Dennis, thanks for the welcome. Mine are so far gone, there's no way I could have ever figured out they were ever gloss black. My 147 practically has light years on it, which I only know because it came with all of the original papers, and the previous owner from 1978 until his passing in 1993 was meticulous in his record keeping, if not a little OCD about it. (Original engine rebuilt three times while he owned it, and then a Kohler factory engine was installed in the early 90's to the tune of $3K parts and labour. Yikes!)
Bedliner coating? Genius! I do like that idea. And that Eastwood system you have is a decent little hobby gun from what I have heard. A little tough to shoot multiple coats with, but that's all you really need most of the time. By the way, i am with KENtuckyKEN - build a bigger oven. You know... Something big enough to hang a frame in should do the trick.
KENtuckyKEN, KCA is just fine. As for the wear factor, well, I don't have personal experience with that, yet. At least, not with this particular powder, as it is new to the market. Generally speaking, powder coating has a very high abrasion resistance. It will eventually wear smooth enough to not be grippy any more, but how long that will take isn't something I can answer at this time. According to the manufacturer's best guess, it will outlast a lawn mower using it in the same application... Will it outlast an IH Cub Cadet? I doubt it, but hey, it should last a good long time!
Now why do I feel as if people are hinting at me to start a thread in the Machine Shop? Heh. Okay, okay... I will look in to it. Maybe make it a sort of Q&A thread?
