Hello Fred,
These arguments are in no way in order of their importance. I'm just shooting from the hip.
Wet paint and powder paint both come in graduated gloss levels.
Both technologies have base/clear technologies. Some powders dictate a base /clear to arrive at a desired gloss level whereas wet paint may not.
I haven't seen much of a difference in appearance attributes, if everything is equal. (gloss, DOI, orange peel, etc.)
Powder paint tends to be more forgiving when it comes to deviating from the ideal application parameters. Runs, hits, and errors are minimized with powder.
Most of the general population is unable to process powder paint because they lack the necessary equipment. And to acquire the proper powder painting equipment does represent a significant capital investment. Leanna can attest to this.
One advantage I've seen with powder paint is you can prime, base, and clear in one operation , then bake the material. In some cases it's infinitely faster to process than wet material.
Some powder paint technologies do not require a priming operation which in all cases is more time/cost effective.
Powder paint is more durable than wet paint by a wide margin. (chip resistance, chemical resistance, mar resistance, and wear resistance)
Powder paint technologies also offer better moisture resistance which in some climates can lead to fungus with most wet paint technologies.
You do have some limitations with powder paints such as colour selection, bake temperatures, etc.
Both technologies require the same pretreatment processes. I suggest you have the bumpers sandblasted before you paint them provided they are steel.
There is many more reasons but I think you get the picture.
I personally would have them powder coated (steel bumpers only).
I hope this helps.
sscuda
