Styling Bull Bar. Powder Coat or Plastic Dip?

[Dragon Man]

So if you so happen to find yourself with a bull bar on a vehicle that needs restoration and you are able to choose between the following 2 options, which would you go for?

1, Powder coated - cheaper option.. nice shiny paint job, may chip easy

2, Plastic Dip - More costly.. More Durable (i think.. wont chip as easy)

Now i do not know which one would be the better of the 2. i know wheels get powder coated, so it must be a tough paint. however i am not sure.

What do you guys think?

 

[purple haze]

Powder is used on motorbike frames and they get a battering..I have had many items powder coated and have had no problems. Get on friendly terms with the guy doing the job as the last items I had done were my s/r frames. He stayed late at work and cranked the oven up and left my frames for longer. He claimed this really helps....happy to hear if people think this is rubbish.

 

[firecolour]

Any reason not to just use regular paint? That's pretty durable on the rest of the car. I fitted a works rally style light bar to my TR5 and had that painted body colour as the originals were and it looks pretty good. Hasn't chipped at all despite being low down next to the road.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Hammerite?

Plastic dip can peel off after a short while.

If you're looking into dipping processes why not Chrome? Much more durable than any paint, powder or plastic, lower maintenance, more showy and radical enough to be original yet classic so far as other off roaders go.

 

[panda1408]

Powder coat is good aslong as it is done correctly on properly prepared steel, see if you can find somewhere that can zinc spray it beforehand, then it should last a long time.

My choice, as I said before would be to do it in two pack epoxy, or as firecolour says normal two pack automotive paint.

 

[purple haze]

Liking the paint idea..

 

[panda panda]

Powder coat is good aslong as it is done correctly on properly prepared steel, see if you can find somewhere that can zinc spray it beforehand, then it should last a long time.

My choice, as I said before would be to do it in two pack epoxy, or as firecolour says normal two pack automotive paint.

Tu pak epoxy - wasn't they are rapper person?

Why only the two poll options - appears there are a few more to consider!

Maybe you should put a few more options up? Or just please yourself, it's your car

Smoothrite gets my vote, cheap and durable

 

[portland_bill]

I'd go powder coat every time. The process heats the metal and the powder sticks well. Plastic dipping seems similar, but I think at a lower temperature. The plastic joins to itself to make one coating, but does not always adhere to the metal uniformly. Any damage to the plastic will allow water underneath, leading to rust and the lifting of the plastic. (Like any wire clothes drier you may have, the coating eventually starts to lift.) Powder coating damage is like any other paint damage, just what you see and the surrounding area does not lift and allow water under.

 

[panda1408]

I'd go powder coat every time. The process heats the metal and the powder sticks well. Plastic dipping seems similar, but I think at a lower temperature. The plastic joins to itself to make one coating, but does not always adhere to the metal uniformly. Any damage to the plastic will allow water underneath, leading to rust and the lifting of the plastic. (Like any wire clothes drier you may have, the coating eventually starts to lift.) Powder coating damage is like any other paint damage, just what you see and the surrounding area does not lift and allow water under.

With badly done powder coat you will certainly get corrosion creeping under the coating, as you will with any paint really. Its all in prep work though, do that right and it will last much longer.

 

[VmanC]

Powder coat is good aslong as it is done correctly on properly prepared steel, see if you can find somewhere that can zinc spray it beforehand, then it should last a long time.

My choice, as I said before would be to do it in two pack epoxy, or as firecolour says normal two pack automotive paint.

I'd go with this too.

 

[Dragon Man]

thanks for the input guys. powder coating it is. tomorrow when they open i will take it down with the light grill covers and get them done. hope to get them before Stanford