Powder Coat, POR15, or Paint?

[6S2350]

So I am going to start doing a few pieces a week to get media blasted and ?. What does everyone think I should do as far as strut tower brace, sway bar, and other stuff . I know powder coating would last forever and always looks nice. Paint looks nice when its new but after years it loses it new look. Thanks

[shelbymann1970]

So I am going to start doing a few pieces a week to get media blasted and ?. What does everyone think I should do as far as strut tower brace, sway bar, and other stuff . I know powder coating would last forever and always looks nice. Paint looks nice when its new but after years it loses it new look. Thanks

I would powder coat BUT on the thing you call a strut tower brace I assume you mean shock tower since these cars do not have struts. If you mean the one piece I would be careful of powder coating because if the paint is thick it could chip when you mount the nuts and shock tower caps. For better or worse I did my pulleys in powercoat on my 70 Shelby and a few brackets. My sway bar on my 70 is over 10 years painted rattle canned and still looks good. Depends on the type of paint you use I guess. Lets not EVEN get into a discussion of rattle can over gun sprayed parts. OK? Problem with POR 15 is top coating it-must sand it pretty rough I have been told. . If you have rust por15 is for that. If you do not and prep right you do not need that stuff on your car.

[6S2350]

I meant shock tower brace I am used to these newer cars! Sorry!

[shelbymann1970]

I meant shock tower brace I am used to these newer cars! Sorry!

Hey no problem but again power coating could cause a problem on parts that are bolted on. A sway bar isn't directly in contact with torqued nuts or bolts. You need to torque down the shock tower caps onto the export brace. Maybe someone else has done this and can tell us how it turned out.

[ITHERTZ]

I have had NO issues to powder coating these items and bolting them together.

[shelbymann1970]

I have had NO issues to powder coating these items and bolting them together.

Thanks. Powder coating is the way to go. Have you ever done pitted parts? you know where you have to fill in the pits with an epoxy glaze putty before painting? Can this be done and powder coated with excellent results? Gary

[zray]

another choice to consider is eastwoods extreme chassis black. very durable.

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-extreme-chassis-black-satin-aerosol-14-oz.html

btw, the eastwood rust encapsulator has many features that make a strong case for using it over POR-15

http://www.eastwood.com/por-15-vs-rust-encapsulator-products-comparision-part-1

http://www.eastwood.com/rust-encapsulator.html

Z.

[ITHERTZ]

Thanks. Powder coating is the way to go. Have you ever done pitted parts? you know where you have to fill in the pits with an epoxy glaze putty before painting? Can this be done and powder coated with excellent results? Gary

My pitted parts were preparred with progressive media blasting.  The pits are still there, but hardly noticeable.

[BUILDER 2]

if i recall right por 15 stands for paint on rust, if im wrong please correct. it might be photochemicly reactive meaning it could change colors with prolonged exposure. will anyone second that? we havent used it in at least 15 years, there are better products/methods to get your job done.

[shelbymann1970]

if i recall right por 15 stands for paint on rust, if im wrong please correct. it might be photochemicly reactive meaning it could change colors with prolonged exposure. will anyone second that? we havent used it in at least 15 years, there are better products/methods to get your job done.

I looked at a por15 69 Mach1 last week. It had been done for years according to the owner(at least 5). Still looked like the black por15 I was used to seeing.

[GT350Shelb]

Por 15 is not uv protected If the uv gets to it it will change color. If your car is a garage queen then this might not be an issue. we used it to top coat snowmobile trailers and lets just say the results were not very good. once it looses its adhesion  it peels off in sheets.

 I'm not convinced the eastwood stuff is anything different .

If you have a good powder coater you can fill rust pits  /I have powder coated  brake drums that were 70 years old  and heavily pitted ....... you powder coat them and sand them smooth and re powder coat them  till pits are gone.

Still look great and the heat has not changed the finish at all.( And this was on a 4500lb car )

If there is a threaded mounting point in parts being powder coated put bolt in  them and it keeps threads clean  and you end up with a box of powder coated bolts.

opening for mounting will get smaller and may need to be cleaned out  but that has been only down fall and its a small issue

good powder coater are like good chrome platers

In most cases its cheaper to powdercoat than to paint if you factor in time and materials ............krylon does not count as paint   

 
  

[BUILDER 2]

+1             

[shelbymann1970]

Phil, do you do your own powder coating? I once detailed out a friend's 69 CJ Mach1. I restored the underside and "fixed" the engine bay. The bay was painted in por15. It was peeling off. With a CJ engine installed and all air/PS stuff in the way I sanded and razor bladed the Por15 off and repainted the bay. By the way he powder coated the rear axle housing and backing plates and they looked great.  Had a "new" NOS drive shaft made up where his original one was done in 1969-the Sterling Heights Ford Axle plant. Still had original stuff lying around to make it back in the 90s. Gary

[6S2350]

Alright so what shade of powder coat? I hope I didnt open a can of worms!

[s2ms]

I had my original sway bar, export brace, traction bars, and rear backing plates powder coated in semigloss black in the early 90's and they still look fantastic.