Powder Coating Leaf Springs?

[crahill39]

Is there any issue with tearing these down and having them powder coated? Will it mess with the spring tension or would the paint come off over time?

 

[texas69bee]

https://www.eatondetroitspring.com/powder-coating-chroming-springs/

 

[mmissile]

My coater does springs all the time. Haven't heard any complaints, yet.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

You definitely can powder coat your leaf springs...BUT, there are two big potential stumbling blocks (fyi-I used to sell Eibach their powder coating for coil springs). First, the leaves must be COMPLETELY free of dirt/oil/rust, so you'll have to at least sand blast them. Secondly, that's a lot of metal to heat up in a powder coating oven which makes the cure ("dry" time) very slow, so your powder coater needs to be SURE the metal is hot enough to get the powder coating fully hardened or it will crack the first time you drive it. You need a powder coater with a "batch oven" instead of a conveyor coating system for this reason.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Ask the CudaChick"

 

[kiwigtx]

Ask the CudaChick"

Good answer.... @CudaChick1968 (That should do it)

 

[mmissile]

You definitely can powder coat your leaf springs...BUT, there are two big potential stumbling blocks (fyi-I used to sell Eibach their powder coating for coil springs). First, the leaves must be COMPLETELY free of dirt/oil/rust, so you'll have to at least sand blast them. Secondly, that's a lot of metal to heat up in a powder coating oven which makes the cure ("dry" time) very slow, so your powder coater needs to be SURE the metal is hot enough to get the powder coating fully hardened or it will crack the first time you drive it. You need a powder coater with a "batch oven" instead of a conveyor coating system for this reason.

I would never use a "production" coater for my stuff. My guys' shop has been in business for just under 30 years. All they do, is custom stuff.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/100908086128/

 

[callofthemopar]

Is there any issue with tearing these down and having them powder coated? Will it mess with the spring tension or would the paint come off over time?

I am still against powder coating some pieces for cars. Engine brackets and such not bad but suspension parts under torque and flex just worries me. for the price I think you could do better than powder coat. I was in the powder industries for about 20 years. powdered lots of my own stuff and was disappointed early on with its performance especially in the sun, fades real fast even the so called UV rated powder lasted minimally longer than the rest. I took real care to ensure proper cure but not over cure to all my parts, I had the ideal set up at hand, one Wagner gun with fan and conical tips, one Nordson sure coat gun, bead blaster, three batch curing ovens. One infrared curing oven and one UV curing oven which could cure some parts in 20 seconds! I have also formulated colors in metallic powder for every powder coating producer in the world. Now I have been away from the industry for about five years so new tech has probably advanced powder a bit but ask yourself why are car bodies not yet powder coated. The answer is its still not yet up to the quality a customer would expect for a auto finish in appearance and longevity. clear coating helps the finish last a little longer but minimal in my opinion. Now things I have coated for the interior of my home are still looking good 10 and 15 years later. I am sure cudachick can do a great job at coating your springs and making them look great but the rest of the job is up to the performance of the coating.
My goal is not to persuade you. My goal is to arm you with info so you can make the best choice for you. I say Garage queen=powder coat, Driver=wet spray. sorry for the ramble but powder coating has been glorified to no end and it irritates me! it has its place in the coatings world but its no end all coating as advertised in every ad you open.

 

[CudaChick1968]

I won't coat leaf springs for a few reasons.

 

[crahill39]

I won't coat leaf springs for a few reasons.

Could you elaborate a bit more? I am going to be breaking down my leaf springs this weekend and prepping them for either powder coating or paint. I don't want to make a mistake, which I am prone to doing

 

[Darthomas]

I'm guessing it's very difficult to clean them enough to get adhesion, and way too easy to degrade the temper of the metal. I would expect the process to affect it just like when hot rolled 1/4 inch steel coils are batch annealed in a steel mill, where the whole point is to de-stress the metal so it can be cold rolled to finish thickness.

 

[CudaChick1968]

Yes, when I'm finished in the shop on this old Coca Cola bench. My phone and FBBO don't get along well.

Could you elaborate a bit more? I am going to be breaking down my leaf springs this weekend and prepping them for either powder coating or paint. I don't want to make a mistake, which I am prone to doing

 

[CudaChick1968]

Sorry for the delay crahill39. It's been a busy week.

First off, we ALL make mistakes now and then. If we do it right, we learn from them.

I agree with quite a bit of what's been said above, and disagree on a few points. Not all parts should be powder coated; spring steel is one of them since its prior heat treating was done for a reason. Now powder coating itself isn't going to really change the temper of the metal (it doesn't get hot enough), but it can adversely affect performance according to some experts.

Powder is actually more flexible than paint if the job's done right. I've seen this on my own car and heard from many customers over the years about its durability -- especially on suspension parts -- versus a rattle can paint job. It's your car, and only you can decide what's best for you.

Proper metal prep is the key to everything and represents probably 97% of a well done powder job. Without "tooth" on the metal (see abrasive blasting materials), the powder is just riding on top waiting for its first impact. Glass bead blasting is a nice soft finish versus other medias but it really doesn't eat into the metal enough in my opinion so, with few exceptions, I use fine grit black slag instead. If you look at blasted metal underneath a microscope, you will see mountains and valleys. Powder falls into the valleys and rides atop the mountains, and when the cure cycle is underway it melts, self-levels, and actually becomes part of the metal itself. That's one reason why it's a preferred finish for a lot of manufacturers and DIYers.

As far as coating leaf springs in particular, the ones on my own Barracuda are painted. Leaf springs have these pieces of material in between each leaf called "Delrin liners." (See here for further reading: https://www.eatondetroitspring.com/leaflinereffectonspringrate/) They're there to cushion the leaves, keep them separated from each other (presumably so they don't rust together), and absolutely will NOT withstand the heat of powder coating. If you can get your hands on a new set of liners, it's a really good idea to replace them when you take the leaf springs apart for restoration. Without them, any finish on the leaves themselves will experience extreme wear from use; all that rubbing together is going to deteriorate that finish regardless of whether it's paint or powder, and the resulting sloppiness of the leaves flopping around (for lack of a better term) is going to wear out your bushings and could eventually result in mishandling and catastrophe while on the road. Imagine going 75 on the highway and one of your leaf springs (or the clips that secure them) breaks ....... I will not have an injured customer on my conscience.

I hope some of this helps with your decision. Feel free to give me a call any time if you have other questions or want to go over details.

 

[crahill39]

Sorry for the delay crahill39. It's been a busy week.

First off, we ALL make mistakes now and then. If we do it right, we learn from them.

I agree with quite a bit of what's been said above, and disagree on a few points. Not all parts should be powder coated; spring steel is one of them since its prior heat treating was done for a reason. Now powder coating itself isn't going to really change the temper of the metal (it doesn't get hot enough), but it can adversely affect performance according to some experts.

Powder is actually more flexible than paint if the job's done right. I've seen this on my own car and heard from many customers over the years about its durability -- especially on suspension parts -- versus a rattle can paint job. It's your car, and only you can decide what's best for you.

Proper metal prep is the key to everything and represents probably 97% of a well done powder job. Without "tooth" on the metal (see abrasive blasting materials), the powder is just riding on top waiting for its first impact. Glass bead blasting is a nice soft finish versus other medias but it really doesn't eat into the metal enough in my opinion so, with few exceptions, I use fine grit black slag instead. If you look at blasted metal underneath a microscope, you will see mountains and valleys. Powder falls into the valleys and rides atop the mountains, and when the cure cycle is underway it melts, self-levels, and actually becomes part of the metal itself. That's one reason why it's a preferred finish for a lot of manufacturers and DIYers.

As far as coating leaf springs in particular, the ones on my own Barracuda are painted. Leaf springs have these pieces of material in between each leaf called "Delrin liners." (See here for further reading: https://www.eatondetroitspring.com/leaflinereffectonspringrate/) They're there to cushion the leaves, keep them separated from each other (presumably so they don't rust together), and absolutely will NOT withstand the heat of powder coating. If you can get your hands on a new set of liners, it's a really good idea to replace them when you take the leaf springs apart for restoration. Without them, any finish on the leaves themselves will experience extreme wear from use; all that rubbing together is going to deteriorate that finish regardless of whether it's paint or powder, and the resulting sloppiness of the leaves flopping around (for lack of a better term) is going to wear out your bushings and could eventually result in mishandling and catastrophe while on the road. Imagine going 75 on the highway and one of your leaf springs (or the clips that secure them) breaks ....... I will not have an injured customer on my conscience.

I hope some of this helps with your decision. Feel free to give me a call any time if you have other questions or want to go over details.

Thank you very much for that detailed explanation. My springs have a good bit of rust on them and will need a lot of work. I am also looking at going with the Caltrac mono-leaf setup instead for other reasons. This thread has been a lot of help!

 

[Darthomas]

Thank you very much for that detailed explanation. My springs have a good bit of rust on them and will need a lot of work. I am also looking at going with the Caltrac mono-leaf setup instead for other reasons. This thread has been a lot of help!

When I had a leaf spring break, I was very, very happy there were multiple leaves to depend on.

 

[CudaChick1968]

What did you decide to do crahill39?

 

[crahill39]

What did you decide to do crahill39?

It was a hard decision, but after looking the springs over and thinking about the overall theme I have in mind for the car (50/50 street and strip), I decided to go with the mopar SS springs and a few extra clamps to keep them together. I appreciate your explanation of things and that factored in as well. I am pretty novice about spotting signs of poor work and have too trusting of a personality to second guess the local guy here. So in the end, it was SS springs over rebuilt ones using Caltracs.

Craig

 

[CudaChick1968]

Good call!! I have the SS springs on my Cuda too. It raised the *** end a bit but with my sway bars and ride height, I like the setup a lot. Always kinda partial to the jacked up look ...