Hate to tell u that non of your boats listed is a high perf. boat ,,,,don't compare apples with peas.

We are talking 100+ MPH and lots more RPM and heat on that CAT..........!!!!!!!

Sorry.

First, read his original question, It was asking anybody's opinion if had been done and how it worked and held up.
I answered that question. Yes, it does work and it does hold up.
Would I do it on a 100+ application, Upper yes, lower no.

Second, just because I have a couple boats listed that I currently own does not mean I have no experience with performance boats and drives. You have no idea what I have built in the past and whose boats I have worked on, or for that matter whose race teams I have been on.

I am not a boating newbie and I was simply answering his question truthfully because some one else searching the post may have an Alpha or a pair of TRS they are considering powdercoating.

Derek

Had to drag this back up again. I've just redone my drive and repainted it. The paint I used was an anti corrosive topcoat enamel but I fear it's not strong enough unless it's a 2-pac baked on finish like they came with from merc.

Is this Dupli Color Engine enamel strong engouh? As in does it leave a nice hard surface? If so then I'll get some, it's either that or I'm thinking of top coating with POR 15 - that bulletproof paint which is supposed to be nearly bullet proof!

Anyone heard of POR 15 up there? Anyone used it?

When talking about paints it is a little like talking about eggs, I want "eggs" for breakfast. Turtle eggs chicken eggs, turkey eggs, goose eggs, blue bird eggs etc.... paints have generic classes or groups. Paints are formulated for a particular purpose. One paint brand is not better than another ( except for price) when you are purchasing the same "type' of paint. POR 15 is a great product, however it chalks quickly when exposed to sunlight, does not flow out smooth on vertical surfaces, becomes very hard and will not accept top coats and is generally brittle even though it is hard. Powder coat can be an alternative coating, it can work well in the correct application, but is NOT better when compared to similar aliphatic polyurethane wet coatings. Powder has a disadvantage of requiring heat to cure. Heat can cause problems and blemish to aluminum castings that have been oil soaked. Nothing is easy. If you want durability, performance and at the end of the day low cost - Purchase from paint manufactures that have paints made for the boat industry and purchase the expensive stuff that they have on the shelf. Doing it twice with the cheap stuff is painful. An if it looks easy ( spray can) you probably get what you pay for, and that is a temporary fix. Surface preparation is always key - Remove the invisible salts, sand or rough up the surface, for below water application apply immersion rated epoxy, apply immersion rated topcoats per spec. If the boat does not stay in the water more than 7 days @ 77 degrees (as a rule of thumb) then a conventional aliphatic urethane, also knows as "single stage", to include all brands and brand names "Imron" etc... will work. If you keep the boat in the water it is a different game -

Wow, um thanks!
I've reaching for my dictionary but you answered a whole bunch of questions I hadn't even asked yet! Cheers.

What is 'Chalks quickly' ? and can POR 15 withstand immersion?
I only ask as I've come to the conclusion that my local paint shop people are only interested in selling what they have available, not what is best.

The more I think about it, the more I like Daredevil's idea of sanding it and uising liberal amounts of WD40!!

All epoxies will chalk when exposed to sunlight, that is the paint breaks down and when you touch it with your hands paint material transfers as a chaulky film. Depending on exposure you may loose 1-2 mils of thickness per year do to chalking. POR 15 will withstand continuous immersion, however the material is not rated for this purpose on the product data sheet. Read the product data sheet, if the product is immersion rated it will say so, if the paint is for an exterior application the product data sheet will give you color and gloss retention values so you will know how long the paint will last under stressed test conditions. Paint/ Powder can be complicated, read the data sheet and work within the limits

Very interesting comments so far. First off the lower section of the drive does not matter to me in this case. What I want painted is the upper drive, gimbel and extension box.

Another question is what potential effect would powder or any other coating have to heat transfer from the drive. I have read that manufactures do not recomment powder coating oil cooling due to the fact that it would prevent heat disapation?

My brother painted some drives last year for my landlord. I will try and find out what it was. They still looked great after spending the entire year sitting in the salt water!! I was amazed when I saw them. I know the stuff was very expensive but if you do not have to paint them every year....

Ooops sorry this is Audiofn on Biggus's computer

Any and all coating will have some R value, or insulating properties. It is well know that metals conduct heat readily, including materials like copper and aluminum. The co-efficient of heat transfer will be relative the the heat soak time. If you heat the drive up very quickly from 0 - 200 degrees it will take some time for the exterior powder coated skin to conduct the heat, however if you heat soak is over a longer period of time then the insulation effect is less, and also true of thicker metals. Polyester powder coats are generally applied @ 3-5 mils thickness on aluminum castings. A similar wet painted aliphatic urethane paint will have similar heat dissipation characteristics. I'll set up a test, (2) 1/4' plates 6" x 6" , one powder coated all sides the other not coated at all - I will heat them to 250 degrees F, then measure the time it takes each to drop back to room temp. Rememeber if you throw a 1,000 HP at a bravo drive then heat rise values will change, relative to a lower Hp set up