Paint options CTX tube frame

[craig]

Well CTX nearly has a refurbished tube frame. Ya aa.....
It has been at the engineers for nearly 6 months. The frame was sand blasted and etch primed about 4 months ago but has taken this long to get the repairs done. However I am not happy with the etch priming as the frame was poorly cleaned down after blasting. Consequently there is grit in corners etc.
I think the best option is to get it reblasted and start fresh rather than attempting further coats over this surface.
It has been suggested we get it powder coated, but I wonder if a more conventional paint system may produce a more long term robust coating. What do the experts on the forum think?

[Bruce]

Powdercoating is a popular way to treat tube fuselage frames these days, but as always the key thing is the quality of the job. The big thing is what corrosion protection is used and how soon after blasting the paint is reapplied. A key advantage is with the powdercoat going on hot, there is less chance of moisture pockets in the joint clusters etc. In reality however there isn't much to choose between a good 2 pot paint job and a good powdercoat job. If you chose a paint finish however, take it to someone with a proper booth and ideally an electrostatic spray system - that way you can be sure coverage is even and effective. You may wish to consider what protection is inside the tubes too - it is quite common to drill a small hole in members to inject fish oil or other corrosion preventative and weld up the holes before painting. you spoil the finish of you do this after painting so do this before your final blast and paint / powdercoat.