Powder coating –
Most of the stuff i ever want to apply a coating to would be unsuitable for powder (despite what people trying to sell powder coat might say, its an inferior finish) so i’ve never bothered buying the kit for it, but i might do yet, as its way quicker and cheaper.
Powder is ok for indoor stuff, or cheap outdoor stuff, that no one cares too much about (think cheap diecast garden furniture from china) but for anything that you care about lasting (indoors stuff aside), then epoxy primer and 2k top coat is the best option.
If you look at situations where money is no object (eg military) or extreme environmental stress (eg offshore) then powder coating is nowhere to be seen. But if you look at cheap consumer items, it’s commonplace, as, economically, it’s way quicker and lower operator skill to apply.
(which is precisely why im thinking of setting up for it – its inferior, but fine for synth stuff, and way quicker and cheaper)
I’m not trying to play it down if you’re getting the powder from somewhere else – it’s fine for indoor use. Just if someone is selling powder as a superior product, you might want to ask them a bit more about it…
Your average consumer probably thinks all paint is the same as the single part stuff they get in spray cans at their local auto place, and “powder coat” is somthing mystical and desirable, so, personally, i generally just use the term “coated” so as i dont have to explain myself. Powder has some sort of, in my opinion (and the opinions of virtually everyone that knows about this kind of stuff – thats not trying to sell powder, that is!) misplaced following, and i’m not going to try and fight that in general sales, hence i just say “coated”
Again, look at the places where coatings actually matter, and it’s all epoxies and isocyanate, not powder – eg military, offshore, the production auto industry (again, plenty of alloy wheel refinishers using powder – as its way lower cost to apply to awkward shapes like alloy wheels, not because its superior)
My “hobby” is 4×4 stuff – I’ve even tried to pay extra from parts places before to have them supply parts *without* the powder coat, such as I hate it for outdoor stuff! But, again, for indoors it’s fine. Sometimes people get landrover chassis powder coated, thinking theyre doing the right thing, and it’s such a waste – one chip, and the adhesion is inferior to paint, the water gets behind the coating, lifts it, and the metal rots out behind. The uv stability of powder is inferior also, which is why you see it often cracking and peeling off, even alloys that are left outdoors.
Anyway, i’ll shut up – again, it’s not a problem using it for synth boxes, if you’re getting them elsewhere, as they are indoor, low stress items, but it’s just that, if you were planning on using mine, it would be incorrect to refer to them as powder coated. But probably bad for sales to say they are painted – as, again, people dont really know about different paint types, and will just think someone has gone over them with a cheap rattle can from a supermarket!
All of the above is basically why i just say “coated” as it always seems necessary to explain, otherwise people, by default, it seems, seem to think paint is inferior, when actually, the opposite is true!
Julian