Paint or powder coat your suspension?

Yes, you can have springs powder coated. No, the temperature will not damage them. Powder coating is the best way to go..much tougher than paint. However, for wheels, etc., the coat is too thick. You lose detail or alphanumerics stamped on the wheels.

Temperature is approximately 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Not high enough to sneeze at for suspension members.

Jim S.

 

i have pics of a lusso with powder coated susp parts, i can email them to you if you want, email me at [email protected]

ROLOcr

 

Like others said... powder coat.

 

Agree 100%.

 

The durabilty of powder coating is remarkable..

 

When plating parts like springs that are under stress there’s a concern about hydrogen embrittlement. There are ways to reduce the risk but personally I wouldn’t feel safe with plated springs.

 

I thought that hydrogen embrittlement only applied to electroplating process' like chrome plating...???

 

http://www.nhra.com/dragster/1999/issue37/racing_technology.html

Article from the NHRA about plating vs. powder coating and hydrogen embrittlement. It seems to say that powder coating is safe and does not cause the problem.

 

Sure powder coat them, had that done on my 4x4's before, but you will get a much better result if you have them sand blasted prior to the powder coating.

 

Right, W84ME. My comment on embrittlement was in response to Marc's statement "I have seen some nice plated springs." I assumed this referred to chrome or some other electroplating.

 

Search the archives.
This was asked a few years back & it was posted that powdercoating doesn't stand up to the spring flex, flakes off.

Also, powdercoating has more tiny pinholes than paint, isn't as resistant to moisture, etc. Ford used it for a couple of years, then went back to paint. Got this tidbit from the suspension part supplier that had to change his process twice.

I'd sandblast them, etch with a phosphate conversion coating like POR15's Metal Reaty, then give them 2 or 3 coats of POR15 satin black, and a final coat of POR15 chassis black.

The POR15 forms a very tough, flexable, chip-resistant coating that won't let 02 thru, much less moisture.

 

This may be an off-the-wall thought, but with all the talk of NHRA and NLA ...

... how about NRA?

Blueing or Parkerized finishes?