Drilling through powder-coat

[oosik]

Strange - what different manufacturers do. My Land Pride grapple is powder coated. Scrapes are touched up with rattle can and seem to be OK. My Rhino rear blade is painted with a premium automotive paint. After five years - no touchup required on the rear blade.

Both have seen service in heavy brush areas.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Proper preparation is important for any paint. My limited experience powder coat seems to be a major pain in the rear to prep it for new paint if it has started to loose its bond. Regular paint is a pain also, but way less of a pain if it starts to loose it bond. Time might change my outlook, but so far I will prefer paint.

 

[fried1765]

Proper preparation is important for any paint. My limited experience powder coat seems to be a major pain in the rear to prep it for new paint if it has started to loose its bond. Regular paint is a pain also, but way less of a pain if it starts to loose it bond. Time might change my outlook, but so far I will prefer paint.

Powder coat looks so nice when it is new!
But ......it is a PIA when it begins to chip, and flake off......and it will!
Two part marine type epoxy paint is the best.
No manufacturer uses it....but I do.
It can get scratched, but it will not chip.

 

[flyerdan]

Proper prep work is key to a good powder coat job. They used to use a chemical wash, but that would often result in the large sheets flaking off that many here have undoubtedly experienced. Sandblasting and getting it right into the booth after flashing gives a good even bond. The powder has gotten better as well, they've developed polyurethanes and epoxy based primers for marine applications, and we can all agree that that is a pretty hostile environment for metals.
To the original question, if you have to drill into the coated part, feather it back so there won't be any edges or sharp corners, then rattle can with the appropriate touch up.