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Would there be any electrical issues if a grounding point had a bolt welded and powder-coated or is it better to drill a hole, weld a nut to the frame and then powder-coated?

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If there is no metal to metal contact, there is no ground. That applies to both of your scenarios. The powder-coating will act as an insulator. Personally, I would drill the hole in the frame, install a bolt through the hole. Powder-coat that so that there is a bare spot under the head of the bolt that doesn't get covered. Then use that bolt to install your ground so it is pretty.

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  • I would add that I'd coat the bolt's shaft and underside of its head with petroleum jelly before putting it in, so that where it contacts the frame the jelly would prevent the powder-coating from infiltrating. It would also help lubricate the bolt to get it back out for installing the ground.
    – Monty Harder
    Apr 4, 2016 at 19:44
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You could run a tap through the bolt after powder coating

You could add a step to your process.

After everything is complete.

  • Nut welded to frame

  • Complete Powder coating

Run a tap through the nut to clear out any powder coating in the threads so you have good metal to metal contact with your grounding bolt. The tap should not have any negative effect on the nut, it should just clear out any powder coating that got powder coating sprayed into the threads and baked in.

That way, you will have good metal to metal contact for your new ground.

Image of a tap

enter image description here

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  • I thought about the tap approach but then wonder how would you prevent rust on an exposed metal part? Over time the exposed metal could rust then cause electrical grounding issues.
    – Hᴇʀʙɪᴇ
    Apr 4, 2016 at 16:17
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    The bolt inside of the threads will protect them a bit. You could hit the bottom of the bolt and nut with some touch up paint where the nut and bolt would be exposed to getting water in between the threads....
    – DucatiKiller
    Apr 4, 2016 at 16:19
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    You could also put some dielectric grease on the exposed metal
    – Mobius
    Apr 4, 2016 at 16:34
  • It should be noted, proper powder coating technique usually involves putting heat resistant silicone plugs into holes before the powder is applied so the threads don't have to be chased after the fact. I had looked into coating and anodizing as a way to make some extra money. The wife sort of put a kibosh to that before it ever got started.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Apr 4, 2016 at 19:40

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