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Powder Coating Engine Baffles

Stockmanreef

Well Known Member
Are many people powder coating the baffles? I have read that you can rivet everything together then powder coat.

Pictures would be nice for those who have powder coated.

thanks
ken
 
If you rivet everything together I highly doubt you will be able to install it.

Some of the parts gets riveted once it is installed but there is no reason you can not test fitted, then have it powder coated then install and rivet it together.

Powder coating is a good option as it makes cleaning the bugs a bit easier but if you are doing it for rust prevention, I would not bother.
 
I agree that some finish other than bare aluminum is required. Bare aluminum looks pretty sad after a couple of years. Using powder coat however seems to be problematic.

I use PPG single stage urethane paint - same paint used for the interior, just a different color. It is amazingly durable.

Carl
 
I powdercoated mine and so far I am very happy with it. It helps I have a fairly nice powdercoating setup to do it though.
 
I painted mine with Rustoleum engine enamel that happens to match my T-bolt engine pretty well, also the red RTV. Holding up well after 1 yr/90 hrs.

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baffles

I power coat all my baffles - never an issue.

You'll have to screw together side and rear baffles however (a good thing)
 
I just installed my powder coated baffles 30 minutes ago. You can rivet together the bigger sections divided up to front/back/left/right. Do not rivet the cb-00011 as mentioned on 47-12. That will need to be done after some trimming and in place.
 
On both of my engines, I left the baffles alone.

My thinking was that in the event of a fire, I wanted fewer things painted up front that could produce toxic fumes.

In addition, baffles tend to crack over time and getting the replacement parts powder coated to match the rest of the baffles may not happen and would always drive me crazy!
 
Powder-Coated baffles -- Not

I powder-coated the baffles on my C180 about 600 hours ago, and have some experience with it. Here's what I've observed:

I used white. It collects dirt that I've been unable to clean (I don't have a power-washer and would be hesitant to use on on my airplane anyway). Right now it's no longer white - it's a dirty shade of gray.

In a couple areas, the paint is delaminating from the baffle.

As a result of these, I will not powder coat the baffles on the RV-3B I'm building. I'll either use an epoxy primer. On other parts, I've had good luck with the Stewart Systems water-based two-part epoxy primer. It's easy to spray and is tough, but I don't know if it'll get dirty like the powder-coated ones did. Or I might polish the parts instead. Haven't decided yet but I'm leaning towards polishing them.

But absolutely - no powder coat.

Dave
 
I had mine anodized! In GOLD.
They have many colors available.
Cost about 100 dollars.
I prefit/trimmed all parts and cleaned them well.
Very happy with results.
No build up. Rivet color kinda matches.
 
Powder coated mine but not sure the benefit other than they look nice and match the engine somewhat. Cheap to do at home with the powder coating gun from Eastwood and their powder. Plan B was to paint them but the powder coating is definitely a more robust coating.
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VHT Paint

I painted mine with VHT engine paint, then sprayed VHT clear coat on them and baked them in the oven - when my wife wasn't home - per the instructions. Looks great and is durable. Lots of colors to choose from and available down the street at most auto parts or home improvement stores. Also easy to repaint whenever you need to.

Just kidding about the wife. I used someone else?s oven!
 
I painted mine with rattle can engine paint (high temp) from auto zone - on all three of my builds. All of them have held up remarkably well. The oldest one is almost 20 years old. No peeling or chipping, and the color is the same as when I applied the paint (before assembly). This is an area where going overboard will never pay for itself. Spraying with rattle can paint isn?t going overboard, but it?s close....
If your name is Rick Gray, and you are going after the Oshkosh Grand Champion award (which he has done at least 3 times), then you may be able to justify the extra effort, monetarily, since you want to sell it. But unless it?s for personal pride in your remarkable effort (which I think is worthwhile), there?s no reason to go extremes in protecting your baffles. On my last RV8, on which I won an outstanding workmanship award at SNF, my baffles were painted with rattle can
engine paint before final assembly, and I removed them and reinstalled them twice after initial assembly in the first year, and they still looked like they were just painted - no damage to the painted surface. I was careful, but if I would have needed to touch something up, it would have been very easy to do.
 
Mine are home made powder-coated. I appreciate the durability of this covering to use.


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