[jasrking]

Having a hard time finding any powder coaters in the south bend, IN area..Anyone know of any off hand?
Thanks
Jason

[63falcon]

not sure what you wnt to powder coat but craftsmen sells one that you can do it yourself

[BarryK]

PM "powderbill" he is a chemist for one of the largest powder coatings suppler company's in the world and will know a place close to you.

[69 work in progress]

BarryK,
I read, on a welding forum, that powder coating tested out no harder than a "quality" epoxy finish. I have no idea if the statement rings true, but would like to hear your thoughts.
Thanks
Vince

[jon72vega]

Jason,
I hope this doesn't violate the advertising guidelines, but try Toefco Engineering just to the north of South Bend in Niles, Michigan.

P.M. me if you need their info.

I have no connection in any way to the company, but they have done powder coating in the past for me, including a set of Z 28 wheels.
They do an excellent job.

Jon

http://www.geocities.com/jon72vega/my_page.html

[BarryK]

69--

Good question and I'm not qualified to answer the question,

However epoxy is not epoxy and can test way different end of scales, if I had to guess I would say two companies out of the 120 that make it after the epoxy sat for a month or two could give the powder coat a run but would feel safer to say the powder would have the edge if done professionally, not using a do it yourself kit.

Maybe powderbill will see this and give you a more accurate answer as he is qualified to answer.

[powderbill]

Powder coatings, like liquid paints, can be formulated to provide a fairly wide range of properties. Picking any single powder coating formula as being "typical" would be a challenge in itself. Having said that, however, I would agree that in general, liquid epoxies can be formulated to have equal hardness to "typical" polyester powder coatings. (Pencil harness of typical polyester powders generally runs in the H to 2H range, with a few types running as high as 3H or 4H.) lf powder coatings have an advantage in mechanical properties over liquid coatings, it would probably be in their balance of properties, rather than any one single property.

Some paints are formulated to be extremely hard, but shatter like glass when subjected to impact. Other paints are extremely flexible, but scratch and mar easily or have poor abrasion resistance. I think the reason that powder coatings are regarded as being very durable has more to do with their combination of properties (good hardness, flexibility, abrasion resistance, and adhesion), plus the ability to achieve relatively high film builds, rather than being far superior in any one single attribute. Most successful coatings are sort of a balancing act, requiring good performance in several attributes rather than exceptional performance in one. Liquid 2K epoxies or 2K urethanes are generally pretty high performance coatings in most respects, and should probably be considered generally at the top of the coatings ladder.

I hope these comments help.