Polishing Powder Coated Surfaces?

Marc08EX

Marc08EX

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Hey everyone!

How's everyone doing? Hope all is well.

Has anyone ever dealt with powdercoated surfaces? Can this type of paint/surface be polished like normal paint systems?

My boss has some pieces that are extremely faded and I wanted to try and see if I can do something about them before he gets them re-powdercoated.

Any input will be appreciated. THANKS!
 
Powdercoated pieces can be polished, however just like a painted piece, the coating is not very thick. A paint thickness gauge can tell you the thickness and provide you with an estimate on how much material you have to work with. As always, the theory of "work with the least aggressive method" holds true.
 
My experience is very different than Zach's but let me preface my remarks by saying it's been a while since I've tried to polish anything powder coated and powder coating technology has been and is improving all the time.


What I have "experienced" is that powder coating does not like to be abraded and does not polish like normal car paint, either basecoat/clearcoat or single stage.


One example is I had a BBC Intake manifold powder coated silver and one reason was because the powder coating manufacturer stated their coating would resist staining. Well mine stained with gas stains and had ugly yellow splotches on it.

I tried to polish out the stains with no luck. I don't remember actually being able to polish it much at all and get any kind of shine out of it. But like I said, powder coating technology is changing all the time and it could be that some versions of it or some brands of it will polish better than others.

It might be worth trying a SMAT product with a foam or wool pad on a rotary buffer, my guess is, like gel-coats, powder coats will like speed, maybe not heat but speed to "burnish" the paint to a high shine. Just a guess...


I'd definitley give it a try as you have nothing to lose..


Here's what the intake was on... you can't quite see it as it's being hidden by the valve covers...

CaddyWinter2006a.jpg





:)
 
Maybe someone could explain this to me. I thought powder coating (like powder coated wheels) also had a clear coat? Maybe that is wrong.

If that is right, is the CC a powder coating or a spray on? If its the later, it seems like it would defeat the purpose.

Reason why I'm asking is because I had the clear coat fail on my factory painted BMW wheels. I always thought factory wheels were powder coated, but I could be wrong.

When I had the wheels re-finished, I know they were powder coated. But, I assume it had a clear coat as well (a powder clear coat). I could be wrong on that as well. Or, maybe you can clear coat or not clear coat a powder coated color. Dunno ???

Anyone know?
 
As far as I know powder coating has no clear cost pretty much what you do is you electrically charge the item then shoot the powder into it through I believe static electricity the powder sticks to the item and then it's baked and the item is then finished and shiny, I hope this makes sense


Sent from space through a satellite
 
swanicyouth said:
Reason why I'm asking is because I had the clear coat fail on my factory painted BMW wheels. I always thought factory wheels were powder coated, but I could be wrong.
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I used to think they were powder coated too, until I was at WCC (which may have powdercoated your wheels) and they laughed at me.

Last time I had anything to do with powdercoating, it was simply a plastic powder electrostatically applied to the substrate and then melted onto the surface, so it's not paint or anything like it. Whether they clear "powder" it after I don't know. Also, whatever places like Eastwood are selling must work differently because no one has an electrostatically charged conveyor line in their house.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I used to think they were powder coated too, until I was at WCC (which may have powdercoated your wheels) and they laughed at me.

Last time I had anything to do with powdercoating, it was simply a plastic powder electrostatically applied to the substrate and then melted onto the surface, so it's not paint or anything like it. Whether they clear "powder" it after I don't know. Also, whatever places like Eastwood are selling must work differently because no one has an electrostatically charged conveyor line in their house.
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Yeah. I have been using Wheel Collision Center for years now. Unfortunately, BMW wheels are fragile. They must have done 12 wheels for me since I found them. They do better work than the factory. The factory "clear coat" was garbage. Whole spots were missed and it eventually started peeling, even though I only used car wash coat on the wheels. I never asked them about the factory finish.
 
swanicyouth said:
Maybe someone could explain this to me. I thought powder coating (like powder coated wheels) also had a clear coat? Maybe that is wrong.

If that is right, is the CC a powder coating or a spray on? If its the later, it seems like it would defeat the purpose.

Reason why I'm asking is because I had the clear coat fail on my factory painted BMW wheels. I always thought factory wheels were powder coated, but I could be wrong.

When I had the wheels re-finished, I know they were powder coated. But, I assume it had a clear coat as well (a powder clear coat). I could be wrong on that as well. Or, maybe you can clear coat or not clear coat a powder coated color. Dunno ???

Anyone know?
Click to expand...

There are clear powders and you can top coat a base powder (typically a colored power) with the clear powder.

Your factory BMW wheels were most likely painted using an electrostatic process. While similar to the powder process where a the item being painted has an electric charge induced to hold the powder on the item until it is baked, electrostatic painting utilizes the same traditional methods of liquid paint. It usually provides a more uniform and durable finish, hence the reason it is used to paint wheels.
 
I'll be honest - I have only "polished" one powdercoated item. It was a set of black wheels, and I simply used M105 and M205 by hand to restore some of their luster...... I have heard mixed results from other people though.
 
I use to have a job as a powder coater. The process has been explained so I won't get into that but yes, there can be a clear coat. We only sprayed one if it was requested by the customer. Most wheels and motorcycle frames were clear coated after the base coat cooled from baking.

What I understand, typically powder coating should be more resilient, if done properly. It's also suppose to be heat resistant in extreme temperatures.

I never polished any powder coated pieces, I would think it can be done. However, if it's already begun fading, or staining, there may have been mistakes made in the coating process.
 
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