Power coating

[Sal]

Powder coating

2 wks ago I took my John Deere 322 to a
Auto body shop to have it sand blasted and
Primed and painted for a price of $650.00.
Was told it would be ready in 2 wks. Well
I went in today and see that nothing had been
Done to it. Since he hadn't touched it I loaded it
It up and went dn the road to a place where
They do powder coating. After finding a color
Pretty close to John Deere green I ask how much.
Well I was surprised to hear it would only
Cost $120.00. So I went for it. Question Is, did I
Do the right thing? Have any of you folks
Had your tractor powder coated and were you happy
With the results?

 

[KennyV]

WELCOME to LMF...

Powder coating is a fantastic finish...
But it has a draw back that you have 'kind of ' noticed... Color is not going to be easy to match... and that works both ways, as you get a scratch on the powder, hard to do but will eventually happen... touch up with paint is not going to work very well...
Even with that, Powder coating is my choice for a lot of things... it is so much more durable than paint...
:smile:KennyV

BTW... when you get it together and ready Post some pictures....:thumbsup:

 

[Sal]

Thanks for responding Kenny . I hope I don't regret this. Will see when I get it all back together. This won't be a show tractor but I do want it to look
As good as it did when it was new. I was just thinking that if I wasnt satisfied
I could always have it repainted with official JD colors. It shouldn't be as expensive
Being that half the prep work is already done. Anyhow, I will post pictures when I get it back.

 

[KennyV]

If they have done a good PC job... you will like it...
I guess I was not clear about painting on Powder Coat... the reason touch up is a problem... hard to match color AND paint will not stick to PC... It's a major project to paint something that has PC.
On a positive note, PC is a lot more durable than paint, hard to chip or scratch, so it should look very good for a Long time.. :smile:KennyV

 

[Sal]

Re: Powder coating

If they have done a good PC job... you will like it...
I guess I was not clear about painting on Powder Coat... the reason touch up is a problem... hard to match color AND paint will not stick to PC... It's a major project to paint something that has PC.
On a positive note, PC is a lot more durable than paint, hard to chip or scratch, so it should look very good for a Long time.. :smile:KennyV

Thanks again Kenny, in order to PC the mowing deck I was told to remove spindles and blades. Hope
its not a chore. But it has to be done.

 

[KennyV]

When removing the bolts that hold the spindles to the deck.. Use PB blaster or some other Good penetrating oil... On some those bolts are self tapping and will rust in place... When you try to remove them they break off... if that happens, you may be able to drill out the broken part & may be able to use a nut on top of the spindle, when you put it back together... :smile:KennyV

 

[Sal]

When removing the bolts that hold the spindles to the deck.. Use PB blaster or some other Good penetrating oil... On some those bolts are self tapping and will rust in place... When you try to remove them they break off... if that happens, you may be able to drill out the broken part & may be able to use a nut on top of the spindle, when you put it back together... :smile:KennyV[/

Thanks again. Great advise.

 

[Dangeroustoys56]

According to this you can paint over powder coating:

How to Paint Over Powder Paint | eHow.com

As long as its properly prepped, the powder coat will be a great base for the new paint.

Ive painted a couple tractors, with rattle cans - seems the more expensive paint is worthless, while the cheep .99 stuff lasts better. One tractor i used $5 paint, a craftsman - finish was terrible ( sanded it smooth and primered) - went dull and scratches way too easy - however a tractor ( 99 weedeater) i painted 4 years ago with the .99 stuff still has a decent shine , it has a few scratches - but ive sprayed it again w/o prepping and smooths right out.

Funny thing was i wanted the craftsman to have the better paint finish , i spent a long time prepping it - just not happy with the results - the weedeater i basically hand sanded the rough bits to feather the paint and lightly sanded the rest ( even left the dents in it) - and that came out 200 times better with less work.

Powder coating can be done at home, they have spray kits - only thing youd need is an oven ( not for food cooking in - a used thrift store one for only powder coating). Its good for small parts .

 

[benski]

Re: Powder coating

2 wks ago I took my John Deere 322 to a
Auto body shop to have it sand blasted and
Primed and painted for a price of $650.00.
Was told it would be ready in 2 wks. Well
I went in today and see that nothing had been
Done to it. Since he hadn't touched it I loaded it
It up and went dn the road to a place where
They do powder coating. After finding a color
Pretty close to John Deere green I ask how much.
Well I was surprised to hear it would only
Cost $120.00. So I went for it. Question Is, did I
Do the right thing? Have any of you folks
Had your tractor powder coated and were you happy
With the results?

Powder coating is a very neat finish, but I'd recommend against it for the mower deck because it will chip and then be hard to touch up easily. I had most of my Cub Cadet 2164 powder coated, and I really like it. If you've got some holes or surface blemishes on your project, JB Weld will fill in the spots and put up with the 400F* temps of powder coating.