A very qualified yes. The problem is the effect of the heat used in the powdercoating process can be high enough to alter the strength of some aluminum. I would avoid powdercoating anything that is structural.
John Clark ATP, CFI
Aviator & Gearhead
FAAST Team Representative
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
I have powder coated a few of the non-structural small aluminum items. They were 1/16" thick or greater as I did not want the coating to crack if the items were allowed to flex. They also needed to be small enough to fit in the shop toaster oven. The parts have held up well, and are easy to clean.
I had a comercial shop powder coat the instrument panel as it was too big for my oven. It also turned out well and I have had no issues.
I powder coated a new .125" Piper panel with a low temp powder coat called "TIGER Drylac". It was non-structural, but the 300 deg. heat was a plus. The powders come in textured and smooth.
Yes..... we have aluminum parts coated weekly. A good powdercoater will know that they can't mix steel and aluminum parts together in the oven as the curing time will differ on different metals and/or thickness differences.
If heat is still of concern, then I recommend having your aluminum parts anodized.
I had my modified battery mount and O2 bottle mount powder coated. I told my coater the material and concern with temper and he handled it - he has done aluminum (mostly billet) for motorcycles and custom cars. It came out strong and looking beautiful. I think an instrument panel would be an excellent candidate for powder as it would be more resistant than paint to the kind of wear you'd expect and, as I recall, they can do matte or flat finish if you want.
...... I think an instrument panel would be an excellent candidate for powder as it would be more resistant than paint to the kind of wear you'd expect and, as I recall, they can do matte or flat finish if you want....
The Tucson powder coater I have used has a whole sample book of textures.
You could even match the leather texture in your seats, or have a nice vinyl texture like the dash on your car.
