Powder Coating vs Galvanizing ?

[Bash]

It's not merely powder-coated. It's powder-coated BLACK. Yeah. Which on most bottoms is going to make the anchor more difficulty to see from the surface.

The price of cool.

Next thing you know, the dock boys will be coming around offering to wax your anchor.

[bobconnie]

Connie wants to know if they come in Pink ?? LOL just messin Bob and Connie

[delmarrey]

Over the past 45 years I've used several types of coatings for various items and have found that powder coatings (PWC) do not do well on castings. Castings are porous and when being baked, they expel gas from the pours, causing the coating to bubble leaving little pin holes in the surface. This will allow salt water to enter in marine environments and de-laminate the coating from erosion.
As well any part that has abrasion or moving parts would not do well either, due to it fracturing the coating and allow salt water to get in.

I tried ceramic coating too. But it's much like the PWC's just harder, I did a set of alum. winches and have to keep them polished/waxed.

With all this said, I did do a al large cast alum hatch 32" up forward in a PWC. and it bubbled too. But I used some course scotch-brite to rough it up and painted over the PWC with a boot strip paint and so far it's held up for the past 4 years. If it gets a scratch I sand lightly and touch up with more paint. And the hinge pins I keep coated in lithium grease. So far, so good.

Any alum. parts should be hard anodized. Paint is fine as long as there's no abrasion, and PWC is debatable due to it's costs, IMHO. Steel should be galvanized and SS or bronze polished.

[cdennyb]

for what it's worth, the process of powder coating anything involved heating for a sustained amount of time, this temperature is detrimental to aluminum alloys that might have the temper taken out by that process. One thing that comes to mind are scuba tanks. Although aluminum 80 cuft tanks are usually very pretty, meaning they are powder coated, they are NOT, they are painted with epoxy coatings... because the temperature required to 'bake' the powder will remove the alloy properties of aluminum and make the tanks structurally compromised with regards to their ability to withstand the pressures of diving gases, namely up to 3000 psi in a standard 80 cu ft aluminum dive cylinder.
Although anchors and the such of course do not hold pressure (duh) and are probably not of the same alloys as dive cylinders, they are never the less in the harder alloys, affected in a negative way. Stick to galvanizing for steel, it's easier to re-do when it's time.

[Le Tour]

I have a set of davits which were powder coated about 13 years ago. They are still in good shape. However, if the powder coating is penetrated and corrosion gets ahold, forget about the powder coat. Powder coating on an anchor only makes sense if you plan on using the anchor as a bow ornament.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Bash

It's not merely powder-coated. It's powder-coated BLACK. Yeah. Which on most bottoms is going to make the anchor more difficulty to see from the surface.

The price of cool.

Next thing you know, the dock boys will be coming around offering to wax your anchor.

Some say cool, others say wank

[cwyckham]

I'd guess that just about everybody who is actually going to use the Manson Boss is going to buy the plain galvanized one for less money. It's only the super-yacht folks and people with large yachts that spend all of their time in marinas that are going to shell out for a cool looking black bow ornament that's been both galvanized and powder coated.

[James S]

If you've got the money and think it looks good then I see no reason not to get PC...If it starts to come of then get it re coated...Its cheap.
Screw the nae sayers.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by leftbrainstuff

Powder coating is wholly unsuitable for use in corrosive environments. It inhibits airflow crucial for building and maintaining the passivated oxide layer which protects aluminium and stainless steels. It also traps moisture and accelerates corrosion of all metals and rusting of ferrous materials.

It also makes inspection very difficult. I would not allow it ony part of my boat.

Just as an aside, I traded a powder-coated 24 VDC wind generator for a 12 VDC that happened to arrive uncoated.

I couldn't be happier. Now I can prime the metal with cold galvanizing paint and top it with two part in International Orange.

Would you powder coat a chisel or a tentpeg? No, it would be foolish.

An anchor is a more elaborate form of chisel or tentpeg. For the same reason I reject SS anchors for myself. Galvanized is fine, and more to the point, can be redone as needed without having to remove all the existing galvanizing.

[Celestialsailor]

Powder coating is definitely not a silver bullet. As can be seen in the photos above the charged particles are apply directly to the bare surface with no primer. I'm not sure it could even be applied over primer since it would insulate the item.

[David M]

I would not bother powder coating aluminum. I have seen too many cable winches and oceanographic equipment that was powder coated blister away. I just got done having a carousel sandblasted down to bare aluminum because most of the powder coating blistered away. One little ding and the cancer starts. This would especially be true of an aluminum anchor. Leave aluminum bare whenever and wherever you can. Aluminum oxide in air is truly the best protector of aluminum. Just don't leave aluminum submerged in an electrolyte, like seawater. And even then it does not do too badly, depending. The bottom of the keel of my boat is worn down to bare aluminum, from intentionally running into shallow water to get samples, and it is doing fine, as long as I keep up with the hull anodes.

[leftbrainstuff]

Powder coating is durable on steel in many cases where it is not immersed in an aqueous solution. Properly applied it is harder and tougher than baked enamel. Automotive components and playground equipment are two common uses where it excels.

When subjected to point loading impacts, such as experienced by anchors, then it only takes a small nick or scratch to expose bare metal. Whereas the self healing oxide coatings on aluminium and stainless repair themselves in the presence of oxygen. Galvanising, when nicked or scratched, is more durable than powder coating as it utilises cathodic protection. Cheap, clever and durable although not pretty.

[wolfenzee]

Powder coating's main advantage over galvanization is for when the anchor is being used for something other than what it was designed for...looking pretty in the marina. When it comes to holding up against coral and rock galvanization wins over powder coating hands down...but sadly too many anchors live a life where looking pretty is their main function .

[wolfenzee]

A spray can of 'rust-o-leum"type paint (which you keep handy for touch ups) would not only cost less but from the dock you couldn't tell the difference. At the boatyard here there a different quality ratings for paint jobs on boats: 3-3,5-5 and 10-10 (3 feet at 3 knots,5 feet at 5knots,etc).

[Charles1960]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Powder coating is definitely not a silver bullet. As can be seen in the photos above the charged particles are apply directly to the bare surface with no primer. I'm not sure it could even be applied over primer since it would insulate the item.

Let me say straight up most things on my boat that aren't stainless are galvanized however the powdercoater will spray a zinc rich primer if you ask for it, for aluminium chromate pretreatment will ensure the paint won't flake, once again you have to ask, even the type of paint can vary. A good job should last ten years as long as abrasions not an issue.