I am doing a restoration on my Dr. Dude and am going to powder coat the ramps and external metal (rails, legs, coin door... etc). There is a guy that specializes in pinball powder coating on Pinside and seems to really know his stuff. That being said there are a few really highly rated powder coating companies right here in Appleton near me.
On one hand, i think incurring extra cost might be worth it going with the pinball specialist. On the other hand the local might be just as good. curious of everyone's opinion... local or ship it out? i was going to make a poll but eh.
Powder coating opinion
Re: Powder coating opinion
I have done both.
If you can find a local with attention to detail and willing to listen and work with you then it is better IMHO.
You will need to walk through specific details about pinball. For example if you are doing the door then tolerances for open/closing need to be kept in mind and lots of thread blocking will need to be done in some areas.
Shipping to a pinball guy is great because they understand all that.
If you are getting more sophisticated with 2 part or texture/vein and then translucent overlays, then my experience is that a good local auto guy is often better then a pinball guy as that is more common on bikes/cars.
Basic powder is just all about prep. Make sure they are doing the prep and local is nice.
Order your powders direct from Prismatic. You can also get free sample swatches shipped that are pretty good.
Good luck and post up pics.
If you can find a local with attention to detail and willing to listen and work with you then it is better IMHO.
You will need to walk through specific details about pinball. For example if you are doing the door then tolerances for open/closing need to be kept in mind and lots of thread blocking will need to be done in some areas.
Shipping to a pinball guy is great because they understand all that.
If you are getting more sophisticated with 2 part or texture/vein and then translucent overlays, then my experience is that a good local auto guy is often better then a pinball guy as that is more common on bikes/cars.
Basic powder is just all about prep. Make sure they are doing the prep and local is nice.
Order your powders direct from Prismatic. You can also get free sample swatches shipped that are pretty good.
Good luck and post up pics.
