Paint, lacquer or powder coating?

[Mark Gibney]

I am having steel bases made for some tables and I want to color these bases.

My choices are

A - to paint them with an oil based paint

B - spray a colored lacquer base coat, then lacquer clear coats

C - have them powder coated

There table will be for sale, so the "slickness" is important. I know powder coating is the most durable and best looking, but it also costs the most. The oil based paint lays down very flat when it's brushed on, but it will still have some telltale signs of being done with a brush. I don't have the skills to spray paint.
I can spray lacquer but I'm concerned it might not be durable enough. This is also a concern with the paint.

I'd love to get some feedback from whoever of you has something to say about this, thanks! Mark

[Cary Falk]

I had some bed parts power coated and the cost wasn't too bad. I am glad I did it. I have restored several woodworking machines and you can get a pretty good looking finish with a rattle can. I would go that route before laquer.

[David Kumm]

I use a rattle can industrial enamel for the base coat. You can get a good finish but need to allow it to dry for about a week before clearcoating. For that I use Spraymax two part auto clearcoat. The can has a plunger to release the hardener and must be used within a day or so. Like most two part urethanes, it will hold up to most chemicals- much better than enamel. You can specify gloss, semi, or matte. Good stuff but about $15-17 a can. Dave

[Mike Hollingsworth]

PowderCoat is way overrated.

[Wayne Lomman]

If you are prepared to pay for powder coat, go to an auto paint shop and get a price to spray them. You won't happy with rattle can finish. Powder coat is ok so long as you are aware of its limitations. Isn't great out in the weather, nor is it much of a corrosion preventer unless you specify you want that. Cheers

[Martin Wasner]

What are the limitations of powder coating? Everything I've had done has been the thickest most durable paint option.

[Adam Herman]

powder coat is like putting a thin ceramic layer on the steel. it can be brittle, and will pop off if you bend the steel at all. otherwise it is by far the most durable and i would not use anything else if the piece was going to be outside. for inside, call a local auto body shop and have them let you know when they are spraying a car with the color you want, then have them add those parts. it will not take them much time or effort if there is other stuff getting painted and they usually don't charge much.


Powder coat will protect whatever us under it for a long long time, as long as the surface remains unbroken. we used it for the steel supports for the swim platform of our boat and were very carful with the install. they never had any issues with rusting.

[Mark Gibney]

Thank you all for your replies. I'm leaning towards the powder coating, but I'll try to find out how brittle it can be (Adam mentioned this) from a friend who have had it done on some art pieces.

Again, thanks.

[Bill McNiel]

FWIW- About 8 years ago I had the doors for our Garland range/oven powder coated. They get a fair amount of abuse and must expand and contract to some degree but they still look as good as new.

[Mike Henderson]

I have some decorative iron work on our house and after going through the regular paint process twice - and having it rust - I decided to get them powder coated. So far, no problems and they've been outside in weather for a couple of years. Mine are black and they offered me a variety of gloss options - not just matte, semi-gloss and gloss. Must have been six or seven options - don't remember exactly.

They blasted them with something to take the old finish off and the rust - to prepare the surface for the powder coating.

Mike

[Wayne Lomman]

Those of you with good experience with powdercoat have had a good job done. It was the right powder product and had good surface prep done.
I work in the marine industry. You can see my painting work in ports all over the world including Los Angeles. In these environments, powdercoat doesn't even come close to protecting steel. This is where epoxy and polyurethane are required. You get protection with a degree of resilience and the polyurethane is uv stable. So use whatever coating you like - this is just where I come from. Cheers

[Mark Gibney]

Thanks Wayne, on another project I would for sure take your experience into account. These tables are going to be indoor, and there is a powder coater down the block, so my choice is based on convenience as much as anything.

I will however look for a good auto body place so I can go the paint route in the future - these are tables I want to continue to develop.

[Carla Kelly]

That response is a surprise. Powder coating is thoroughly immune to salt, so it can be used under water. It has zero post-bend, so if the pretreatment is correct, it can be bent back on itself without cracking. There are many formulas that can be used in special circumstances too numerous to mention. Suffice to say, the molecular weight is very heavy, so it out-performs almost any other finish; it's used extensively in engines and other corrosive and demanding applications. My husband worked in powder coatings his whole career, including for Valspar. He was a national manager in his later career. If you have any specific questions, ask them and I'll get some answers for you. It does require special application, so is difficult to do at home, and it is not friendly to spot repair, although that's a rare issue.