Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arms?

[tdskip]

What do you think guys? This is for an MGA...

Thanks!

 

[WA1KWA]

Personally, I love powder coating. It has all kinds of advantages, like durability & what I think is a nice finish.

BUT.

I guess you have to ask yourself what you are after. Nice driver? Near as possible to original?

Your car, your choice. Guess I would powder coat, because I'd be driving it.

Colin

 

[tdskip]

Hi Colin - thanks for the fast response.

She will (hopefully) be a high end driver.

Any down side to powder coating other than cost?

 

[Scott_Hower]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

Hi Colin - thanks for the fast response.

She will (hopefully) be a high end driver.

Any down side to powder coating other than cost?

Not really.

Powder is tough as nails; you'll need to chase any threads and/or plug holes.

I had the engine bay bits on my MGB powder coated and they still look great 10 years later.

UV exposure might be an issue long term, but the durability is worth it IMO.

 

[Steve_S]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

Personally... POR 15. All my underbody parts are coated in it. Tougher than powdercoat, but a lot more work to apply.

 

[Scott_Hower]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

POR 15.... Tougher than powdercoat, but a lot more work to apply.

I beg to disagree.

Professional powder coat applied to a properly prepared substrate is pretty much bulletproof. I'm not talking about the Eastwood DIY kit, but a pro shop that specializes in powdercoating.

And the same surface prep is required for both.

 

[dklawson]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

Or at least nearly the same preparation is required. Both powder and POR benefit from a rough surface to adhere to.

Your point about pro vs DIY powder coating brings up a good point concerning which system to choose. If you have the funds to have a pro powder coat your suspension parts, I'm sure you'll be happy with the results. If you are doing this on a budget and have the time to prepare the parts yourself, POR covered with chassis black will give you very good results for a bit less money. BUT, it won't be quick.

 

[Scott_Hower]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

If you are doing this on a budget and have the time to prepare the parts yourself, POR covered with chassis black will give you very good results for a bit less money. BUT, it won't be quick.

Well, time is money and everyone has a budget.

There's a local RediStrip and pro powder shop in my area. I did the math and decided to hand the parts over to a pro for refinishing. I negotiated a deal with them to do a whole batch of parts at once (same color), which saved a fair amount over the piecemeal cost.

 

[tdskip]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

Thanks guys - I think powder coating is where I'm headed.

Maybe I can sweet talk them into giving me a deal if I bring them the roll bars I scored this weekend. (3 TR sets for under a $100!)

Thanks!

 

[Scott_Hower]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

Thanks guys - I think powder coating is where I'm headed.

Maybe I can sweet talk them into giving me a deal if I bring them the roll bars I scored this weekend. (3 TR sets for under a $100!)

Thanks!

A fair amount of the "per piece" labor cost is setup; tell them what you have and make an offer. They'll deal, especially if you want a bone stock color, like medium gloss black. So long as their oven is large enough to take it all at once, you'll be Ok.

I should probably add... I work for a global manufacturer of these specialty chemical materials - we have an outside lab that tests them for durability for years.

 

[tdskip]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

Thanks Scott

 

[Kimberly]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

The parts manager where I use to work would send parts out to be powdered coated. He found a local business that made mail boxes and they would just put the parts on their powder coating line. It would sometimes take up to two months to get the parts coated in order to save costs by waiting to put the parts on the line when they were coating the color he wanted.

 

[Steve_S]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

I beg to disagree.
Professional powder coat applied to a properly prepared substrate is pretty much bulletproof. I'm not talking about the Eastwood DIY kit, but a pro shop that specializes in powder coating.
And the same surface prep is required for both.

Actually, the two bond to the metal by different means and therefore require different prep. More prep is required for POR15 than powder coating. For the best adhesion of powder coat, sand blasting is done and then the parts coated immediately to bare, roughened metal. POR15 adheres best to a surface which has been blasted and the acid etched, which allows flash rust to occur. This flash rust helps the POR15 bond with the metal.

I have been powder coating parts for the past 15 years, using the best shop in my area. For the past three years I have been using POR15 products on many of my parts. I can say with absolute certainty that POR15 is tougher than powder coat, and prevents rust far better than powder coat. Both are good, but powder coat will chip and scratch easier than POR15.

The biggest advantage of powder coat is that you drop off a dirty part and pick up a beautiful one. With POR15, you spend a couple days coating the parts yourself after cleaning and preferably blasting.

Another advantage of POR15 is that you can easily touch it up should you manage to ding it, and even if you don't touch it up, rust will not be able to penetrate the bond between paint and metal. You cannot touch-up powder coat unless you use regular paint, which leaves that spot less durable.

I use POR15 on parts that will see severe abuse such as suspension, axles, etc, and for parts that need maximum rust protection such as fuel tanks. I use powder coat for engine bay parts, interior bits, etc. I use spray for things that will need to be touched up or re-coated such as engines, valve covers, soldered radiators, etc.

 

[tdskip]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

Good point about being able to touch up with paint...

 

[Scott_Hower]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

I beg to disagree.
Professional powder coat applied to a properly prepared substrate is pretty much bulletproof. I'm not talking about the Eastwood DIY kit, but a pro shop that specializes in powder coating.
And the same surface prep is required for both.

Actually, the two bond to the metal by different means and therefore require different prep. more prep is required for POR15 than powder coating. For the best adhesion of powder coat, sand blasting is done and then the parts coated immediately to bare, roughened metal. POR15 adheres best to a surface which has been blasted and the acid etched, which allows flash rust to occur. This flash rust helps the POR15 bond with the metal.

I have been powder coating parts for the past 15 years, using the best shop in my area. For the past three years I have been using POR15 products on many of my parts. I can say with absolute certainty that POR15 is tougher than powder coat, and prevents rust far better than powder coat. Both are good, but powder coat will chip and scratch easier than POR15.

The biggest advantage of powder coat is that you drop off a dirty part and pick up a beautiful one. With POR15, you spend a couple days coating the parts yourself after cleaning and preferably blasting.

Another advantage of POR15 is that you can easily touch it up should you manage to ding it, and even if you don't touch it up, rust will not be able to penetrate the bond between paint and metal. You cannot touch-up powder coat unless you use regular paint, which leaves that spot less durable.

I use powder coat on parts that won't see severe abuse such as suspension, axles, etc, and for parts that need maximum rust protection such as fuel tanks. I use powder coat for engine bay parts, interior bits, etc. I use spray for things that will need to be touched up or re-coated such as engines, valve covers, soldered radiators, etc.

I'm not going to get into a p!ssing contest with you Steve, but I disagree with several statements above which pretty much parrot the POR-15 sales literature. And I fail to see why the biggest advantage of powder entails buying someone else's labor - it's a superior coating.

I've used POR-15, and it's Ok. Long term, powder is a better coating.

Like I said, I work for a global manufacturer of coatings/resins/epoxies and I know what goes into this stuff. But I guess that doesn't matter, because you have an opinion.

 

[Steve_S]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

Didn't mean to "p!ss" you off Scott, I'm just stating my experiences with various coatings. There is no need to insult me regarding my statements, and no I didn't "parrot the POR15 sales literature". I would enjoy you showing me where I quoted anyone.

Obviously you're far more opinionated and passionate about coatings than me and that's fine. I don't care what I use so long as it's the best coating for my intended application. I don't like doing things twice! At the risk of further trying your sense of calm (which is not intended).. the fact that you work for a coatings company does not mean you know better than I do what coating has worked best underneath my cars. Over the past few years of using both, I've found POR15 to be tougher, more rust resistant and easier to touch up than powder coat when applied to suspension parts.

As for your failure to understand why I feel powder coat's biggest advantage is ease of restoration, I suppose you have a different view on value of time and effort than I do. Being able to inexpensively pay someone to powder coat parts is a huge advantage over POR15 in my opinion. For me, spending a hundred bucks and two 20 minutes trips to the powder coat shop is better than spending many, many hours over two or three days hand painting parts. That's what is best for me, and that's what Tom asked for in his original post.

I prefer powder coating over all other types of coating due to an overall combination of cost, ease of restoration, appearance and durability. But it isn't the best coating for every application, nor is POR15 the best for every application (and it isn't much cheaper than powder coat!).

 

[Stewart]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

From my experience powdered coated items are great until the surface is broken. Once that happens rust will spread from the chip and undermine the powder coating. The bumper and rock sliders on my truck was originaly powder coated and looked great but once the rock chips started the rusting began and it spread quickly under the powder coat and started to come off in bigger and bigger section. When someone else's insurance company volunteered to repaint my front bumper I had it painted and its held up quite a bit better. I went ahead and por'd the sliders and they have held up better though the por is fading as its exposed to direct sunlight.

Powder coate is great stuff but if it was me I would skip the suspension bits as the road environment is pretty harsh even in socal.

 

[Steve_S]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

Stewart, regular POR15 is UV-sensitive. It needs to be top-coated if it will be exposed to sunlight, even if reflected. The top coat isn't quite as durable as the POR15 itself and will not act as an effective rust preventative like the POR15 will. Therefore even though you CAN use only the top coats, you should still use POR15 as a base. The top coat is about the same toughness as an epoxy paint. It's tough, but not quite as tough as POR15 or powder coat.

As an experiment I left the front suspension of one car in plain POR. The car lives outside. After about a year it still has not faded or discolored. When it does fade I will apply top coat, but for now I'm curious how much reflected UV is required to cause the discoloration. For the record, POR literature notes that the discoloring will not in any way harm the POR15 or its durability.

 

[PAUL161]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

I agree with you guys on using the coatings of your choice. There all top shelf products no doubt. But for a driver car, I spray coat my undercarriage parts with Rust-Oleum industrial paint. I use black primer on a glass beaded surface and two coats of paint on top. It's cheaper than the high tech stuff and shines like glass. Will take a pretty good beating also.

I never debate what product another person uses for what ever purpose. As long as they are happy with it, so am I! That's why they make a hundred flavors of ice cream!

I like Rocky Road, I guess that comes from driving bouncy little cars.

 

[Bruce74B]

Re: Powder coat or paint front spring pads and arm

I don't know if it is any better, but I am happy with the POR15 job that I did myself, at my own pace when I had time, on my various suspension parts over the past several years. I don't know how or where to get something powder coated in my area, nor do I have the inclination to find out and bother to arrange to have someone else do work that I enjoy doing myself.

For those who say that my time is costing me more than paying someone to powder coat, I understand that while I charge anywhere from $200 to $300 per hour for my work work, the work I do on my cars is a hobby that I enjoy more than watching sports on TV, so I don't consider my time as part of the cost of doing hobby work on my cars...or yardwork, fishing, etc....to each his own.