Painting Suspension Components

[SteveG66]

Wondering what paint everyone uses for suspension?

Roadster is parked for winter and will be putting in new bushings and parts getting repainted. I'd like to replicate the on look as much as possible.

Which brings me to the Randy Forbes kit, what products does everyone use for sealing, corrosion protecting, etc. to finish it off without going to special spray equipment?

[Dirtsquirt]

Most of 3M’s bodywork products are available in spray cans, I’d stick with them or maybe see what Eastwood offers.

As far as suspension goes either use a epoxy based paint or (preferably) powder coat

[Tigershark48]

I bought a specal kit for the calipers. Red to match the exterior. It comes with a large aerosol can of caliper cleaner along with a two part color and activator mix. I’m waiting for spring to apply it.

link:
http://www.tcpglobal.com/G2UG2160.ht...7#.XDkfThpMGhB

[Schreier]

I used 3M rubberized undercoating on top of Rust-Oleum flat black on my rear suspension, and it worked well enough.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-...3241481&rt=rud

But really if you have a powder coating place nearby that can handle large parts, it's very much worth it in the long run.

[blkwpnz]

Cerakote. Lots of colors, has the flexibility of mixing custom colors and works well on guns and silencers. That would be my choice if I could ever get the Cadillac out of my shop and throw some money at the Z3 or something else.

Powder coating would be nice, but I've never done it. I am pretty sure I could do it with my setup though. I have a 6'x3'x18" curing oven.

[Randy Forbes]

Krylon engine enamel. Low gloss.

I've had my 2001 M Rdstr since Labor Day weekend, 2001, and it probably wasn't too long afterwards that I painted the calipers. They still look freshly painted!

Great for suspension bits too.

Y'all can keep your fancy stuff, I'll just keep using what I know works

As for the kit installation (and thank you, btw) there are now several good aerosol products available that either were not, or I wasn't aware of them fifteen (15) years ago when those instructions were compiled. 3M is always a reliable choice, and your local autobody paint supplier will have several products by SEM that are also high quality materials (they even have an E-Coat aerosol in several colors to match factory finishes).

[blkwpnz]

I am used to tearing things apart and putting that fancy coating on it. Corrosion resistance is great as well. You would probably love it if you ever used it and you are the type of guy who is wired to execute it well. This talk of powder coating has me wanting to try it. The cure time on it is very fast and it can go on thick.

[Zoupe6]

My choices for chassis and suspension are KBS or POR-15. When I build motorcycles I used to always have the frames powder coated, but I have noticed that is has a tendency to chip off if dinged. The coatings I mentioned do not chip off and smooth out just as good as powder coating when applied, and can be touched-up with parts mounted on the vehicle if need be. I did my entire 79 c10 chassis with Por-15 and it is holding up great. These coatings can even encapsulate mild rust, preventing any further corrosion. If you need to match a color exactly, a single stage urethane is very effective and strong.

[schooner]

Zoupe6 - if you're getting chipping in your powdercoat the shop is probably running too high a temp in the oven.

[Tigershark48]

Not an expert on powder coat, but could the wrong thickness also be a factor?

[blkwpnz]

It could be bad prep work. Part/s may not be desgreased, outgassed, and/or they could be using phosphate coatings instead of blasting. In the Cerakote world, if it chips it wasnt prepped correctly. Very few people run things hard enough to uncover bad prep work and a lot of shops exploit that by skimping on prep work to maximize profit per shop hour. It may look great, but that doesn't mean the finish is bonded well to the part.

[Tigershark48]

That’s really sad. Knowing that makes it hard to trust anybody to give you the best quality possible, which is what we all want and what many of us are willing to pay for.

[SteveG66]

Thanks everyone, I realized I'm probably making this more difficult than it needs to be. A lot of good suggestions here, thanks!!!

I like the powder coating route and I've watched videos on it but for my purposes on a car that won't typically be driven in adverse weather or snow, and not a show car, it may be overkill.

Thanks again!!

[Tigershark48]

For fair weather drives only, go with Randy’s Krylon suggestion and save your money for a nice bottle of bourbon.

[blkwpnz]

That’s really sad. Knowing that makes it hard to trust anybody to give you the best quality possible, which is what we all want and what many of us are willing to pay for.

Many companies get locked into this 'Egg McMuffin' mindset and cater to the cheap, which forces corner cutting and rushing to get things out of the door to produce enough volume to make the business model work. Some have the façade of 'Faberge Egg', charge for it, and still don't deliver it. Most who really deliver 'Faberge Egg' are heavily backlogged and usually raise prices to govern the workload. There is a price for every level of service offered, be it quality, price, or speed of service. Everyone settles into some sort of business model with pros and cons for the customer.

[Hirsch990]

I used POR15 on my FJ40 on some sections of the frame and under the fenders/wheel wells. I was happy with how well it worked.

[s8ilver]

Krylon engine enamel. Low gloss.

Funny. I bought engine enamel to paint my winter wheels. I figured the stuff had to be pretty durable.