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Guys pardon my ignorance here. I want to do this right so here is my question:

Can I powdercoat my Coke WE-6 cooler say a primer color, then paint over it with the correct Coke colors? Just not sure how this works, if painting over powder coating is a standard practice.

Any help appreciated.

I'm a huge fan of powder coat.  It's way tougher than paint but it is a bit 'thicker' so you have to be careful on what you coat.   I definitely would not paint over powder coat, I doubt it would adhere well anyway.

Problem being, the guys I use don't have the Coke Red for powdercoating.

I do powdercoating. They make a primer for powdercoat. After priming it all you have to do is scuff it up and then paint it the color you want. Your powdercoater should be able to find a powder that is close to what your looking for. There are alot of powder suppliers out there with alot of stock colors.

Here you go....   $10 + shipping:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1lb-COCA-COLA-RED-POWDER-COATING-HIGH-GLOSS-/370575549365

That looks like the more "orange" coke red color - this one looks like a deeper red, and a little cheaper:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/coca-cola-red-powder-coating-1-lb-61-70-gloss-/190671952729?_trksid=p4340.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D15%26pmod%3D370575549365%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8420978563921841569

How would you do the lettering on something like that? Would you have to do decals?

Are you talking about powder coating a WE-6 external shell? That's going to need a big oven.
Creighton

Creighton, I said the same thing...these dudes laughed at me and said they powdercoat cars.

The only problem I am aware of is you cannot do any body work on dents or rust because the oven may melt the filler(s)! If the shell and any associated parts to be powder coated are in very good to excellent condition after sand blasting; you're good to go!
I did a Vendo Coin Changer last year utilizing powder coating and it looks great! I do not know the manufacturer for the powder I used but "Red Baron" Red is very close to my V-81! I can find the manufacturer for you if your powder coater carries the line, you can see how it looks...
As far as, lettering is concerned, it will be hand painted afterwards and cannot be cleared as you would with conventional paint.
And lastly, most powder coating places have very large ovens! So size shouldn't be an issue.

Interesting, Powder coating seems to be all the rage. In static applications should be fine.
Any thing that is subject to movement or stress PC will flake and fall off. ie: suspension componets.

Would love to see a powder-coated car after 1 year on the road.

Whats the drive? Would it be less than a good paint job?

Thanks!
Creighton
 

I would think powder coating the body would have it's setbacks,,
like jim said, body work requires fillers, even if a little bit, and it will melt, I've heard of some high heat fillers, but not sure.

also any parts like hinges would have to be drilled out as the thickness will give you trouble.. plus if it does ever chip, even though it's tough, it's like trying to fix porcelain... it just won't look right...

powder works great for other metal parts, once the galvanizing is removed like shelves, bottle gate shoes, back spine, tub and some other small parts... other than that paint is the way to go ..

yes powder coating is cheaper... but some more limitations,,

and as far as finding he right color red,, it's a matter of trial and error... you can't go on a picture on the internet.. as you have different setings on monitors, lighting variations, etc...

Good luck...

High heat filler specifically made for powder application are widely available.

Any part that you don't want powder on either gets plugged with silicone plugs/cones or masked off with high heat paint. Any other hole or threaded portion gets reamed/drilled out or chased with a tap.

I had my We-6 powdercoated because I am just using it for my garage. I was not looking for a "grade A" resto job on the
We-6. I knocked out all of the dents to my satisfaction, then used high temp JB Weld on the small dings. That holds up
to the heat of powdercoating. There is also a product called Lab Metal for this. But Jay my powdercoater said whatever you
use , you can't put it on to fill big dings, or it'll pop/blister. I am happy the way the machine came out,not perfect as far as the
bodywork, but its what I was looking for, at a reasonable price. I have problems posting pics on here, but here is the link to
my powdercoaters site, he has my machines on his home page. Jay does great work. He did the inside shell of my C-51 also. I kept
the We-6 a wet machine and it works perfect. Loaded with ice cold beverages for the neighborhood.
http://protekpowdercoating.com

How did you do the lettering?

Decals from Fun-tronics.

I think your powdercoating ppl were refering to powdercoating car frames its a common thing in show cars and hot rods

I think more hot rod car chassis. They had a few there.

Epoxy primer over powder coat works just fine. Scuff it up and paint it. I like Squeegs Zinc Chromate Epoxy primer. Available on line from Squeeg's in Az. Pricey but the best. All the shops apply fillers over epoxy primers so no need to finish bodywork, just do high level metal bumping before powder coat and finish body work after priming, reprime, block, sand and paint color.
Jeff

Sorry I need to contradict you, early powder coating was indeed very brittle when flexed, but the stuff they are working with now is extremely flexible.  It's even used on suspension springs these days.

Also for those worrying about high heat, there are lots of fillers that will withstand the heat like JB Weld or Thermobond 3 (which is made for powder-coating).
but it's best to talk to your local powder-coating shop though, to see what they recommend.

I would recommend Thermobond though as it can withstand an Outgassing bake better.

I was talking to a friend over he weekend, He restores a lot of high end pumps. On the Cast Iron Pieces he has them powder coated before he blocks them out for paint. I seen his work and it was amazing. He said he has been doing this for quite sometime with no problems.

Joey