Re: how to keep powdercoat from peeling?

Eric Anderson wrote:
I have a sensor housing that is used for winter plow trucks. I have
my fabricator of the housing powder coat it. It seems to have good
integrity, but some tests I have been doing with thermo-shock from
about 0 degrees F to 170 degrees F have shown some flaking problems.
The material is flaking in sheets, like the metal may not have been
prepared properly.

Can someone give me a quick prep course so that I can talk
intelligently to the powder coat supplyer? What prep questions
should
I ask? Are there different types of powder coat that may be better
for the harsh environments seen by a winter plow truck?



I'll assume this is a steel housing?
In that case you want the steel fabricated. Degrease it with a good solvent. Then for prep you can sandblast it with 100 grit. Once blasted a run through a chromate bath and then coating with a polyester blended powder should do the job.

Powders come in a LOT of formulations. They are not a one size fit's all solution. The proper powder on a properly prepped substrate should last at least 5 years with NO degradation of finish quality. Explain what the problem is and they will likely change the formulation.

We did that a lot at the powder plant I worked at.

--
Steve W.
.