Can anyone let me know the Pro's and Con's of powder coating suspension and chassis components. I am also curious if there are any rules against powder coating parts on car for drag racing?
I can see powder coating on components that will never get modified but don't see where it would be an advantage on a chassis that you may be making modifications on while you get it sorted out. Paint you can touch up, powder coating you can't except to spray some paint on it.
No IHRA or NHRA rules against it. One drawback that I can think of is anything with a bore or threads will need to be re-bored or run a tap or die threw it. The tolerences change from the thickness of the coating. Some of this can be cured by using the special tape that is available to mask off these particular areas.
I do it all the time myself. Fast, cheap, and durable. I would not even thinking of painting them now.
I think NHRA restricts painted chassis in certain classes, but I sure see many sportsman cars with painted chassis. My impression was the question was focused on a regular tradition rod that woould be driven on the street, not a top fueler...
We are painting less and less and powder coating more and more. I see no downside personally. When we paint stuff we have to prep the parts, buy the supplies, mix it all up, drag out our spray equipment, and then clean it all up when done. With powder coating we drop it off, they sandblast it, and a week later we pick up nice shiny parts that are ready to install. I also think the surface is tougher and you can get a bunch of different colors and sheens. Our guy takes time to plug holes and threads, but we still run a tap through them before assembly. We are also finding that costwise there isn't really much difference between painting and powder coating. With paint and primer prices rising it makes powder coating very reasonable by comparision. Last job we had done was 46 pieces, including a frame and rear axle assembly, and the cost was only about $ 1200.00. Don
One thing you need to consider is whether or not you want any flaws in the surface to show.....Powder coating is, basically speaking, just an electrostatically (sp) applied baked paint job. Very durable, tough and an excellant way to coat parts, but it isn't going to hide underlying problems or flaws in the base metal. It does not cover or hide any casting marks, pitting, or deep scratches/gouges, etc in the surface. If the parts your going to have coated are visible and the goal is to have them look like a finished paint job they'll need to be metal finished.
Anything that will fit in the size of 2 house ovens or less, I powder myself and save a ton of money.
Rich is right, if you want a show finish on parts you either need to grind and polish them smooth, or use a high temp filler and work it just like doing body work. On the frame we had done my Son used Tiger Drylac EPO Strong filler and sanded it smooth. It doesn't sand as easily as regular body filler, but it isn't affected by the 400 degree temps of the oven. We are going to look into the low temp powdercoating process for the Capri and Mustang my Sons are doing now. They were thinking of having the roll cages powder coated and with the low temp stuff they can wheel the whole car into the booth and spray just the cage. We still have some research to do on that subject though. Don
I agree with Don's Hot Rods. Rarely do I paint anymore. My guys is right around the corner and gets my stuff in and out in a day or two. I schedule the job and we get it in and out. I think he is cheaper than painting. For a chassis I think matt black is best and looks close to chassis paint if you want that. Keep in mind if you get fancy with metalics and the like you may have to shoot a clear powder on top to make it UV stable. That costs more since it is another trip to the oven after it is cleaned. I keep it simple most of the time, matt black for the chassis, gloss black for some components and a specific silver for some detail parts. He keeps my own powder in storage so just like paint it matches from job to job.
Thanks for the info. I am looking at powdercoating some of the suspension parts and at a later date the frame on my 38 gasser pickup. It will see some track time as well as local shows.
On my smaller stuff, I found a free house oven on craigslist, bough a Harbor Frieght gun when it was on sale, and am VERY pleased with the results. I even figured out a way to powder ghost flames.
I was talking with a powder coating shop at a swap meet recently and he led me to believe there is now a "bondo" filler type material that can be used to fill rust pits or whatever. Anyone seen this or have a brand name? The guy with the shop was not willing to volunteer the info.
I would do it for a car I was building for a client. In that case it needs to look great on the day they take it away. It is quick, easy and cheap. Ideal when the client will never do any alterations to the car, will not drive it very far or will never drive it in adverse weather when there is, perhaps, salt on the roads For a car that I planned to amend and alter from time to time, that I will keep for a long time, that will be driven hard and often then it will be epoxy primer, overcoated with 2 pack. Alternatively, a zinc rich primer and a coach paint like tekaloyd applied with a brush. I'm starting to prefer the latter - it is mistaken for powdercoat when applied correctly and the last O/T car I did with it has won national awards for finish and style.
If it's something that needs regular inspection for cracking or other flaws, you probably don't want to powdercoat. Otherwise...yeah, whenever possible, but make sure you're REALLY done with the metalwork or you'll be doing it over again. Like I am with my '64 Ford frame...
Yep, there are several. One is the one we used, Tiger Drylac EPO Strong, and the other is Lab Metal (or something similar) They withstand the 400 oven heat whereas normal bondo types won't. However, they DO NOT sand as easily as bondo, you will be wearing out some sandpaper and your right arm will look like Popeye when you get done. Even machine sanding is not all that easy, but the end results are worth the effort. This frame and other pieces were powder coated black after smoothing with the Drylac stuff. We did have a little fiasco on the first go round though. The powder coater talked my Son into doing all 46 pieces in black and then putting a clear top coat over it all. We did it and as we were assembling the car we kept hearing cracking sounds as we tightened fasteners. Turned out they waited too long to put the clear on and it could be peeled off with your fingers once it cracked. But the powder coater guy stood behind it all and took everything back to bare metal and redid it again........this time with NO clear. It is holding up really well, even on the springs that flex. Don
Looks like the only way to buy the Tiger Drylac EPO is thru the manufacturers web site: http://www.tiger-coatings.us/index.php?id=1295 Found this info about usage of the products as fillers: http://www.powder365.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4436 I have used the AllMetal filler and it dries tough as nails but is very hard to sand. I bought it at a local NAPA store in the auto body filler section. Thanks for the info!
I just powder coated everything for my race car. Seats, wheel tubs, sheetmetal, trans tunnel....basically anything that wasnt welded to the car. then I had PPG mix a colot that matches the powder coat, when parts are next to each other you cant tell which is painted or powder coated.
Powder coating is great, but you have to be careful with the heat. This especially applies to stressed aluminum parts, like wheels. In the worst case, mis-management of heat while applying or removing powder coating from aluminum can result in cracked wheels or suspension components, and a nasty crash. Some reading material: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/pors...17-powder-coating-forged-aluminum-wheels.html
We use Devcon to fill the pits and imperfections in the parts. There may be some color difference where the product was applied but it is hardly noticeable. Painting is far more expensive in our area than powder coating. My friend even had his new Brookville body powder coated and it came out nice.
My experinece with powder coat is limited, however on handrails Ive had done in the past I wasnt satisfied. It could have been the shop more likely. Paint I can driblle into a hidden area if I need to or apply with a brush in the cracks and crevices on chassis. [hidden areas in or behind crossmembers]
Rubber plugs for bolt holes. High temp tape is available from many places. I deal with powder coat for work with many vendors. Small shops can be sketchy until they get the proper equipment to clean and bake. I'm powder coating my frame. Looking for a used oven to do small stuff myself
I definitely would not roll-the-dice by baking an aluminum suspension or load bearing part. Several of the alloys turn to peanut butter when annealed, then there is the over-aging mentioned above in precip hardening alloys..
You will have no problems powder coating your suspension parts. Powder coating is durable, chemical resistant, impact resistant and extremely flexible. We coat coil and leaf springs without a problem. As far as annealing is concerned, I have been powder coating for the public for the past 10 years, if parts are cured properly,ie 400 degrees for 10 mins once the substrate reaches temp, there will be no problem.
I'm a materials engineer by training. PristinePC makes clear the concerns of issues in powder coating quality. As to the substrate alloy, each of us has some reading to do prior to heat curing a finished component, or a part. In steels I would be less concerned to raise this issue. Engineers typically have to investigate to see if processes will introduce behaviors undesired. Trans: Ahh... looks like it twisted, bent, broke. There may, or may not, be an issue. It would likely depend upon temp level reached and time-at-temp.
Depending on how bad the frame is there are a couple options my powdercoater recommends JB weld works great and they use it all the time. For light filling they lay on some powder coat primer which can be sanded and then powdercoater whatever top color you want
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