Powder coating superlift parts

[Paraphoe]

Guys, quick question....most of my Superlift parts came powder coated, but the knuckles and leaf springs did not. What are your suggestions here? I don't want these parts to rust out, look like garbage in a year, and turn to garbage a few years later.

I'm not sure powder-coating flexible leaf springs is a good idea - the cracking and water seepage would do more harm than good, I would imagine. Would those be better getting hit from a rattle-can?

And if I powder coat the knuckles, what surfaces to I have to keep clean? Any contact areas and the insides of any bolt-holes? I want to make sure it's done right...

Pictures of knuckles attached. Thanks guys....

 

[Paraphoe]

Can a mod please fix the spelling botch in the title? Thanks...

 

[boominXplorer]

I hit mine with rustoleum gloss black. It will make them easier to clean too. Just mask off the hub bore. Powdercoating will chip when you try to free the ball joints and tie rods the first time.

 

[Turdle]

I have coated a few sets of explorer knuckles. Anything that looks machined, and threaded holes should be masked-plugged.

I could do them for you for around 50.00 in a single stage color like black. metallics need clear, so add another 20.00 if you want a metallic color.

I Also edited the title-

I hit mine with rustoleum gloss black. It will make them easier to clean too. Just mask off the hub bore. Powdercoating will chip when you try to free the ball joints and tie rods the first time.

Not if you use a little tape before getting rough with it. Or a plastic dead blow hammer.

 

[Paraphoe]

Jon, I'd love for you to do them, but I think cost of shipping might be prohibitive. They're heavy as hell. Any idea what the shipping would be, ballpark?

Hope you're feeling a little better, man...

 

[Turdle]

Percocet is making me feel great. Thanks for asking.

Ok, shipping would probably be a 60.00 round trip. Give or take. Mail might be less.

For chips, they now have this. Cool stuff, I have 2 bottles of it and have used it with great success

 

[vroomzoomboom]

jason, get jon to do them at ANY cost! you wont be disappointed. you may even want to frame them, and hang them on the wall afterwards

 

[Paraphoe]

I'm going to gt a shipping quote and see what the damage is.

Thoughts on the leaf springs though? Better off with a rattle can because of the flex?

 

[BKennedy]

For my leaf springs I used "Ez-Slide" graphite coating. It comes in spray cans. Used one can on each leaf. It really helped the leafs articulate, but its messy. If you use it, wear disposable gloves when handling as it rubs off easily.
If shipping is cost prohibitive for powder coating, just rattle can it. Easy touch ups, and the spindles are not that visible.

 

[Turdle]

OK, I have been "told" by leaf spring manufacturers not to heat them. Although, I have done some with no negative effect. Cure temp is 400 degrees for 10 minutes. I still don;t see how that low of temp will hurt anything, but I am not a metallurgist so I really cannot say for sure. I have burned off coil springs and re coated them, and coated several sets of coil springs. Even the 660 degree burn off didn't effect the ones on my white truck, to my knowledge.

To really do them right they need disassembled and coated as separate parts. They will need blasting. This might get expensive!


Honestly I would rattle can them.

 

[Paraphoe]

That's the way I was leaning. I think it just makes more sense for flexible parts, plus, like you mentioned, they might have to be broken down and done individually.

Thanks!

 

[gmanpaint]

Jason,
I take the leaf packs apart to paint them all the way around. I suggest to use a good oil based paint with rust prohibit. Also, if you roll the paint on a couple of coats, you will get a better build up, and outlast a spray job by far. It's cheaper to buy a quart of oil than a few spray cans too. Easy to touch up. All you need is a new center bolt to do this.

This is also a good time to upgrade to a 5/8" U-bolt.

 

[Paraphoe]

Thanks Gregg. I'll look into doing it this way.