Quote Originally Posted by nomocom View Post
Wes had a good point out earlier about the importance of maintaining the inside of the tube as well. Thanks for that. Do we agree outside versus inside condition and maintenance are independent of one another? Obviously both important! Turtle stated he had cut into tubing that looked good on the outside, but was rotten on the inside. Playing devil's advocate here, that is not a phenomenon unique to powder. Go on a used car lot and look for some nicely painted layers of rust. If you look long enough, you'll find some.
I didn't say the inside was rotten. I said the metal under the powder was rusted. The outside of the tube looked perfect, no sign of bubbling or rust bleeding through the finish. The cutting chipped the powder and we found rust underneath. Paint over rusty tubing and it will be bubbling withing months, if not weeks. Powder over rust and it can look good for years. Would you rather find the defect sooner or later?