Best practice for preserving powder coat finish

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I am going to put a bull bar and some auxiliary lighting on my new Ford Explorer. Not only does the black powder coated one look better than the polished stainless steel one for my color Explorer, it is also less expensive too. Here's the deal though. The SS one would be relatively easy to maintain and has a lifetime warranty. I think the black one has a 3 or 4 year warranty and I have seen powder coating eventually flake off things like lawn furniture, etc. Does anyone recommend an especially good care technique and/or product for making the finish last as long as possible? Thanks in advance for your advice.
 
Powdercoating is just as strong as paint, if not moreso. Shoddy powdercoating jobs will indeed chip and flake.

I would just care for it as you do any other painted surface.
 
Use the same sealant you use on your paint. Top off with spray wax often. Pay close attention to mounting brackets/bolts. That's typically where the start chipping. I once had Westin nrf bars that started chipping after the first winter. The stainless bars aren't worth it unless you prefer the look. The brackets/mount hardware are the same (non-stainless) as used on black items.
 
Depends on the cure and the paint used. It will indeed chip, moreso if the paint was overcured by the OEM. Keep it clean, sealed and touch up any chips as soon as you notice them and it will last a long time. I've seen outdoor furniture go 25+years without chipping. Depending on the type of powder (nylon is the most chip resistant) there are varing degrees of chip resistance. If the pull bar is from a quality manufacturer, then the coating should stand up well.

In a past life, I worked for a large, non-captive, custom coater. When we did front bumpers, we laid down a coat of powder anti-chip primer over e-coat and the an acrylic powder top coat. Tested adhesion using a shot blast and we never had a fail to substrate. Very expensive process but lasts a long time.
 
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