Powder Coat or Not

R

rlh37ford

Senior Member
I’m considering having my NOS brake rods, levers, & clevises powder coated. Any reason not to go this route? Personal experiences would be invaluable. Thanks.
 
Great stuff, very durable hard finish. I had frame and most of the under carriage done, only drawback is that the coating is thicker harder than just paint and you will have to drill out holes and run taps and dies on the threaded bits, worth the effort.
 
i powder coated everything on the chassis i am doing now. the brake rods which i purchased new, just had to run a drill bit through for the clevis pin. on the threaded end have the pc'er tape it up so there will be no need to run a die over it.
look past the speedo cable and you can see the brake rods in the pic i took this today
5a34c13d0c43100369f6d488d5f53d13_zps8cf02005.jpg
 
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I do my own stuff=eastwood kit. I throw everything I can into my oven to powdercoat. The days of prep,primer,sanding,shooting,and hope it come's out cherry are over for me,unless it's a must.
I've done a lot,and has saved me countless hours and $!
My vote is YES.
Figure your doing it once- A + vote from me....
Research will be your buddy and help you decide.....:)
 
I powder coated everything on the chassis on the sedan and it still looks great even after about 25,000 miles of touring.
 
I love powder coated chassis stuff, with the exception that mating surfaces and threaded areas that are coated are a hassle to fit together without a lot of sanding, drilling and thread chasing. Just be sure the coater knows that clevis holes are plugged and that the threads and inside sides of the clevis where it fits the arms are taped with silicon tape before coating. Also, the mating surfaces of the backing plates should be taped as well or, if coated, only thinly . The powder is usually so thick that the backing plates will be held off the spindles or rear axle housings so far that the drums will rub them, unless you spend tedious time sanding it all down before fitting them. I also do not like to coat the mating surfaces on the radius rods or axle housings, as once the powder wears off, you'll end up with loose radius rods and backing plates.
 
I would consider powder coating but would also like to do the frame. How do you bake/heat the frame to finish the powder coating?
 
Powder coating is a GREAT finish for lots of parts.
NOT cheaper than paint anywhere I have lived.

If I had some brand new brake rods & clevises, I'd clean them with Ospho on a Scotch-brite pad then use rattle-can Rustoleum the next day. Satin black would be my choice but use gloss black if you prefer that look.......
 
I dunno....I just like to derust , then use an epoxy primer like DP 140 ( PPG product)' then use Satin Black Rustoleum. It works for me and has for years.

Brian W.
 
The problem is powder coat leaves a thick hard coating. As mentioned above you must realize that the threads, inside and out, will not work when done.

On the brake rods it is complicated by the tighter tolerance threads used by Ford. So you can not chase the threads without making the threads loose to the ends. While the jamb nuts do take up the play i really like the idea of a larger area of contact in the threads with my brake rods. You loose that by chasing the threads with normal tap and dies.

So long as you tape off the threads before powder coat you will be fine.

I painted mine.
 
A lot of misinformation here or some of you are dealing with shops that really don't know what they're doing. A good PC shop will plug or tape threads and the thickness can be controlled by a tech that knows what he's doing. At 14 years, the PC on the frame and running gear on my fenderless Model A powered roadster still looks like new. Five years after I sandblasted the frame and running gear on the A in my avatar, the rustoleium paint job is looking shabby.

Given a choice, I'd always go with PC done by a competitent shop.
 
Mitch//pa said:
My pc shop primes then powder coats. I dont think all shops prime first
Click to expand...

Mitch is right, make sure they polyester prime before powdercoating. I bought a pair of new engine pans that were powdercoated but apparently over raw steel as they started peeling a year later.
 
Be it Paint, Powder, Zinc, Nickle or Chrome, all coatings require proper prep to match the coating. Powder is very good and very predictable. Did you know that with a little practice you can do small parts by dipping them in powder and flow the powder with a heat gun?
 
I don't do it and never have. I don't see the purpose. Paint works just fine and on these cars, has for over 80 years. :)
 
Powder coat is good as long as it is over an Epoxy primer and there is a powdered Epoxy primer but few PC shops use it. If the PC is over bare steel it will rust when chipped and peel like saran wrap. And you'll have a real mess. I'm still stuck on proper prep and paint. because of the rust and peeling. I saw a heavy steel gate that was powder coated and the 1/4" tubing turned to foil in about 3 years!!!

The Old Tinbasher
 
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