Most everything powder coated seems to hold up really well , but just how much flex will it withstand ? Boom truck I run has had the outriggers powder coated and is not working out well . Looks like stress fractures and just looks bad . Flakes off after a while I have bombed over it with krylon to hide it . Attached Images
Haven't , but it would appear to be poor surface prep. even the step and the bar are rusty... maybe a shot of sand blasting is needed.
It was sandblasted , Its pretty rough when the loose stuff flakes off.....Outrigger pad and bar were painted only , just the square tube was powder coated
heck try epoxy paint, Just make sure they send the right primer... wrong cat equals a loss of 5 gallons of paint. Instantly
I've never been very impressed with how well powder coating holds up. If you scratch it its a PITA to buff out. A good whack or any flexing of the metal will cause it to start flaking off. Ya regular paint does too, but we have all seen small fender benders that the paint is perfectly intact afterwards. It is low maintenance though.
We have powder coated all of our steel salter boxes. It works great for that. Now they are working on getting the plow frames for the tractor's and loader's done.
I had a custom flat/utillity bed built for my pickup about a year ago. Wanted to powder coat it but the guy who built it talked me into a spray on fake Rhino liner. Its flaking off everywhere. Now I'm about ready to take the bed off, sandblast the POS liner off and have it powder coated.
We had some Ranch hand bumpers power coated and some epoxy painted . The paint worked far better. I to have had truck bed liner fail, found out I used the wrong primer. On another truck the truck bed liner has worked wonderfully. PS Red oxide is like Teflon to Herculiner.
I feel your pain. But is there anythig that can really take the abuse that a bed or bumper has to take. I installd lights for a friend that owns a 50,000 sq. ft. powder coat facility. Powder coat is tough but is to me like ceramic, once its chipped its over, and can be sharp as a razor. And in cold weather its brittle. Honestly and respectfully. Powder is a waste for a "working bed". Epoxy and Rhino seem to fit best and even then it becomes a maintenance issue and a never ending cycle of touch up.
Powder coating is good but has been touted as the cure all, which it isn't. It's all in the prep. If stuff isn't blasted before painting or powder coating it won't stand up. MOST truck bed manufacturers and riggers will do little to no blasting because they are selling truck decks, cranes etc not paint jobs. I would get it blasted and then spray it with a high build two component primer and a two component urethane topcoat. Or for the best job first a zinc primer than a high build epoxy and then a urethane top. Another idea would be to try Amourguard or a Line-X box liner on there. They are a rubber box liner that stays flexible beyond -40. The other boxliners such as Rhino, Scorpion, etc are all a cold flow and tend to dry brittle. Armourguard and Line-X are both hot flow rubber products. But it all comes down to surface prep. Nothing will work unless the surface is blasted or the rust and mill scale removed somehow. How old is your rigging? In looking at your pics I would say the paint is probably a single component enamel (the cheapest lowest quality but common among manufacturers) and the primer is thin or non existent. The cracking and crazing is reminiscent of the days of lacquer but I doubt your rig is that old.
I would just paint it but add more flex agent to the paint. Plastic car bumper covers hold their paint well because of the added flex agents.
bumpp
The main business is metal fabrication. Personally everything i have ever had powder coated has left a sour taste in my mouth. Different vendors, different prep, every variable you could think of changed. SAME RESULT, after 2-5 years the coating starts to crack and flake and look like Fido's behind.
We had a trailer manufacturer that powder coated the steel frame. Same issues- those units that were truly used, the powder coating started flaking. Our understanding is that the p/c can't flex like paint can, so every bump, something had to give. It has caused some real issues as it trapped moisture inside- directly against the steel. As several others have said- it seemed like a good idea at the time. But long term, I've not been impressed.
The sum total of my experience is that I have rims powdercoated, for $15 a piece, and it works out very well.