Any idea how thick a powder coat is? How much does it add to the surface?

 

Hard question to answer! Thicker than paint.. The powdercoater that puts it on can coat it on thick or thin.

 

Did it on my front fender and all the waves and ripples showed so I took it to be painted. Then did my air cleaner and it lost the HD emblem it was so thick. Go figure.

 

a lil more then a pubic hair

 

A ***** hair? Are you sure?

 

That's what I would have guessed as far as thickness of the powdercoating on that front fender.

 

Can be thick or thin depending on the person applying it

 

Of course the thickness varies from person to person, but if applied correctly, a single coat of powder should range from 3-6 mils. Powder coat stays flexible after cure and that's what gives it it's durablity agianst chipping and cracking. The thicker it's applied, the less flexible it will be and will be more prone to crack.

phat96 - It sounds like what you saw on your front fender after powder coating was an orange peel effect. That will happen to some degree on larger, flatter surfaces like fenders and tanks. In fact, the same thing happens with liquid paint. However, powder coat can be wet sanded and buffed out just like your painter did after he shot the fender again.

 

Assuming by "mils" you mean mm, that sounds VERY thick to me and I very strongly suspect this is not the case. Most "white goods" domestic appliances are now powder coated, so if you have ever seen a chip in a refridgerator that should give you an idea.

When we paint industrial products we use a 2 pack epoxy resin paint. A primer plus base coat measures in at around 90 to 125um (1000 um = 1mm). Sometimes we get asked to paint to a thickness of 250um for offshore or marine applications, and believe me we really have to pile it on to get such a high build.

I am no expert in powder coating at all, but looking at the products that I have seen powder coated I would guess it ranges between 100 and 200um. If it was much thicker it would crack where it came in to contact with tightened bolts etc

 

1 mil = .001 inches, or 1000th of an inch. In other words, 1000 mils = 1 inch so a single coat of powder should average .003 to .006 inches thick. The actual "optimum" thickness is suggested by the powder manufacturer for the specific powder being used on the MSDS or other data sheet provided with the product. Different powders will have slightly different suggested thickness requirements... but now I'm getting a little too deep.