Hugh,

I spoke with a local world known Bugatti restorer (he currently has
2 of Leno's cars) about this. We agreed that powder coating has it's
place. In the case of the shrouds and seat tracks, I would advise
against it. The shrouds do not rust fast enough to warrant it or the
expense of stainless. The flexing of them also will not work well with
powder coatings. Powder coats are not flexible and thus, any flexing
due to vibrations or during installation and removal will certainly
crack the coating creating a place for corrosion and constant
chipping.

The thickness of the powder coats will also create fitment problems
with the seat tracks as it did with the engine mount plates. When
installed it hit the top edge of the crankshaft causing the motor to
appear frozen up. Once I removed the coverplate once again and removed
the coating, it was fine. The powder coating also was in the threads
and holes which needed to be re-tapped and removed from the holes to
install the bolts. Paint would not have created this problem.

My advice would be to use a quality paint over a properly prepped
surface. That will eliminate interferance and cracking problems and
reproduce the correct finish. Quality paint will provide many years of
trouble free service to any car that has even minimal care as well as
being more cost effective.



John Bevins
Rocky Mountain Amphicar




        
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