Powder Coat Engine Mount

[Eckertwa]

I am considering having my engine mount powder coated instead of painted. I'd like to hear folk's opinion on this. I'd also like to hear what color is recommended.

I have had one person tell me they recommend painting it instead because it is easier to repair if a crack were to develop. I got the impression that the person who suggested this also considered rewelding the crack while the engine was still on the plane. I think I would prefere to pull the engine and mount if that type of repair were necessary.

The mount is steel and is for a Jabiru J230 airplane.


Wayne

[Auburntsts]

I don't have much in the way of opinion either way, however all of the RV engine mounts supplied by Van's in all of their kits are powder coated. That's a lot of mounts in service so take that into consideration.

[1600vw]

A buddy of mine powder coated his engine mount. In fact he powder coated a lot of parts on his airplane. His airplane won some awards last year at Oshkosh. If the paint chips, sand the area and rattle can this spot. Powder coating is nothing more then paint that is warmed and then melts over said part. I am no paint expert but this is how I would repair said paint chip. Sand and paint. The hardest part will be color matching the powder coat. I hate when a repair does not match.

Tony

[stewartb]

My Cessna gear legs were powder coated 18 years ago. Parked outdoors year-round and operates from gravel exclusively. Looks great. My engine mount was powder coated 13-14 years ago. I chose red. Still looks great. I just picked up my latest Cub airframe and steel parts last week from the powder coater. Not my first Cub but my first one was coated the same and still looks great. If you have access to a good powder coater I say it's the best choice but beware not all powder coaters are equal. Mine blasts, phosphatizes (Parkerizes), primes with a high zinc powder primer and cooks half way, then top cats and cooks it fully. Amazing results, amazing success record on airplane components.

Lots of guys don't like black because it's harder to inspect. White gets too dirty too quickly. Red has worked well for me but that said, my new Cub mount is black. I probably should have used gray. I'll deal with it.

[lake_harley]

I'll put in a "nay" vote on powdercoating. It is to my understanding (and a friend is a powdercoater) actually a plastic powder that is melted by heat to cure and flow out. Beautiful finish....absolutely. Durable....again, absolutely, but therein lies my feeling it not the best choice for everything. I think it can be too durable for some applications, and a airplane motor mount might be one of them. Powdercoat has more ability to flex than most paint, and in the case of a critical weldment or structure a crack could be present for some time before it got bad enough to show up as a discolored or rusty telltale line. I think a problem would show up sooner through paint. I don't think powdercoating creates an immediate death trap, but I just don't feel it's the best choice. Just my $.02

Lynn

[Eckertwa]

I had a suggestion from some mechanical engineers I work with to use Cerakote. This product it typically used as a surface protection for firearms but has some very attractive properties. One nice property is the thickness of the coating is very thin. I believe I will be able to coat the bearing surface of the nose gear leg. The company I work for uses Cerakote to finish the metal chassis for our luxury aircraft displays. This option might be out of my price range but may be comparable to having the parts professionally painted. Any thoughts or experience with similar surface coatings?

The same mechanical engineers recommended against powder coating. They have used powder coating on the metal chassis mention above and have had problems. One of the engineers used to work for a company that did their own powder coating. The problems they ran into were on the sharp edges. The powder coating is thin in these areas and is prone to chipping. He also mentioned that moisture will infiltrate the chipped areas and start rusting under the powder coating, peeling it off. He also mentioned that if the metal is laser cut, the edges have a type of carbon burning that the powder coating won't adheare to.

But... I don't know if I truly believe everything my coworker told me. Four years ago, I built a custom deck and had some metal plates powder coated. These plates were laser cut and have sharp corners. The plates are still looking great although I haven't done a close inspection of all of them. While researching powder coating for the plates, I learned that some places use a primer under the powder coating, some do not. I also leaned that a good powder coating will not allow rust to form under it due to the bonding. Testing can be performed where the powder coating is scratched and tested in a salt fog. And if I remember correctly, multiple coats are used to thicken corner adhesion.

I dont have have a lot of experience with powder coating but the one example I do have was pretty positive. I plan to go to the same powder company tomorrow to discuss my aircraft parts. I also plan to go to an automotive painter to get a quote. Between the three options, hopefully I'll be able to make a decision.

Wayne