rust spots and they're now starting to pit. I'm not sure the best solution, about 90% of the powdercoating is fine but I want the rails to last so I'd rather deal with the scratches. I was thinking of just spot sanding the bad sections and giving the whole rail a once over with rattlecans. Should I do this? Should I strip the entire powder coating and start over? I've never had to touch up powdercoating, my jeep armor was always aluminum so this is new for me. Thanks in advance for any advice.


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[Robert Bills]

. . . I was thinking of just spot sanding the bad sections and giving the whole rail a once over with rattlecans. Should I do this?

Yes, sanding the damaged sections and repainting with rattlecans is a common practice.

 

[GlennA]

I vote for stripping and recoat. Paint will not hold up to the abuses that powder coating will.

 

[javajoe79]

I would start with contacting a local powder coater and see how much they will charge then go from there.

I vote for stripping and recoat. Paint will not hold up to the abuses that powder coating will.

Well the powder didn't hold up either

 

[kojackJKU]

I am a powder coater. I would sandblast and re coat.

 

[rayra]

I vote for stripping and recoat. Paint will not hold up to the abuses that powder coating will.

This. And strip the whole thing before having it re-coated. Unless your powdercoating place is really inexpensive on the prep side or their sandblasting is 'included'.

 

[chasespeed]

Strip, sand blast, and powder coat.

Chase

 

[wanderer-rrorc]

rustoleum hammertone paints are VERY durable...we use that as a cheaper powdercoating.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

If you have more money than brains, blast and re-powdercoat. If you are prudent, clean up the rust, scuff sand the whole thing, spot prime the bare areas with rust converter to mitigate future rust, then prime and paint the whole thing with rattle cans.

 

[javajoe79]

I am a powder coater. I would sandblast and re coat.

I agree. Any coater worth a damn would only coat a properly prepped surface. A partial strip and recoat makes no sense to me.

If you have more money than brains, blast and re-powdercoat. If you are prudent, clean up the rust, scuff sand the whole thing, spot prime the bare areas with rust converter to mitigate future rust, then prime and paint the whole thing with rattle cans.

I would say that applying rust converter to clean metal is pointless because for it to work, it requires rust to be present.

 

[kojackJKU]

It would not work anyways...

 

[GlennA]

If you have more money than brains, blast and re-powdercoat. If you are prudent, clean up the rust, scuff sand the whole thing, spot prime the bare areas with rust converter to mitigate future rust, then prime and paint the whole thing with rattle cans.

Since I don't have more money than brains, the OP should do the job right or not waste his time. To properly recoat the item, it needs to be stripped to bare metal. He can use "Aircraft Stripper" or have the coating shop chemically strip it for him. (Blasting isn't going to remove powder).Then the metal needs to be de-gassed, cleaned of any oils, media blasted, cleaned again then recoated.

Production line powder coating can hardly be called powder coating.

Just my .02 and years of experience.

YMMV

 

[KenC]

Logic should rule.

 

[kojackJKU]

If you have more money than brains, blast and re-powdercoat. If you are prudent, clean up the rust, scuff sand the whole thing, spot prime the bare areas with rust converter to mitigate future rust, then prime and paint the whole thing with rattle cans.

Would'nt know if the powder coating cost tens of thousands of dollars.

 

[precision powder]

So to answer a few questions here, as this is what I do for a living.

A) The best course of action would be to stop in and see your local coater, have them chemically stripped, outgassed, blasted, zinc primed, and then top coated. If they are just something like 2" angle iron, expect to spend about $18/ft for this job. If you do it without the zinc (I wouldn't) it would land you roughly in the $12/ft area. If you choose a textured finish it will hide a lot of the pitting. Alternatively you could have the pitting welded up and smoothed out, then top coated for a perfect finish.

B) To the guy above, you definitely CAN blast powder off, you just need a pressure pot and a large volume of air to do this efficiently. I blast powder off with a 260cfm compressor and a pressure pot. Chemically stripping it easier and my preferred method.

C) Spray paint would be a pretty poor option as it will not last nor will it adhere well to the powder. You would be better off using something like a rubberized bed liner.