Bare metal suspension parts - THIS THREAD IS OFFICALLY OVER

[HEMICUDA]

Just passing this along.

Bare metal suspension parts are a PITA to keep looking perfectly rust free and I refuse to paint them.  So what's better than paint for durability and longevity?  Powder coating, hands down.  My 6bbl Cuda was done 15 years ago and I powder coated absolutely everything on the bottom.  It still looks as good as it did from day one.

I've been experimenting with clear powder coating those parts that were originally bare metal.  I glass bead, then dip stain to get the original "type" color of a piece that hasn't been manipulated.  Glass beading changes the color considerably from what the base metal was originally.  Of course,  the better the part (pits wise), the better the results.  The small dark spots you see are the numerous pits in the part.

Here is a strut rod powder coated with satin clear, great results except for the shine.  I have flat clear on the way and will post the results.  One thing I can tell you, unless you're using non-catalyzed jingle can amateurish paint, it's much cheaper and way faster with superior longevity to powder coat.  I did that entire strut, from start to finish in 30 minutes, 15 of it was bake time.  For an investment of less the $400, I have everything I need including the oven. 

[HEMICUDA]

Here's the bare metal part after 30 seconds with a scotch-brite.

[usraptor]

Try https://magicguard.com/collections/car-care/products/rust-prevention-magic-4-oz.  Easy to apply and it works.  Have used it on several bare metal parts on my suspension and there is no sign of rust.

[Katfish]

I've wondered how long RPM lasts

[Rich G.]

I used that RPM from ESC on my disc brake shields and muffler shields 2 years ago and they still look like the day I put them on.

[kawahonda]

I couldn't imagine restoring a car and not painting any of the suspension, stock or not, but that's just me. Sometimes what the factory did wasn't correct in the terms of "lasting"...

[Brads70]

 IDK.... I appreciate your efforts and workmanship but if your wanting" correct" then really powder coating is not really "correct either?  I'm just a rattle can sort of guy easier and gets the results I require, quick, cheaper and easy? Easy to touch up down the road if necessary too? I can appreciate your in a different "gig" than I am. I just build drivers not museum quality pieces.

[cuda hunter]

Looks good.   

[kawahonda]

Suspension is what I would consider rattle-canning. Nothing wrong with that! It's something you're never going to polish or pressure spray....you want it SEALED and PROTECTED.

[Bossgold]

at 400 degrees, metal has a molecular change. Now, are you racing this car....dont know,  but one thing is for sure as an engineer anything over 275 degrees heat effects the molecular structure and on top of that powder coat is thick so flexing might end up cracking the coat....just an opinion. Buy a spray gun, use  urethane with a hardener, put it in your home oven and call it good.  Bare metal, ECS makes a product as well as others that allow you to heat up (lightly) bare metal and apply a wax based coat or Chemical coat that seeps into the metal's porosity.  This stops the composition of rust and metal degradation. Finally, I live in LA and there is a company called Penetrate that does metal refinishing.......Think of a gun barrel. The metal can be colored they way you want it, phosphate and oil, Black oxide, and it lasts for years. You want to make look new...rub it with gun oil.

This thread is perfect timing since I am rebuilding my front end to my ARR.

[HEMICUDA]

Jingle canning parts on a car is fine for the average enthusiast that doesn't have access to all the equipment required, they own the car, do what you want.  However, a customer sending me 10's of thousands of dollars for a "complete" restoration expects a little more than that.  If the part is painted, catalyzed epoxies and paint is all we use.  Between the 3 Cuda's currently going thru my shop, all three customers want the "OE" look with the ability to drive the car with minimal upkeep.  There's not a product on the planet, that I'm aware of, that either doesn't have the longevity like the wax based products that need to be applied from time to time or the petroleum based that may last a little longer but changes the appearance of the parts.  I'm not talking about NOS and date coded everything, new parts with the representation of how the car was when built new.

Bare metal parts for the "average Joe" may not be that important, in my business it is.  And more than anything, the appearance of an un-manipulated bare metal part.  If a part can be unnoticeably "hard" coated that will last for many many years without any maintenance?  I'm all over it.  Like I mentioned before, my 6bbl car has powder coated everything on the bottom and it looks as good today as it did 15 years ago when I restored it.  Also, unlike what you might think, powder coating is flexible.  Also, commercial powder coaters tend to apply the material heavy so the part has a "thick" paint appearance.  I control the thickness by how it's applied. 

In reference to changing the molecular structure of the base metal, when heating it to 350 degrees for 15 minutes, the integrity loss is negligible. 

[HEMICUDA]

I used that RPM from ESC on my disc brake shields and muffler shields 2 years ago and they still look like the day I put them on.

Did you use new brake and muffler shields?  The new ones we use are plated bright zinc (brake shields that were black originally) and galvanized (muffler shields).  If so, it's the plating giving you the longevity, not the RPM wax you applied.

[anlauto]

There are many ways to do things wrong in the eyes of the OE Gods...
First off....As far as I know. RPM, developed by ECS, is basically the only coating on bare metal parts that is accepted when  having a car judged. There's no way that a "bare metal" part that has been painted, or clear coated will get past the keen eye of the judges.

Secondly, any "bare metal" part that has been manipulated by media blasting of any sort will not pass either. Anything from glass bead to sand to walnut shells changes the appearance of the metal. The only recourse participants have is to find NOS parts, just ask Dave Waldon (R.I.P.), how many tens of thousands he spent on NOS Mopar parts ....or they can try to find the cleanest part in North America, chenically strip it, then polish any imperfections out of it...it's insane the level people are taking their cars to achieve OE Gold these days.

With the restorations I've done, I have never tried, or never wanted to try to even come close to anything of that caliber, it's way beyond me. My customer base generally wants the "OE Look" but wants everything coated, painted to look the part without fear of it rusting down the road...This can be achieved with powder coating or a good quality paint, even from a spray can.

Powder coating is very durable and will out last many types of paint jobs hands down. The only downside is the fact that you can not prep the item with any type bondo or spot putty to fill the rust pits and imperfections. This really comes into play with larger parts like K frames or rear axle housings. Also the cost is much more, at least in my area, to get a quality job done and not some guy cooking parts in his Mom's oven.

So it boils down to personal preference, or customer preference in some cases...

I know if I showed the above strut rod to most of my customer base along side of one that was powder coated a nice metal colour silver, or along side one painted with a Seymore's stainless steel spray bomb....I know what they would choose every time.

[Rich G.]

It looked bare metal to me so i put it on! LOL . I just want things to look pretty, neat and clean!

[HEMICUDA]

There are many ways to do things wrong in the eyes of the OE Gods...
First off....As far as I know. RPM, developed by ECS, is basically the only coating on bare metal parts that is accepted when  having a car judged. There's no way that a "bare metal" part that has been painted, or clear coated will get past the keen eye of the judges.

Secondly, any "bare metal" part that has been manipulated by media blasting of any sort will not pass either. Anything from glass bead to sand to walnut shells changes the appearance of the metal. The only recourse participants have is to find NOS parts, just ask Dave Waldon (R.I.P.), how many tens of thousands he spent on NOS Mopar parts ....or they can try to find the cleanest part in North America, chenically strip it, then polish any imperfections out of it...it's insane the level people are taking their cars to achieve OE Gold these days.

With the restorations I've done, I have never tried, or never wanted to try to even come close to anything of that caliber, it's way beyond me. My customer base generally wants the "OE Look" but wants everything coated, painted to look the part without fear of it rusting down the road...This can be achieved with powder coating or a good quality paint, even from a spray can.

Powder coating is very durable and will out last many types of paint jobs hands down. The only downside is the fact that you can not prep the item with any type bondo or spot putty to fill the rust pits and imperfections. This really comes into play with larger parts like K frames or rear axle housings. Also the cost is much more, at least in my area, to get a quality job done and not some guy cooking parts in his Mom's oven.

So it boils down to personal preference, or customer preference in some cases...

I know if I showed the above strut rod to most of my customer base along side of one that was powder coated a nice metal colour silver, or along side one painted with a Seymore's stainless steel spray bomb....I know what they would choose every time.

Lets try this again so even you can understand, best "representation" of OE without spending all the big money on NOS parts and be user friendly.  Since you do not communicate with "actual" true high end OE restoration shops like the Mike Mancini's or Paul Jacobs/Troy Angelly's, you have absolutely no clue how bare metal parts are handled on OE judged cars.  And yes some bare metal parts are manipulated with media and treated.  We communicate often about processes and current on going restorations, they have been friends of mine for years. 

Just curious, how can you possibly comment on anything like this topic when you have absolutely no knowledge about it.  And no, not even you can tell there is a coating on this part, besides, it not being judged OE.  You say things like "I know if I showed the above strut rod to most of my customer base along side of one that was powder coated a nice metal colour silver, or along side one painted with a Seymore's stainless steel spray bomb....I know what they would choose every time", how can you possibly know that when you have no clue how to get to that level for a comparision.  Maybe it's the type of clients I restore cars for, or better yet, they're not given all the options.  What I can say is, any of the customers I show both to, since I can do both, opt for the actual bare metal look and sometimes request painted parts because of the on going maintenance issues with keeping up with the bare metal.  You are way out of your league here, it's very interesting how you find a way to interject yourself in things like this that you have no clue.  I've mentioned this before, remember when you were at my shop and was totally amazed how I got all the bare metal parts for my T/A to look the way they did?  I do.

You know Alan, I've left you along after your "true" quality came out with Eric's purple convertible, people kinda get it now.  You can polish a turd and make it look like a million dollars with a picture posted on the internet.  I never mentioned your name on any responses I made on his thread and only did by his request, I only stated facts with pictures.  It's a shame that car is so bad he has to spend a bunch more money to finish the entire body that you said "looked nice" remember?  Eric's car is an embarrassment for spending north of 100K for a "total restoration"..

So, back to the topic, yes, OE cars do have manipulated bare metal parts that are treated and I do know that first hand on cars winning OE gold.  I want the best of both worlds for my customers that want an "as new" restoration, bare metal and lets keep it from rusting for many years to come.

How about this, if you don't have first hand knowledge or the talent to comment about something, DON'T!