Everything I've had done is holding up great. It all depends on who does it. It's the same with our situation, hacks crawl out of the woodwork saying they can powder coat. I've used two places in Nashville. First one is great, does fine work but sandblasting is an extra charge and typically would not do it. The new guy I use sandblasts everything, better surface for the powder to adhere to, mill scale removed gives a smoother finish. Then he washes it with a solution of some sort then does a double coat of powder. I try to get everything done so all I have to do is install it without onsite welding. I used a local place a little over a year ago, a machine shop that also does powder coating that did two jobs for me. After a year and a half the entire cap of powder peeled off like a banana on one job. I had a strip about 6 feet long! The caprail was rusted pretty bad. Had everything sandblasted and redone at my expense. After thinking about looking around their shop I remembered not seeing anyplace to clean the steel, the other two guys have wash bays, these guys had nothing. After talking to my guys they said it was most likely due to improper cleaning and they had oil on the steel when the powder coated it.

The stuff done by the other guys though, the professionals, is holding up fine and I'm sure my clients would have called and given me an ear full if it was not! I've seen powder that was over 20 years old. Faded, but old and still holding. When done right with professional powder it will last a long time.