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.