Paintjobs that will fend off corrosion forever?

[noid]

Considering I plan to keep my current E30 indefinitely, in a few years I plan to repaint it. Generally speaking I couldn't care less about the actual paint/clear coat. What I want is an undercoating that will fend off corrosion indefinitely.

My current thoughts are rust bullet as a primer, POR-15 as an undercoating (or also rust bullet). I also had the idea of using strong powder coating as a primer. Maybe even powder coating and then spray rust bullet over top and then paint/clear coat?

Thoughts?

[Balleristic31]

How would you bake powder coating onto an entire car?

[blunttech]

por 15 is meant to paint over rust. If you apply it to clean metal without giving it something to "bite" to it will come of like Optimators clothes at a gay bath house.

[noid]

por 15 is meant to paint over rust. If you apply it to clean metal without giving it something to "bite" to it will come of like Optimators clothes at a gay bath house.

Por-15 has a certain procedure you need to follow. This procedure includes phosphoric acid etching. However, after scuffing away all the old paint/undercoating, the smoothness of the surface shouldn't be a problem. Rust bullet advertises no preparation needed. I have a can of rust bullet that I have used on clean metal, shit is as hard as a rock when dry.

How would you bake powder coating onto an entire car?

Industrial powdercoating facility?

[jaywood]

Powder coating a whole car could be interesting....

[TurboJake]

Powder coating is only intended to last a maximum of 15 years. That's extremely far from indefinitely.

Imagine having to strip all the powdercoating back off after it starts chipping.

[Fusion]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanization

French cars that came factory galvanized are known to have 0 rust even 20-25 years after manufacturing and driving in salty winters.
I have no idea why BMW and Merc neglected to galvanize their cars in the 80's.

I know a guy that galvanizes fenders and other smaller parts pretty cheap, but not sure how/if you could galvanize the whole body.

[noid]

Powder coating is only intended to last a maximum of 15 years. That's extremely far from indefinitely.

Imagine having to strip all the powdercoating back off after it starts chipping.

I HIGHLY doubt that quality powdercoating will start chipping after 15 years, especially if its over coated with other stuff. I had powdercoating done on my old atv frame and after 7 years of abuse (including MANY dents) I didnt see even the slightest sign of a chip. Then again I had mine done at a professional powdercoating establishment not Joes garage using his old kitchen oven.

[craiggroves91]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanization

French cars that came factory galvanized are known to have 0 rust even 20-25 years after manufacturing and driving in salty winters.
I have no idea why BMW and Merc neglected to galvanize their cars in the 80's.

I know a guy that galvanizes fenders and other smaller parts pretty cheap, but not sure how/if you could galvanize the whole body.

Late model cars are galvanized from what I hear, maybe some other late 80's models also, not sure.

[FredK]

Your best bet is to just store your car in the winters and avoid all salted roads.

Powdercoating is NOT the end all coating you think it is. All it takes is a small amount of moisture to get behind the coating, and just fester there until you unearth completely rotted metal. At which point you will kick yourself for trusting one coating system over another.

[TurboJake]

I HIGHLY doubt that quality powdercoating will start chipping after 15 years, especially if its over coated with other stuff. I had powdercoating done on my old atv frame and after 7 years of abuse (including MANY dents) I didnt see even the slightest sign of a chip. Then again I had mine done at a professional powdercoating establishment not Joes garage using his old kitchen oven.

You really think Joe's garage kitchen oven powdercoating is going to last even 15 years?

Really?

Christ. Go look at Interpon Powder Coatings. Their A5000 powder line has a specified lifespan of 16 years and it's made for this exact purpose. They are the largest powder coating producing company on the planet. If you know more than they do, they would probably like to know about you.

Go to there website, ask for a color sample, and get the literature. Here's a link.

http://www.interpon.com/usa/Color+Sample+and+Literature/

http://www.interpon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Interpon-A5000-Bodyshell-Brochure4.pdf

Just because a product is only designed to last so long, doesn't mean it will or won't. I said, "They are only INTENDED to last a maximum of 15 years"

Not that they will, or won't. Last longer or not even make that mark.

But, I was off by 1 year. So I'm sorry for the lack of knowledge on the matter.

[noid]

You really think Joe's garage kitchen oven powdercoating is going to last even 15 years?

Really?

Christ. Go look at Interpon Powder Coatings. Their A5000 powder line has a specified lifespan of 16 years and it's made for this exact purpose. They are the largest powder coating producing company on the planet. If you know more than they do, they would probably like to know about you.

Go to there website, ask for a color sample, and get the literature. Here's a link.

http://www.interpon.com/usa/Color+Sample+and+Literature/

http://www.interpon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Interpon-A5000-Bodyshell-Brochure4.pdf

Just because a product is only designed to last so long, doesn't mean it will or won't. I said, "They are only INTENDED to last a maximum of 15 years"

Not that they will, or won't. Last longer or not even make that mark.

But, I was off by 1 year. So I'm sorry for the lack of knowledge on the matter.

I don't claim to be a powder coating expert, but from my experience as a customer with quality powder coating I cant imagine it just chipping after 16 years.

Last time I had a frame powdercoated I recall the manager of the facility looking at it and commenting on the previous powdercoating that was on it, stating that it was more of a delicate/decorative finish, and told me he would put on the stuff that would last. As promised I can assure you the stuff I got took an absurd beating off-road and did not show a sign of wear.

Your best bet is to just store your car in the winters and avoid all salted roads.

Powdercoating is NOT the end all coating you think it is. All it takes is a small amount of moisture to get behind the coating, and just fester there until you unearth completely rotted metal. At which point you will kick yourself for trusting one coating system over another.

I do plan to store it every winter :)

Rust bullet as a primer may be the answer, they sell rust bullet specially for automotive uses (sprayable). Apparently the US navy uses rust bullet to paint their ships, and those things live in salt water.

[krazcustoms]

Epoxy primer/sealer is the absolute best way to go on bare steel.

Powder coating is a durable FINISH (however not UV resistant) but does nothing to inhibit rust.

I wouldn't trust a one-component coating (i.e. anything spray-can) as an undercoat, ever.

[noid]

Epoxy primer/sealer is the absolute best way to go on bare steel.

Powder coating is a durable FINISH (however not UV resistant) but does nothing to inhibit rust.

I wouldn't trust a one-component coating (i.e. anything spray-can) as an undercoat, ever.

I thought some powdercoating come premixed with epoxy?

From wiki:
There are two main categories of powder coatings: thermosets and thermoplastics. The thermosetting variety incorporates a cross-linker into the formulation. When the powder is baked, it reacts with other chemical groups in the powder to polymerize, improving the performance properties. The thermoplastic variety does not undergo any additional reactions during the baking process, but rather only flows out into the final coating.
The most common polymers used are polyester, polyurethane, polyester-epoxy (known as hybrid), straight epoxy (fusion bonded epoxy) and acrylics.

[krazcustoms]

Well if your guy has the "straight epoxy thermosetting powdercoat", then you should do it with that.

Seriously, do a cost analysis and if it's cheaper to go that route then go for it. Actually, doing half the car with professional grade spray epoxy and the other half with epoxy-impregnated powdercoat would be a cool experiment. Leave it outside for 10 years and see which holds up better. I'm not being sarcastic, either. I would genuinely love to see the results. I still wouldn't be able to use powdercoat personally, though - I've seen too much failure with it.

Also, while I'm not completely 100% positive, I'm pretty sure BMW's have been galvanized for quite some time - definitely since the E30's have come out. It's not something that is completely through the metal - it's only in the surface of the metal (not ON the surface, but IN the surface). If you sand galvanized bare steel enough, you can tell when you've gone past it. The problem is, a rock chip can actually penetrate through it, causing rust, or even if it doesn't, the elements will break it down quickly, hence the reason to paint our cars in the first place. While searching through junkyards, I've noticed that MOST rust-outs on these cars (both foreign and domestic, actually) are caused by poor body/paint repairs. I used to think that cars either rusted or they didn't, but the more I see of it, the more I notice obviously repaired panels are more rusty than original, unrepaired panels. Not always, but enough to notice. Sometimes it is in fact nothing more than crappy factory steel.

If E30's weren't galvanized, I'm pretty sure there would be alot less of them around.