"wet powder coat" or "e-coat"

[Anonymous]

righto chaps, anyone know about E-coat in the UK? Chappies on the US forums are all raving about how they are getting their stuff (even complete body shells) dipped, and how this stuff gets everywhere, even in all the box sections...

Now I don't hold much hope of finding someone with a tank big enough to fit a Rambler, Fury, LeSabre or whatever in it, but it sounds like a great idea for doors etc 'cos the primer gets anywhere water can get so all those little folded over & crimped seams will be done deep, and its supposed to be tougher and super duper rust proof.

Anyone know about this, what its called in the UK if not "wet powder dip" or "E-coat" and where I could start looking if I want to start getting some quotes for some bits.

And of course, any pros and cons of taking this route.

[Anonymous]

not sure what you mean by "wet powder coat", that`s a new one on me unless they mean powder slurry application (which is what they use on the Merc A-class I believe).

E-coat is usually an OEM finish and I guess would be impractical to operate by anyone but a large organisation as it takes a huge capital investment to set up. However, it is the coating to prevent corrosion - only when applied over the correct pretreatment, usually zinc phosphated steel.
To get an old body or body parts to the required cleanliness to enable successful coating, will be difficult.

I reckon you`d be far better off following tried and tested refinish techniques and waxoyl inject the box sections.

[Anonymous]

Basically electrically charged paint is suspended in water. They clean the part then dip it in the vat of paint and then charge the part. All the paint is attracted to the part, and it sticks in an even layer, anywhere that water can get. They can also control the thickness of the layer based on the amount of charge on the part.

Then they bake it on. Sort of like powder coating, but with better coverage. It is really amazing. I didn't clean up the doors very well, expecting the chemical dipping to clean it up for me. Well, some of the stuff wasn't cleaned by the stripper. There was a bit of foam insulation at the bottom of the door. I figured there was going to be a clean spot. I got the foam off, and low and behold the e-coat got behind the foam, and coated that part anyway.

Depends on the size of the part if they can do it, but that is not what decides cost. It is how much room they need on a hanger that decides cost. Each hanger is 50 bucks. So you could do all the parts that come off for around 300 or so.

All sounds rather interesting to me.

[Anonymous]

E-coat process;
http://www.ppg.com/car_indcoat/electro7.htm

you must have the steel pretreated before paint application or it won`t last long!!