Powder Coating SD Rack

[the_eaze]

About 7-8 years ago the powder coating on my 1997 NAS defender 90 SD rack and external roll cage was looking pretty tired. I decided to pull it all off, get it sandblasted, and re-powder coated.

The shop that did it was a good shop but fast forward to the present and it’s looking bad again. It faded where the sun has hit it and whatever they used was not as good as the original coating. I can use a compound polish on it to bring it back but a few months later it looks old and faded again.

So, I’m ready to pull it all off and have it done again. My question is…what is the best material to coat this with. Looking for something that would last more like the original coating. Any recommendations?

 

[Priapus]

Cerakote might be something to consider. From what I know it’s more UV-stable.

 

[WreckITFrank]

Cerakote might be something to consider. From what I know it’s more UV-stable.

my local guy offers that. my LR4 hitch was coating in cerakote but the finish has been disappointing. the short time i had it on there it had some rust streaks. zinc powder primer coat then matte black topcoat would be my choice.

 

[erover82]

my local guy offers that. my LR4 hitch was coating in cerakote but the finish has been disappointing. the short time i had it on there it had some rust streaks. zinc powder then primer coat then matte black topcoat would be my choice.

Cerakote is epoxy based, so it's not UV stable. I've experienced fading with it as well.

Polyurethane is the gold standard in UV resistant coatings, but it's thinner and less impact resistant than powder coating. I'd have it powder coated again, but make sure they can use an exterior grade polyester powder. Cardinal for example, offers T902--BK208 which is a polyester "superdurable" black powder with 20% gloss.

 

[luckyjoe]

The SD factory coating was pretty good - zinc powered undercoat then black powder top coat. You probably will not get longer life than what you got from that.

 

[DefendersNW]

Opinion to follow:

Strip it, Dip it, and paint it... Hot dip galvanizing and paint means you can pull the rack off and repaint yourself (annually if you wanted) instead of dealing with powedercoating every 7-10 years. And the inside of the tubes will be protected as well...

 

[hillstrubl]

Opinion to follow:

Strip it, Dip it, and paint it... Hot dip galvanizing and paint means you can pull the rack off and repaint yourself (annually if you wanted) instead of dealing with powedercoating every 7-10 years. And the inside of the tubes will be protected as well...

I had the same thinking for my wolfs, using rustoleum limestone paint (not the right color for a rack obviously) I could touch up myself as needed.

 

[Mattarm]

x2 on painting. Did mine a few years back after having the same UV powder coat issue.

 

[the_eaze]

x2 on painting. Did mine a few years back after having the same UV powder coat issue.

How has the paint been holding up compared to the powder coating?

 

[WreckITFrank]

Opinion to follow:

Strip it, Dip it, and paint it... Hot dip galvanizing and paint means you can pull the rack off and repaint yourself (annually if you wanted) instead of dealing with powedercoating every 7-10 years. And the inside of the tubes will be protected as well...

my brownchurch rack has splits from what i assume the original galvy process, even with holes everywhere. do the SD racks have holes for gas escape?

 

[Mattarm]

How has the paint been holding up compared to the powder coating?

Paint has held up well. That being said, my truck is far from a show car. My truck spends 99% of its time outdoors and I climb all over the SD cage since I got rid of the rear ladder.

I compare the paint on cage to the slider/tree bar that I had powder coated and my replacement SD roof rack that came powder coated. Outside of the quality of my painting in some areas (I rolled it on with a sponge roller) all 3 areas seem to be holding up the same. Given that I will likely just paint from this point forward as it is easy to do touch ups due to wear and tear.

 

[JimC]

Some places just aren’t set up to do a good job on a large object. Unless they’ve got big racks, big ovens, and totally adequate blasting capacity, you can get a worse result because they were trying to push their set up too far. That might be any number of process issues. I’ve really never had and powder coat problems that didn’t relate to bad prep. Definitely not an “every few years” thing unless you really abuse the stuff. I’d recommend finding a larger scale operation who can process those big parts in stride.

 

[the_eaze]

I contacted Safety Devices and asked for their prep and coating process. This is what they sent back. I'm goinng to try and find a larger operation that can do exactly what SD did originally.

Our finish standard is as follows:

Grit blast specification: SA2.5
Primer specification: Interpon PZ790
Top Coat Specification: Interpon 610 MN201D (RAL 9005 satin)

 

[aeo]

I can't say that I am impressed with the SD process either. Mine has been eroding at the feet for years and is always dull. It started probably 2-3 years into having it. If I refinish it I would go the galv route and leave it unpainted- but I have some galv capping, bumpers, window trim already. So the black almost seems out of place. My truck is outside and driven year round. Granted they don't salt here but the mag chloride seems harsh as well.

 

[the_eaze]

To add to the specs that Safety Devices told me, they recommend at least 100 microns thickness of primer and 100 microns thickness of powder coating.

My car has been outside its entire life. Granted its a California car without snow and salting. But, the Safety Devices coating lasted 20+ years looking good. I scratched it all up using the ladder and racks going camping and using the truck off road.

I found a shop locally who can do the stripping, priming and powder coating with the same materials and technique as Safety Devices. I'll keep this thread updated on the process and how it holds up long term.