Anyone new to the world of powder coating needs to internalize one fundamental truth: yes, powder coating is durable…but it is not indestructible. If you repeatedly hit a powder coated surface with a hammer, it will eventually chip.
This may come as a sad revelation to those who had hoped for a bullet-proof coating solution, but it’s ultimately not that surprising. With a little bit of education, new customers quickly adjust their expectations – they realize that, like most affordable finishing options, powder coating needs to be treated with some respect in order to stay pristine.
This is particularly true during the shipping process. I’ve spent years preaching the importance of proper packaging. My old blogs on this topic are all variations on a single theme: powder coated parts need proper packaging, because powder coating is not indestructible.
And yet, to this day, I still see regular Kaser customers throw powder coated parts into their pickup truck beds without securing them. Is it because those customers STILL think their part is coated in a magical, diamond-strength material? Surely not. They know better by now.
I think the real problem is this: customers underestimate the roughness of the road, and overestimate the smoothness of their rides.
From your spot in the driver’s seat, it may appear as though the trip home is an effortless glide. Your truck – pickup or otherwise – is designed to ensure that experience for its driver. Your body, being soft and not made of metal, also easily absorbs, adjusts to, and corrects for turns, bumps, and minor shocks.
The bed of your truck is a different world. Whether you’re driving a pickup, a trailer hitched to a vehicle, or an air-ride equipped freight truck, I guarantee that you’d be amazed to discover just how much motion goes on back there. Your parts will slide. They will bounce. They will crash into one another, and because they’re made of metal, each and every impact has the potential to leave a mark.
So while you may be a savvy, educated powder coating consumer with a firm grasp on the coating’s properties and limitations, it’s possible that you have not considered the roughness of the road down which you’re driving. Your truck, though it may be comfortable for you, is not designed to tenderly cradle its cargo. Whether you’re driving down the block or out of state, your parts are in for a torturous experience, one that only proper packaging can mitigate.
In short: the road is rougher than you think it is, so proper packaging is more important than you think it is.
