Subframe - paint or powder coat?

[DLinson]

I'd lean towards paint. The trailer hitch on my truck was powder coated and a factory option. The frame has no paint. The frame is still in good condition and the trailer hitch is junk. The trailer hitch is made of 1/4" steel plates and 1/4" wall tubing. My truck is a 96 Chevy.



The powder coat is like a plastic coat over the entire part. It will hold together and resist chipping quite well. If something does break through the powder coat, the moisture will get in and start rusting the metal. What's worse is that the nice plastic shell of powder coat won't let the moisture out so the corrosion is accelerated. With paint it tends to rust a little around the scratch and that's about it. It can work its way under the paint but the paint usually chips off and a small area is exposed and the moisture doesn't wick up under the paint like it can with powder coat.

You can also touch up paint easily, you can't with powder coat. I used single stage urethane PPG paint to paint the entire under side of my car and inside the engine compartment. If it does get a chip or should I say when it gets a chip, I can do a little paint touch up, sand and buff and you shouldn't be able to tell there was a chip.

Just my opinion.

Dennis.