Aluminum winch plate coating advice
- Thread starter JoseA
- Start date
Hammerhead, Tiger or Great White?
I strongly disagree with your assessment. Almost 4 years in and other than a very minor reduction in gloss level, this is what powder coat looks like on aluminum.
Other bits.
If you note, there is a sheen difference between the tub rails and rear aluminum corners. The bumpers, fairlead mount and some other aluminum bits were done in the same sheen PC. We have not had to fix or repair a single bit of the PC due to any issues with peeling or flaking or degradation in any form.
The trick is to find a good coater that blasts and coats in the same day to prevent the oxidation layer from forming.
Enough scratches and drag marks to show it does get used.
Ha, they suck. They are slow, expensive, and a pain in the ass to deal with. But, there are still tail light housings that have lived in the sun for 12 years that have not turned any other shade of black than how they were delivered.
I imagine its like anything else - the quality of the job. I've seen WAAAY too many instances of powder coated aluminum getting completely corroded and screwed up from water getting under the powder coat. My Warn winch was one such - stuff came off in sheets!
LONGJP2
TJ Expert
If it never peals, chips, cracks, flakes, or yellows; what happens to it after several years?
If it never peals, chips, cracks, flakes, or yellows; what happens to it after several years?
I wondered that myself when I posted that picture and read the can.
Mine are all scraped up, even my UA has a bow in it so I don't think it really mattered much. What doesn't look like a fresh scratch looks like it's coated in red rock dust.
No, they are a special alloy that Warn uses which has a fair bit of aluminum along with some zinc, a lot of zinc, and some other bits. Plus, they run them on a production powder line which puts their total cost per winch somwhere around 2-3 bucks. The parts have lots of sharp edges which is where the coating is very thin and doesn't flow over the corners. That is where the corrosion is able to start very easily. The copper content is what stops the application of the chem films that lots of others use to slow down corrosion. The parts are also not blasted which gives the coat a good key to enhance the bonding.
So again, using what happens to the coating on that product to judge all other powder coat products is poor at best.
Remember that meeting starts 30 minutes after the 2.5 Advisory Panel but before the LJ Owners “go long or go home” happy hour.
So its actually more of a ZAMAC? But you are correct about the sharp edges, 'cause that's where the corrosion starts every time. So - how does one insure that they're getting a GOOD powder coat job that won't do this?
They wouldn't actually divulge the exact alloy but it is not what we would normally consider high pressure die cast aluminum alloy.
You ensure a good job by asking the shop if they are familiar with aluminum and understand that it has to be blasted, sharp edges eased, and they have a very short window to get it into the oven after blasting. When we send out armor and such, we take a file and knock back any sharp edges so the coating can roll around to create a more uniform coating. PC is like every other coating, the end result depends on prep and education that results in useful knowledge.
I quit doing business with what once was a great shop that sold. The new owners ran a set of steel armor without blasting. I lightly dinged the edge with a plastic screwdriver handle which knocked off a 6" chunk. That told me they didn't blast off the laser dross from the cut edge. When I called them on it, they said I didn't request blasting. I said I'd been doing business with the old owner a very long time and I didn't have to explain that bullshit to him and if I have to explain it to you, then there is no reason to continue to give you money or work. Then she tried to blame it on my helper rough handling the pieces loading them. Only issue there is his back was screwed up so their crew did the loading.
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350' of powder coated aluminum rail we did a two years ago. We do our coating in house because of all the issues Blaine layed out. With an AISC Complex Coating Endorsment we have very strict testing and reporting requirements for any exterior finishes and it shows. As stated above, it's all in the prep. We've built powdered aluminum rails that are hit with salt-spray everyday, still going strong.
Then I learned something new today - as I've seen plenty of powder coat "go off" on aluminum, ZAMAC, and similar. Good to see that it actually works when applied right.