Help ! Powder Coating Transom Assy and Drives. Does it Last ?
 

I have a customer wanting to powder coat the transom assy and drive on a 26 Eliminator . Does it last ? I've always used epoxy primer and urethane paint.
He has a customer in powder coating and they want to trade out some work. I just don't want it to come off ,and then I have to say I told you so!

Salt water no good. If it's fresh no problem. The problem is if it chips or a deep scratch and even where the threaded holes are, once corrosion starts it just keeps lifting it off everywhere especially in the salt water

Thanks Class6 , this is a fresh water boat only , trailer queen , Ive blasted the parts just to have a good substrate regardless of coating , but don't seem to be able to talk him out of the drive powder coat . We PCed everything inside the boat and it looks great.

The drive will have to be disassembled and flushed of oil. Any oil residue will cause a problem. IMRON paint is just about bulletproof. AND no disassembly required.
If you do the transom assembly don't forget to remove and replace the lower fiber bearing. I don't know if it will keep it's shape at 400*

everything is stripped , we have stripped and cleaned everything on the transom , in preparation for the coatings. I,m just worried that the PC will peel off
at the Speeds that thw boats will see.

i just talked to a powder coater saturday about coating a transom assembly for one i am working on,it stays in lake michigan all summer long,this guy has been in the powder coating buisness for a long time and knows his business.he told me that even in fresh water powder coating was not the best choice,he recomended using a good primer and high quality paint.he could have just took the job but he was honest and said if he did the job and it peeled[he said it will] he could not stand behind it.i left it with him ,he is going to soda blast it and i am going to paint it.i have seen powder coat peel off things like drives&extension boxes.this is just food for thought,i am not telling you what to do.

Thanks Mike , I hate to hear about the Extension Boxes..... They already coated this one.... We did blast the Parts with 40/70 fine crushed glass so
it should have a good profile for the Powder to stick too , Maybe it will help alittle . Make sure after you Soda Blast your parts , clean them very good with
soap and water and Neutralize with vinegar. I know most paint companies wont stand by there product if the substrate has been Soda blasted.

Why not just get this is writing to the customer - explain the risks and the ramifications - In my world as long as I have become aware of an issue - let me make the final decision and then I have to live with it. It's not being a hard nose or anything like that just being 100% honest with the customer.

All the best

3pointstar

that is exactly what my powder coater did.

Why not just use IMRON?
It is the only paint that I have found that will hold up to the sandy water at Hardy Dam.

I had my extension box and all transom assembly parts powder coated before last season. My guy actually used a heavy duty powder coat. They use it a lot for atv, dirt bike and truck parts. He told me it could be sanded and buffed if I had too. The imco castings were very porse so he also used a powder coat filler. It worked pretty well but he also said it was a PAIN to work with. The stuff basically would dry up immediately upon contact with the metal, weird stuff.

So far all the parts still look great. I let one of the sharp corners of a steering ram bang against one of the steering arm and that did cause the powder coat to chip off. So that one will get redone. My boat does stay on the trailer and in water overnight maybe a couple times a season and there's no salt water near WI. Thus far I am happy with the powder coating.

The parts went to the powder coaters today , so well see how they last!

Hi there,
My extension box and drive are powder coated. Been that way for at least ten years. I trailer and run in fresh water. I leave the boat in for 3 days max. There is normal wear on the skeg from sand just like paint. I was told to use polyester based coating. I am pretty happy with it.
If one were to powdercoat or paint aluminum by the book, the bare metal will have an Alodine conversion coat first.

Happy boating,

Jeff

Here , where the u.v. factor is high , blues blacks and red powder coats dont fare to well with normal exposure to sun .have not heard if there are improved formulas out that are up to imron quality yet.
The nason line of urethane is the next best thing , esp in reds and blacks..
You could almost spray a dirty dog with that stuff , and it will stick.

My drives are black Imron over 2-part epoxy primer over acid primer. 10 years still shiny, but a few bumps and bruises.

K-planers were powdercoated black at same time, still coated very well, but I do notice they are not as shiny (never were, but worse) almost a semi-gloss finish.

put a good clear with UV absorber over the powdercoat. Nice shine and protects the pigments from UV light.