Countersunk panel and powdercoating

[erich weaver]

For better or worse, I countersunk the holes for the mounting screws on my panel. I want to get some color on the panel soon, and am not sure how to best deal with the countersunk holes. If I have the panel powdercoated, the paint on the countersunk holes will probably make it so my mounting screws are no longer flush with the panel. Will I be able to touch up the holes after powdercoating using my microstop countersink without chipping the surrounding paint? The other alternative would be to make the countersinks slightly too deep BEFORE powder coating, but I dont think this will be accurate enough. Any tips for me? Maybe go another route than powdercoating?

thanks

erich weaver

[TX7A]

Put some sacrificial screws in the holes before powder coating...just a thought.

[erich weaver]

yeah, thought of that, but figured that removal of the sacrificial screws would probably chip up the powdercoating, no?

erich

[G-force]

If its done right (not too thick) you should be able to countersink afterwards to clean it up. You might expose a "halo" of raw material around the screw head if you have countersunk them too deep. With proper prep (usualy sand blasting or bead blasting) powdercoat should not chip. Or over countersink so that the screw head takes into account the thickness of the powdercoat. Have the shop shoot some countersunk samples for you to gauge how thick they lay it on.

[JonathanCook]

Here is an untested idea. Countersike after powder coating.

[jcoloccia]

The guy applying your powder coat should have plugs designed for masking countersinks (or holes, or protecting threads, etc).