A cementitious composite article incorporating a powder coating on at least one surface is provided. The composite article includes a surface treatment adapted to facilitate application of the powder coating onto the article. The surface treatment can include modifications to surface porosity, surface, and/or application of a sealer to the surface so as to make the cementitious surface more conducive to powder coating. One method of manufacturing the cementitious composite article includes first applying a sealer coating to a surface of a fiber cement substrate, partially curing the substrate to a gel-like state, applying a powder coating to the article, processing the article to a curing device in which the powder coating and sealer coating are co-cured to form a hardened film.