Paint, Powder coat or Wrap

So I received my panel inserts from Stein yesterday and after calming myself down with the fantastic job they did cutting them out started thinking on how best to finish them.
Initially I thought to have them powder coated but then started thinking about wrapping them in vinyl. Painting is also an option but I really want them to be blemish free.
Whichever route I decide the finish will be matte and dark.

What have others done?

Here's a pic of one of the panels and yes I made airplane noises while sitting in front of the screen.

Do it

Powdercoat is definitely the way to go. Portions of panel are high wear and paint won't last.

I used an extremely fine texture no gloss powder coat and am very pleased with the way it looks. I used a medium dark gray color. The only issue with texture is if you decide to stencil lettering, it won't appear a crisp as a smooth surface. Since I don't have any lettering on my main panels, that is not an issue for me.

I like powder coat. But another option is having them dipped. If you want a pattern (like a carbon-fiber weave or wood grain), then dipping is the way to go. I did this for the NACA inlets in my RV and the look is fantastic. As for durability, this technique has been used on car and motorcycle parts for a while. More recently, I found it being used on custom controllers for game consoles. I have a controller that has been used for over a year with a wood-grain pattern on it; I've worn the matte finish a little shiny but the grain pattern is not worn through. If anything, it looks like real wood after long handling.

What about hard-coat anodizing?

I'll be the contrarian.

I use the same PPG single stage paint for the panel as I do the rest of the interior (just a darker shade of gray). The paint is exceptionally wear resistant. I've had a lot of people ask me where I got it powder coated and were surprised when I told them it was painted.

One piece of advise I give people is to assume you will modify your panel. On my first plane the panel got updated four times in 13 years. On the RV-10 the first panel lasted 18 months before I changed things around based on the test period.

Using paint makes panel mods easy - you just buy another $25 piece of aluminum, cut some holes and paint.

Carl

I did base + clear coat on my panel inserts to match the rest of the interior. For the carbon fiber panel, I just had it clear coated. So far, the base+clear for the panel inserts has held up quite well over the last 16 months (~125 hours).

We do a lot of these, and all of the aformentioned options have been and are used by our shop....except for wrapping. Patrick and others can attest (and our own long term experience) that isn't always a great option at least in my own opinion.

Sometimes we paint them with a urethane, sometimes we powder coat and sometimes we dip them; all can and will work well depending on your desired color, outcome, texture, labeling, finish, etc...

Cheers,
Stein