Powder coating vs paint

[Toolsntoys]

I'm having trouble deciding if I want to powder coat or paint the two large bomar hatches in the stern of my 53 I have already removed them from the boat and disassembled. I can either send them out for powder coating or sand blast them myself and paint them I own an Autobody shop and have all the required equipment and products to do a top not job. My biggest concern is corrosion I do know that aluminum will oxidize within five min and is acceptable to contamination before the appropriate primer can be applied. Any input from the group would be appreciated. Pete

 

[Boatsb]

Powder coat seems to hold up better in my experience.

 

[krush]

polished aluminum with wax?

 

[34Hatt]

polished aluminum with wax?

Actually that does work well my engines are done that way and 10 years later not too bad and with 2-3 hrs I could have them looking like new again just been lazy.

As for powder coat vs paint I have had better luck lately with paint.
The reason I feel why is because I did the prep and painting all in the same morning no powder coating shop will do that. As you said within minutes

 

[bobk]

My marine grade aluminum custom sundeck top was painted following the Algrip procedures of the time, circa 2000, and it took 18 years for the first bubble to appear. This involved washing, Alodizing, epoxy prime and Algrip top coat.

You might also be able to get the frame anodized to a bronze color. That too seems to hold up well.

Bobk

 

[SEVEN]

Put on a few coats of awlgri, if you get the surface pen free moisture in air will not make it's way to the aluminum to corrode it. In my experience powder coding will not hold up in the harsh environment of the ocean. But that's just my opinion.

 

[krush]

My window frames are painted (in 1995) and are bubbling. I want to just strip it and polish. I'm fresh water too. Shiny is easier.

 

[q240z]

I'm with bobk...and krush.

I had my Bomar portholes stripped, then they got the Alumaprep, alodine, Awlgrip Max Cor CF and topcoat treatment. But the latch dogs I plan to leave plain aluminum. The paint would get scraped off the first time I latched them closed.

 

[Boatsb]

I guess it depends on the powder coateroom.

I have had good results from Excel. They do a lot of work and have a very low failure rate.

 

[Avenger]

Like most everything else 99% of the job is preparation. My experience with powdercoat is while it's a great finish for many things, if the surface isn't prepped right it comes off in sheets. If I had the capacity to do the whole paint process in house that would be my choice.

 

[Tim Powell]

Powder coat seems to hold up better in my experience.

i painted the window frames for two straight years. they are fiberglass now. Made by look out windows in Morehead

http://www.boatersbook.com/Business...ntic-Beach/Lookout-Boat-Window-Frames/_L2DGFn

Jel coat or painted no matter mine are black jeicoated and sparke like new paint every year now. Yes he makes hatches

 

[SKYCHENEY]

If you have the equipment and expertise to paint, then paint them. I'm not a big fan of powdercoat. My painted Bomar hatches look great after 32 years. My powdercoated aftermarket Jeep bumper needed work after 5 years so I painted it.

 

[jim rosenthal]

We used aluminum-colored Imron and a clear coat over it on my window frames.That was fully 15 years ago and they are holding up nicely.

As far as powder coating goes, I think it depends a lot on who does it. I have had some hold up very well, and some that began to chip way too soon. I suppose like any coating it depends a lot of how well it was prepped.

 

[Walter P]

About 25 years ago we made a hard enclosure with sliding glass windows on the after deck of my last 43DC. The aluminum frame material was bought from Hatteras (Steve McPherson was still working at the High Point plant in charge of parts). The frame material was the same that Hatteras used to make the sliding salon windows (2 glass tracks and 1 screen). After I finished welding and fitting them I took them to an anodizing shop in PA since NJ environmental laws did not permit the process. They did a process called Duranatic, which is a form of anodizing. Today they still look great and are a perfect match to the original dark bronze window frames from the Hatteras factory. You may want to look into that process as well as paint or powder coating. I don't know if other colors except dark bronze is available. Regular anodizing is available in lots of colors but I don't know how it would hold up in the harsh marine environment. Duranatic is widely used on window and door frames in strip shopping centers and it holds up extremely well in that application as well.

Walt

 

[Charlene00]

I like paint as compare to powder coating. but If you have equipment then you can go for paint. i have painted my boat two year ago so i suggest you to go for paint.

 

[JD5652]

If they are older Bomar hatches, they are likely an aluminum-magnesium alloy (Almag)… likely Almag 35 which is now commonly called Alloy 535. I have the spec datasheet if you need it.

Several years ago on a different boat I refurbished all my Bomar hatches. I opted to go with powder coat as I had tried to repaint them in place over the years with poor results. There is actually marine grade powder coat materials... so all powder coat processes and materials are not the same. I went wit the Tiger Drylac Series 38 powder coat material and the Tiger Shield System specially formulated for marine environments.

https://www.tiger-coatings.us/filea.../TIGER_Drylac_Series_38_Super_Durable_TDU.pdf

https://www.tiger-coatings.us/filea...ac_Series_38_Color_Card_FINAL_low_res_-_2.pdf

My recommendation is to find a good powder coater and have them powder coated with marine grade material.

Here's some pics of mine... first one is before pic... second two are after pics...

I did mine in 2012 and when I sold the boat in June 2019 they still looked the same as the day I installed them...

 

[JD5652]

Sorry... I didn't realize this thread was from 2017 and just piled on....