Mike,
Powder coating involves applying an electrical charge to the metal so the
sprayed dry powder is attracted to it, akin to static in a sweater
attracting hair and the like. Looks like very fine soot, colored of course.
Once the metal is sufficiently coated it is placed in a large oven and baked
for a short period of time so the heat melts the powder, fusing it to the
metal.
All parts must have the old finish removed to bare metal. I spent about 20
hours total at a bead blasting cabinet, but had the chassis chemically
dipped for $275. The nice thing about dipping is that it removes all rust
including inside the rails. You just have to treat the inner chassis rails
with some sort of protectant afterwards, like Waxoyl.
I had my chassis and all suspension components coated (and I mean ALL),
including rear axle half-shafts, rear drum backing plates, steering rack
tube, pedals and box, wiper motor mount, etc. Everything was torn down
completely except for the vertical links with axles. A special tape is used
to mask off the parts that you don't want coated. The chassis cost $275 and
the rest of the parts cost about $300 total.
Powder coating will not work on headers but will work on the engine itself,
i.e. block and head. Headers need to be ceramic coated.
The one misconception is that powder coating will "fill in" rough spots to a
smooth appearance. This does not happen. But by using a body filler called
All Metal, which has a heavy aluminum content, you can do some pre-coating
restoration, filling deeply rusted areas, dents and the like. Unlike other
fillers it does withstand the prep and powder coating process and, done with
care, gives you a part that looks like new!
One caution - because powder coating can be somewhat thick in certain spots
you will want to purchase a deburring tool to scrape away the coating of
mating surfaces. I could not get my rear brake plates to fit over the hubs
until I removed the coating from the inner edge of the large hole in the
plates.
After all is said and done I'm convinced wet painting can't beat it! And it
does not give off a paint odor!
Good luck!
Greg
CD6250L
Chapel Hill, NC
----- Original Message -----
From: <MHarmon@sces.org>
To: <6pack@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 4:07 PM
Subject: Powder Coating
> I may have the opportunity to have my TR6 frame and exhaust header powder
> coated. I have heard the term, powdercoating, and while I think I know
sort
> of what it is I really don't know for sure. Is this something I should do
> and what type of preparation of the frame and header is required? What
> would I expect to pay? Are there other parts that I should consider? Any
> comments would be appreciated.
> Mike
> S.C.
|