Powder coating

[Wildfire]

I don't know what all the hype is about the stuff. I hate it. They say it's durable but everything I own that has it starts to chip and peel after awhile and then try to sandblast it off. Good luck with that!

Anyway the small brackets on the front fenders that were powder coated started to peel and seeing I had the day off I took Mrs. Wildfire to the city for dinner and when we returned I went out in the shop and removed all the brackets and replaced it all with stainless steel hardware. I cut the new brackets out of some stainless steel flat bar I had here. Now I'm sure it won't peel. I know I shouldn't be to caught up with this but I like to keep up with it all and there's no snow today to push and I needed an excuse to work on the tractor.

 

[Greg]

Okay, this time I'm going to completely ignore that fact that Wildfire is a master craftsman, a master fabricator, a mediocre welder and an ideas genius. There's no need stroke his ego in those fields any longer. We couldn't possible do him justice.

Today I want to commend him on his organizational skills, his determination, persistence, self control (or lack there of). I'm sure I'm not alone here when I say I have started several projects only to have them vaporize before completion. Sure I could say, "well, if I had the tools that Wildfire has, I'd have a better chance of making these things". But let's be honest, even if I had the tools, I know there are projects I would start that just would not ever got completed.

AND... a long the way, Wildfire has had the discipline to stop and and keep a photo journal of ALL that he is doing. If not to share with others, at least for himself. Folks, this is not normal behavior. And despite taking what must be 1,000's of photos, he manages some how to keep them organized so he knows where to find them. How many of you have their last `1000 pics still sitting on your cell phone or in your camera?

AND... a long the way, he has gone to college and then grad school and then on for his doctorate in photography and photo editing. Has anyone here seen a single picture from this guy that is out of focus or with poor lighting?

To the man himself, Wildfire, Your efforts and skills outside the fabrication realm are as incredible as your skills to fabricate. I'm 45 now, but when I grow up, I hope I can can do some of things you can do.

The ironic part is, in my circle, I am the go to guy to get things fixed or made. They say I can make anything and they even call me McGyver. If they only knew what real talent was.

 

[Wildfire]

Okay, this time I'm going to completely ignore that fact that Wildfire is a master craftsman, a master fabricator, a mediocre welder and an ideas genius. There's no need stroke his ego in those fields any longer. We couldn't possible do him justice.

Today I want to commend him on his organizational skills, his determination, persistence, self control (or lack there of). I'm sure I'm not alone here when I say I have started several projects only to have them vaporize before completion. Sure I could say, "well, if I had the tools that Wildfire has, I'd have a better chance of making these things". But let's be honest, even if I had the tools, I know there are projects I would start that just would not ever got completed.

AND... a long the way, Wildfire has had the discipline to stop and and keep a photo journal of ALL that he is doing. If not to share with others, at least for himself. Folks, this is not normal behavior. And despite taking what must be 1,000's of photos, he manages some how to keep them organized so he knows where to find them. How many of you have their last `1000 pics still sitting on your cell phone or in your camera?

AND... a long the way, he has gone to college and then grad school and then on for his doctorate in photography and photo editing. Has anyone here seen a single picture from this guy that is out of focus or with poor lighting?

To the man himself, Wildfire, Your efforts and skills outside the fabrication realm are as incredible as your skills to fabricate. I'm 45 now, but when I grow up, I hope I can can do some of things you can do.

The ironic part is, in my circle, I am the go to guy to get things fixed or made. They say I can make anything and they even call me McGyver. If they only knew what real talent was.

Ah Greg you make me laugh

You got to remember one thing. I just turned 50 years old this month so I've got years on you boy Experience goes with age my son

I can remember having one of the first digital camera's around these parts when they came out and I loved the concept of owning one and have always owned one ever since. Seeing I restored old junk for a hobby I always took detailed photo's of all the restorations. If you were to walk through my museum you would see a dedicated photo album by each item showing the stages of each restoration.

I have all my photo's on my main computer and backed up by two external hard drives. There are over 35.000 photo's of my work now that I can access in a minute or less so some of what you say has a little truth to it.

That being said I've tried to share what ever I do on different sites to try and help others learn as I learn myself. As I've said before. There was only one person I know of that knew it all and they crucified him.

These forums just give us all a way to share our hobbies, interests and in some cases our know how with others. Nothing more or nothing less but it is enjoyable to know there are some who enjoy seeing the threads I post even if it's not mind blowing. This week there was a nice post from a guy in Singapore that stated I influenced him into doing his vintage motorcycle similar to the one I did. He even had photo's of my bike hung up on his wall. That's what makes it all worth while for me. I attached the link below if you wanted to see it.

I am guilty of one thing. If I take it in my head to do it I have to see it completed before I can move on to anything else. Ask my wife, she'll say the same thing. Thanks for the kind comments as well. i'm not worthy of all the kind comments but i do appreciate them

http://www.honda305.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=25338

 

[Randyj]

I'm not a believer in powder coating either.

I took a set of 4 GM OEM steel 8 lug wheels to my
local powder coating manufacturer for the process.
They are white, as original. Very, very rusty. They
are for my snow plowing truck. So they are subject
to salt.

I asked the powder coater guy if I could sand blast them
myself ( to save some cost ) and was told no, he prefered
to do it all in house to make sure everything is done correctly.

When they were done, they looked fantastic. Bright white.
Spotless. I was happy.

For 1 season. That's it. 1 winter. Back to rust. The paint
had "checked", all over. Everywhere there was checking,
there was rust again.

I drove the truck to the powder guy to show him. He was
not happy, but said to bring them back and he would re-do
at no cost to me. Of course it still cost me to break them
all down.

Took them back. Re-done them. Looked fantastic.

For 1 season.

Checking, and rust all over, again.

I'm all done with powder coating.

Give me etching primer, and / or epoxy primer, and
acrylic enamel.

I bought a set of aluminum alloy wheels, and will try to
blast the coating / rust off my steel wheels for a re-do
yet again, some day!

 

[Kubota Tee]

Paul,

Any chance that you snapped a few pics of the brackets those front fenders are mounted on while you had them off? I'd love to see the details of how those are mounted.

BTW, I totally agree with you regarding powder coating. I often do that same thing you have done and replace those parts with stainless or aluminum depending on the application.

Keep the posts coming!

Thomas (aka Kubota Tee)

 

[ptwyz]

Wildfire,

Ever think of starting a welding school???

 

[Wildfire]

Wildfire,

Ever think of starting a welding school???

Na. I'm not a welder by trade but the funny thing is It turned out to be a big part of what was supposed to be an automotive business that I started 15 years ago. I'm fabricating/assembling something now that I should have completed next week that will aid in my welding and I'll post it on here so you can have a peek. I added an article I thought you might find interesting as well. It tells a little more about me and the business. I'm sure after you read it you'll be sick of seeing "Wildfire's) posts

Paul,

Any chance that you snapped a few pics of the brackets those front fenders are mounted on while you had them off? I'd love to see the details of how those are mounted.

BTW, I totally agree with you regarding powder coating. I often do that same thing you have done and replace those parts with stainless or aluminum depending on the application.

Keep the posts coming!

Thomas (aka Kubota Tee)

Well Thomas welcome to the site. Glad you came over here. What got you here ?

Now you know I wouldn't say no to you now don't you. Actually I had to do a little digging to find those pics because I snapped them last year BUT as luck would have it I found them and uploaded them for you so here they are.

I try and not post to much. I don't want to wear out my welcome but you guys keep drawing me back here

Here's an article that you might find interesting .

 

[chiefbuzzbee]

Wildfire,
I have been off the site for a while and today was my first time back and was very happy to see you working on a new project again.

Greg is so very right you are a very talented man and the fact you share with us all is very special. I do think as Greg said if you keep working on your welding you will get it down...Lol

I always look forward to seeing what you do next. Thanks, Jerry

 

[Wildfire]

Wildfire,
I have been off the site for a while and today was my first time back and was very happy to see you working on a new project again.

Greg is so very right you are a very talented man and the fact you share with us all is very special. I do think as Greg said if you keep working on your welding you will get it down...Lol

I always look forward to seeing what you do next. Thanks, Jerry

Hey Jerry nice to see you back. I come and go a bit as well. I don't post much in the summer months due to the work load I have here most of the time. I appreciated your kind remarks and I wish I had the confidence in myself as you guys do

Had a fellow in the shop today needing some tig work done. It was aluminum and I asked him how high and how close he wanted the row of dimes in the welding. He replied "Your kidding right"? I told him no and asked him again how do you want the weld to look?

When it was completed he said "That's some crazy welding. Where did you learn how to weld like that"? I simply replied" YouTube"!

He was a happy man when he left and I think he actually beleaved me Thanks again sir and look forward to seeing you around the site. Paul

 

[Wildfire]

I'm not a believer in powder coating either.

I took a set of 4 GM OEM steel 8 lug wheels to my
local powder coating manufacturer for the process.
They are white, as original. Very, very rusty. They
are for my snow plowing truck. So they are subject
to salt.

I asked the powder coater guy if I could sand blast them
myself ( to save some cost ) and was told no, he prefered
to do it all in house to make sure everything is done correctly.

When they were done, they looked fantastic. Bright white.
Spotless. I was happy.

For 1 season. That's it. 1 winter. Back to rust. The paint
had "checked", all over. Everywhere there was checking,
there was rust again.

I drove the truck to the powder guy to show him. He was
not happy, but said to bring them back and he would re-do
at no cost to me. Of course it still cost me to break them
all down.

Took them back. Re-done them. Looked fantastic.

For 1 season.

Checking, and rust all over, again.

I'm all done with powder coating.

Give me etching primer, and / or epoxy primer, and
acrylic enamel.

I bought a set of aluminum alloy wheels, and will try to
blast the coating / rust off my steel wheels for a re-do
yet again, some day!

Gees Randy that's to bad it turned out like that. When I hear of someone powder coating something I just say to myself, "well that's frigged"

Guess why manufactures use the stuff. It's fast to apply and cheaper is my guess.

I'm with you on Prime and paint. At least it's an easy fix again a few years down the road. Did you ever consider getting them galvanized? That would last.

 

[L200Wolf]

powder coating is a joke. All the new mayco concrete pumps I work on all the hoods are powder coated and with in 3 months I end up sand blasting then I use a two part epoxy primer then PAINT them. I dont know WHY all these companys are using that crap. Any thing I have restored I always used epoxy primer then a good heavy duty paint.

 

[Greg]

I am a Point of Purchase display manufacturer and sometimes my plastic parts are affixed to metal wire parts. Well, I can no longer have my wire parts painted, they only do powder coating now.

The problem with powder coating is that the coating bonds to itself, better than it bonds to the substrate. So what happens in use is instead of getting a nic or a scratch in it, you get a chipping or flaking action because it's bonded to itself so well. So more coating comes off than would have had it been painted.

The reason powder coating is so prominent these days is because the process is less expensive because of EPA regulations.

And they of course taunt powder coating as being more durable than paint so you think your getting more, for something that is less (in many cases). It has it's place.

 

[Waterlogged1]

Revitalizing an old thread. Bottom line, as with any paint job, it's all in the prep. Powder coating is paint applied as a powder, then heated to cure. The substrate must have been prepped properly to adhere the paint. I can show you wheels that spent 2 winters in salt, and don't show any signs of breakdown. I powder coat...for fun, not for a living. People won't pay for the proper prep involved, I stopped taking paying clients and only do it for myself and for friends. If not prepped, it will chip, scrape, and fail very quickly.

 

[Tooljunkie]

My experience is if the sales pitch includes powder coating its not prepped/applied properly. My personal opinion is i wouldnt spend one red cent on it. My two year old hoist started peeling a year ago,what a waste. Now i need to remove it and paint. Its a large undertaking, and involves shop downtime.

 

[Yooper]

What kind of powder are we talking about? Polyester, hybrid polyester, super durable or epoxy? What kind of prep work was done before application? If the surface was not prepped correctly, the coating has nothing to hang on to. There are zinc rich primers which along with a super durable plus a topping of clear coat will outperform most any liquid paint. Of coarse, only if it is properly applied and baked to optimum cure.

 

[Waterlogged1]

Right on Yooper. I detect some powder coating experience!