[dfrank]

I would go with paint. Reason being if a section of powder coating chips and then starts to flake off you have to remove everything from the frame and get it redone. If it is painted then you can just touch it up. What i would recommend is what i am doing with mine which is get the frame galvanized but not quenched afterwards then paint it. That way it will NEVER rust.

I deal with powder coating a lot with the handrails or company makes and it works good, but it is just easier to touch up paint.