I recently built a squat rack and need to put some kind of coating on it and I don't have access to powder coating. Can anyone suggest something that can be shot with a gun that would be just as tough or similar to powder coat? Thanks

Uhhh.....powder coat is a thermosetting or thermoplastic polymer process. Kind of hard to compete with the stuff but hey, this is gym equipment so it's not going to be outside, under thermal stress, have brake fluid dumped on it, etc......so I'd probably do base/clear on it. I mean, you could just as well use single stage urethane but my thought would be that if you did base/clear you'd probably just chip the clear coat which you could easily repair. A chip in single stage is probably going to go down to primer/bare metal...... I've got a large steel office furniture recycler near me and they have been using base/clear on most of their stuff now....again easier for them to repair if damaged.

I did mine with black epoxy, reduced it just a little so it would go on real smooth and not to thick with 2 coats. being inside out of the uv's it stayed the satin black for about 3 years that I had it.
Jay D.

DarrelK wrote:Uhhh.....powder coat is a thermosetting or thermoplastic polymer process. Kind of hard to compete with the stuff but hey, this is gym equipment so it's not going to be outside, under thermal stress, have brake fluid dumped on it, etc......so I'd probably do base/clear on it. I mean, you could just as well use single stage urethane but my thought would be that if you did base/clear you'd probably just chip the clear coat which you could easily repair. A chip in single stage is probably going to go down to primer/bare metal...... I've got a large steel office furniture recycler near me and they have been using base/clear on most of their stuff now....again easier for them to repair if damaged.

not to jump off subject but

thermoset = powder coat, 2k auto clear, 2k primer thinks that solvent can not melt after crosslinking
thermo plastic = Lacquers etc thinks that solvent can melt ofter drying


but to answer the OP question, anchor paint, amercoat those 2 come to mind

Not me saying that.....

Powder coating
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Powder coating is a type of coating that is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The main difference between a conventional liquid paint and a powder coating is that the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form. The coating is typically applied electrostatically and is then cured under heat to allow it to flow and form a "skin". The powder may be a thermoplastic or a thermoset polymer. It is usually used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint. Powder coating is mainly used for coating of metals, such as household appliances, aluminum extrusions, drum hardware and automobile and bicycle parts. Newer technologies allow other materials, such as MDF (medium-density fibreboard), to be powder coated using different methods. The powder coating process was invented around 1945 by Daniel Gustin US Patent 2538562.

yeah buddy was just explaining the differences for the OP

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm gonna look into all of them.

Dave, that's what I used Amercoat 235 its a good industrial marine epoxy works excilent over light rust. its heavy bodied and will need reduced to spray out of an automotive spray gun mek or lacquer thinner works. I have shot literly hundreds of gallons of that stuff out of an airless.
Jay D.

badsix wrote:Dave, that's what I used Amercoat 235 its a good industrial marine epoxy works excilent over light rust. its heavy bodied and will need reduced to spray out of an automotive spray gun mek or lacquer thinner works. I have shot literly hundreds of gallons of that stuff out of an airless.
Jay D.

yeah their epoxy is something else to spray but Amercoat is amazing stuff