What parts would you powder coat and what parts you wouldn't?

[Rally Pack 2000]

I have had my cam cover powder coated recently and happy with the results and noticed that people get various other things coated.Ive seen powder coated original rubber top mounts offered for sale which make me wonder, how much heat is involved in the process? Would it damage the rubber in a top mount?

 

The paint job on my brake booster and tower is ok but could much improved but would the boosters internals  be damaged in any way by the powder coating process? Certainly the tower could be done with no problems.

 

Just curious what other things you have done on your cars that are powder coated and your success and failures. Your ceramic coated projects too

[Gyver]

I powdercoated the intake manifold and water expansiontank on the impreza sti v.5 i had before. Unfortunately i fitted the expansiontank to the manifold with stainless screws and washers. Since stainless soaks up heat from the manifold well the screws melted the paint around the screwheads and it soon started to flake off. So i would not fit stainless screws again on a powdercoated part thats going to see some heat. A side note, my manifold was white and the painter had to put a basecoat of grey first. Otherwise the white powdercoat would turn yellow after a while after the heat exposure...

 

 

 

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[2512pf]

With modern paint and rust proofing materials I wouldn't have thought any powder coating would be done on a resto imo

[DT36]

Had a few bits done myself in Gunmetal Grey. Also had pulleys and carb trumpets done since pic below.

[Rally Pack 2000]

Your wheels came up nice. I had a bad experience with a powder coated wheels with the job done on my Laser wheels was appalling that I stored them away for years. Took me weeks and a gallon of paint stripper to get it off and then had to have the wheels polished up again. When I was dabbling with the cam cover I went to a car mods specialist that offered ceramic and powder coating and saw the quality of their work on sample engines. The difference in workmanship was like chalk and cheese. So it an important lesson is not just if you powder coat something but where.

 

Its seems to be harder and more chip resistant that any hard and thick chassis coat paints that I have tried. So may be better for struts and disk backing plates. Given it can be removed with paint stripper and the like I wonder if it may be susceptible to brake fluid leaks and the like if its used on the brake booster tower. Then again so are most paints.

 

Still curious about the heat levels to apply the process and if it damages rubber components still attached.

[BeigeAl]

I wouldn't powder coat anything !! I had a rear bumper powder coated : the bumper subsequently had a slight ding to it about a year later which cracked the powder coat off. Underneath the powder coat the metal was very rusty - it had allowed moisture underneath it without even a hint of what was happening until it chipped off! 

Not a fan at all! 

[colr6]

I'm afraid I tend to agree with Beige Al. Find it to soft, can't compound any marks out and tends to crack on fastening points. Two pack paint all day long for me.

[stephens_xpack]

I had ARB, front suspension springs, and the spring top plates powdered black, so far so good.

But I think powder is too thick for some items and not the prettiest of finishes, so anything on the exterior I wouldn't powder.

[mk2dk]

Hi.

Had my 4 spoke RS alloys powdered silver and I'm not happy with the look they got. In bright sunlight the look awesome, just about perfect. But in the evening or if the car is parked inside, they look like painted in shiny primer, like battle-ship grey or Fergusson Grey. Talked to a painter, and he said that was a well known result he'd seen it on many powder coated wheels.

mk2dk

[Rally Pack 2000]

I wouldn't powder coat anything !! I had a rear bumper powder coated : the bumper subsequently had a slight ding to it about a year later which cracked the powder coat off. Underneath the powder coat the metal was very rusty - it had allowed moisture underneath it without even a hint of what was happening until it chipped off! 

Not a fan at all! 

 

I'm afraid I tend to agree with Beige Al. Find it to soft, can't compound any marks out and tends to crack on fastening points. Two pack paint all day long for me.

 

Hi.

Had my 4 spoke RS alloys powdered silver and I'm not happy with the look they got. In bright sunlight the look awesome, just about perfect. But in the evening or if the car is parked inside, they look like painted in shiny primer, like battle-ship grey or Fergusson Grey. Talked to a painter, and he said that was a well known result he'd seen it on many powder coated wheels.

mk2dk

 

After my bad experience with a set of wheels I swore off powder coating entirely as well. I was so disappointed with the results. The finish was the like orange peel finish you get on Brazilian Volkwagons. Getting it off was nightmare.

 

I took a chance on the cam cover as I was at the Performance Coating place that specialises in Automotive finishes that I went too to have my RS Manifold Ceramic coated. I looked at some Street Machine Hi tech Japanese turbo number they had there to showcase their work and it wasnt like any powder coating I have seen before it was and really deep gloss professional finish. So I gave them the cam cover and I was very pleased with the results. Superior to my painting abilities at least. I also gave them my "nemisis". The washer bottle bracket! Most dont believe me when I tell them how impossible it proved to paint. It seems to have absorbed something over the decades that no matter what paint. primer or rust coating I tried the finish was always appalling. No one could explain it. So I took it to a Zinc plater to have it plated in black and when I got it back they guy wouldnt charge me and said that wouldnt plate properly for some reason I would probably better off painting that! I spent a fortune in paints and things trying it get a reasonable finish on it. Anyways I gave the bracket to the guys since they were doing the cam cover in the same colour and it came up excellent. I almost cried. I spend three times more on paints to that it cost me to powder coat the thing not including my time to strip it and paint it several times over so I wish I had tried it earlier. Just my bias from my bad wheel experience prevented that. As I mentioned earlier going to a powder coater that does industrial stuff like shelves and the like then they wont give the results most on here would like on their special money pits. I am considering getting the booster tower done now. Im not sure if its more or less resistant to brake fluid exposure and what to expect long term with the exhaust manifold right next door but if it can cope with the temp of the cam cover then it should be ok.

 

Its been mentioned here that its softer than paint? I thought the opposite was true given it was baked on at much higher temperatures. Would it be more resistant to brake fluid? I can see how it may be readily affected by stone chipping though.

[colr6]

We had a trials bike frame powder coated, within an hour of riding the paint was off in the foot peg area.. The bike was washed of as always after trial, within a couple of days frame rusty. No good whatsoever on a freshly prepped bike. One more trial session had a bit of time so it was stripped, etched,primed and painted in two pack then lacquered. Was at least another six months before it wore through. We also had a show bike frame done on supposed high gloss black. All the other cycle parts were painted in two pack and lacquered. It was like chalk and cheese the depth and finish on the two pack was far superior. So that frame was shotblasted and painted.never have anything powder coated now. I have some bikes that have been done 17 yrs and still win competitions with them. If they do get a bit dull bit of T cut rewax shiney shiney.

[mk2dk]

I'm not that impressed either.

But as Rally Pack mentions, we've to search for the good painters. The painter I asked, said my poor result was due to a thin layer of silver, which makes the primer shine through if wiewed in certain light or specific angles. Perhaps a wheel refurbish center would get a better result.

 

Great story on that washer bottle bracket.

[katana]

Since stainless soaks up heat from the manifold well the screws melted the paint around the screwheads and it soon started to flake off. So i would not fit stainless screws again on a powdercoated part thats going to see some heat. 

 

Slight correction warranted - Stainless steel is actually a poor conductor of heat - hold a SS teaspoon in a hot mug of tea for example, but it will eventually heat up like all metals and transfer heat. Steel will do it quicker and Tungsten (say) much slower so whatever you used, it would have happened - don't blame Stainless!

[Rally Pack 2000]

Some very informative experiences have been presented so far. While I have recently had a couple of great results with a professional powder coater I can certainly see how some have turned away from using it. I cannot attest to the long term durability of it so far. So much so I am reluctant to get my booster tower done. If I had a few years with the cam cover I may feel otherwise but at the moment I am still hesitant. With the cam cover and bracket its a safe test. If the coating fails then both are removable in minutes to be redone in something else (except that darn water bottle bracket of which I hope the coating lasts forever as I never ever want to paint that thing again!). The booster tower however is a bit different and involves alot of brake component and lines to get it out so I want something that I can be assured will last forever pretty much so I dont have to do it again in my lifetime. I think not only do you need to be very selective to who does the coating for you but also what components you get done. Areas prone to stone chipping like wheels and bumpers and as Col mentions bike frames then I would definitely shy away. Water exposure may also be a factor as some feel that once moisture get underneath is promotes rust and flaking of the coating. However under bonnet and in car stuff it can prove a viable alternative. There are many different formulas and quality of coating materials as well it seems and the one I have had success with was expensive I think.

 

Here is the black cam cover I had coated recently as posted in another thread. The deep gloss finish was a good as any 2 pac I have seen. But in order to achieve that takes several layers apparently not a single layer process that most of the industrial coaters do.

 

 

Would still love to hear about some long term experiences. Has the finish lasted or has it faded or lost some of its gloss with time?

[katana]

I've had bike wheels and bike frames coated and the frames have been quite durable - if a good coater is used they will tailor the product to be more flexible / less hard. Wheels were magnesium alloy and like most alloys if water / moisture gets to the surface you get the white powder corrosion and this has occurred on mine, the coating hasn't failed but has 'bubbled up' off the base metal - the finish is still good and cleans up well.

Personally I wouldn't have ANYTHING that was an assembly coated unless it was ok with high heat. Plastic and rubber seals - Nah! Cooking temps are 150 -200C for around 10 minutes. Brackets and dis-assembled casings should be good - just like painting or chroming its all in the prep.

[Rally Pack 2000]

I ended up biting the bullet and had the booster tower powder coated. They did a quality job as they did on the cam cover and the infamous washer bottle bracket. It will just come down to longevity pretty much so time will tell. I also had the booster itself reconditioned and by the nature of the components I couldn't have that stuck in an oven to have it powder coated to match, so I just painted that myself with a high gloss chassis coat paint. It seems to match up and don't think anyone will notice the different between the two finishes. Especially after covering up the unplanned paint run with the booster decal. That probably would have given things away, Woops.

 

It will be interesting to compare how the different surfaces age together with time.

 

 

[colr6]

Certainly looks the business

[stephens_xpack]

Looks like a very nice paint job, especially the home grown effort - nice job.

Most components I will paint from a can, and as long as you work in a clean and dust free area and take your time to prep and then take your time to apply lots of nice thin coats there isn't much to it really, just need to be patient and let the paint dry between each coat.

I have painted both front and back bumpers on the Capri, and they both look great, albeit satin which is an easier finish to work with.

[Rally Pack 2000]

Looks like a very nice paint job, especially the home grown effort - nice job.

Most components I will paint from a can, and as long as you work in a clean and dust free area and take your time to prep and then take your time to apply lots of nice thin coats there isn't much to it really, just need to be patient and let the paint dry between each coat.

I have painted both front and back bumpers on the Capri, and they both look great, albeit satin which is an easier finish to work with.

 

Thanks The booster paint was just from a rattle can. The trouble I find with high gloss black though is its hard to tell when you start to get runs especially on unusual shapes along edges. The brake lines have been painted from a can also with a specialised paint for brake components. Many dont like the look of painted lines but I found this particular one that's not a bold silver that it doesn't look overly fake and its also brake fluid resistant so hopefully will preserve the lines more than just being exposed. Those lines are the originals from 79. Even though the proportion valve was brand new (and incredibly expensive) it had gone yellow from being wrapped in its brown wax paper for 40 years so I painted it in the same stuff which looks like an original finish. It was this thing bursting that started me down this path. A domino effect where you cant help but fix or restore everything connected.

 

[stephens_xpack]

Thanks The booster paint was just from a rattle can. The trouble I find with high gloss black though is its hard to tell when you start to get runs especially on unusual shapes along edges. The brake lines have been painted from a can also with a specialised paint for brake components. Many dont like the look of painted lines but I found this particular one that's not a bold silver that it doesn't look overly fake and its also brake fluid resistant so hopefully will preserve the lines more than just being exposed. Those lines are the originals from 79. Even though the proportion valve was brand new (and incredibly expensive) it had gone yellow from being wrapped in its brown wax paper for 40 years so I painted it in the same stuff which looks like an original finish. It was this thing bursting that started me down this path. A domino effect where you cant help but fix or restore everything connected.

 

BiasValve.JPG

Hadn't even noticed the brake lines had been painted, just assumed they were new.

With regards the runs, I think that comes with just a little bit of practice, but as with all of these type of things, we do a few bits and pieces and then may not do any again for a few years so practice we don't get too much of.

It all looks very nice so you must be doing something right.. 

[Rally Pack 2000]

Hadn't even noticed the brake lines had been painted, just assumed they were new.

With regards the runs, I think that comes with just a little bit of practice, but as with all of these type of things, we do a few bits and pieces and then may not do any again for a few years so practice we don't get too much of.

It all looks very nice so you must be doing something right.. 

 

I can generally get an acceptable finish first go but I found with the booster, its tower and the washer bracket that as original and untouched parts they had decades of brake fluid and stuff impregnated into them. Each attempt would cause a different effect that no amount of practise seemed to compensate. The washer bracket I even acid soaked. While I eventually got an "ok" finish on the tower it wasn't very professional that I finally went with the powder coating. Even the guy who did it say he had several attempts and believed it had been tainted by years of exposure to everything. So powder coating proved to be helpful for me personally in this circumstance and hope that it stands the test of time. That said I would still probably paint something first to see what results I get before going with the coating process.