Frame paint/finish

[malgernon]

Hi y’all

I am ready to have my frame, radius rods, differential, wheels, etc sand blasted and painted. I’m thinking I’m going to have them powder coated with gloss black. Any thoughts about powder coating y’all have would be appreciated.

Thanks

Mike

[Oldbluoval]

I don’t powder coat anything
It will/can change tolerances on bolt holes etc and make assembly difficult and hard to touch up...at least that’s my one experience
Get a good quality epoxy paint and have at it

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by Oldbluoval

I don’t powder coat anything
It will/can change tolerances on bolt holes etc and make assembly difficult and hard to touch up...at least that’s my one experience
Get a good quality epoxy paint and have at it

Not a fan of power coat either. My experience is once it chips (and it will chip being under the car) moisture gets in, power coat is done. Especially at edges, it starts peeling off. As Oldbluoval said, hard to touch up.

[wrndln]

I painted my chassis parts with Southern Polyurethanes (a Georgia company) epoxy primer. It is UV resistant unlike PPG DPxx epoxy primer. It has a satin finish like Ford originally had.

[CWPASADENA]

I did powder coat the frame and suspension pieces on my '30 Tudor I use for touring. This was about 15 years ago and it has been very satisfactory however I do live in a dry climate. It is easy to keep clean.
I would suggest however what ever process you use, I would not go with gloss black on the frame and chassis parts. I would go with a semi-gloss or satin black. I think this looks much better.
I did have the wheels powder coated in gloss black which looks close to what Henry did, dipped gloss black enamel.

My opinion,

Chris W.

[Stretch Cab]

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Check out Eastwoods Chassis Black. It goes on easy whether you brush or spray and looks good. Satin or gloss is available.

[jb-ob]

Mal,

Understand with powder coating you'll need to grind various connecting pieces to create clean electrical grounds.....

jb

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by malgernon

Hi y’all

I am ready to have my frame, radius rods, differential, wheels, etc sand blasted and painted. I’m thinking I’m going to have them powder coated with gloss black. Any thoughts about powder coating y’all have would be appreciated.

Mike, power-painting definitely has a place in the coating world. Even we used to powdercoat in-house because we 'bought in' on the mindset that it is more durable than a sprayed paint coating. Without going into a long dissertation, just understand that we rarely use powder-painted components on a restoration any longer because we have found that it really is not superior like some say.

In a nutshell, there are lower-quality sprayable Black paints (-think Lowes brand, Tractor Supply brand, Rural King, implement quality) and there are high-quality Black paints (-think PPG Concept, Axalta ChromaPremier, et/al) that can be used. The quality of the product dictates the longevity, durability, and colorfast holdout. The same applies to powder paint materials. Good quality powder is expensive, and most industrial coaters do not use the high quality coatings because that is not what their customer is seeking.

Anyone that has experienced chipping or rust form underneath is really complaining about the lack of craftsmanship from the applier, -and not the product itself. Even sprayed 2k paints can have chipping or rust form underneath.

[77Birdman]

I have had lots of architectural metals powder coated. For the most part it is a good product. However, I think the longer it is in use the reality sets in. See Brents post. Although it is very durable, it is NOT the paint to end all paints. One of the advantages is that it goes on even and has a wonderful finish. It is also a bit harder? than the average paint. One of the disadvantages is that its hard to touch up without noticing it too bad. I would not have a problem powder coating a chassis but personally I would not. When I do my cars (again, modern compared to an A) I use stuff from eastwood. It looks good and its easy to touch up if need be. SPI (southern polyurethanes) was mentioned, I have heard nothing but good about their products. BTW, Any paint should be ground to metal for a proper ground.

[Kevin in NJ]

Powder coating has an advantage to a home restorer because you do not get the nasty chemicals in the air.

I would not say it is a better coating. It has its places.

I have a garage attached to my house and I do not want the vapors to get inside. So I stopped painting anything large there. But even the small stuff I tend to avoid.

I bought the high end powder coat and it is much better then the cheap stuff. I have a cheap PC gun and it does not lay down the powder well. I feel I have to get too much on to get the corners. You can see where the better guns have much more control and I hear you can get into corners better.

I used a regular oven but extended the back some so I could put a wheel in it. Wheels are the best use for powder coat. You would have to spray a bunch of paint to get all the areas. With the deeper oven I was able to get some larger parts inside. The problem with a regular oven is you need to be very creative with mounting the parts. I also re-enforced the racks to handle the weight of the parts.

Powder coat has its place. Also SPI is a great place to get paint.

[Ed in Maine]

I use NAPA Chassis Satin Black. It is a very tough paint and it is the correct color. Do not get it on your hands, it has to wear off. There is no known to man solvent once it starts to set up. I also use it on carburetors because it is not attacked by gasoline. It is not cheap at $42.00 per quart. Ed

[77Birdman]

Ed, are you talking about chassis paint or 'chassis saver paint'? I have used the chassis saver (I think its a brand) that compares to Por 15, and that stuff is tenacious as well. The only way to get it off is with time. Wear gloves.