Powder Coating on leaf springs?

Has anyone ever powder coated leaf springs on any early car with exposed springs? If it was successful, how long did last?

Tom

I am also considering the same procedure and hope you get an accurate answer. In addition to powder coating I am getting prepared to apply a wet overcoat to my powder coated surfaces.

I am overcoating the pieces because the powdercoat turns out with different finishes/gloss when applied to different metal composition. For example heavy/thick formed pieces, sheet metal panels, and cast parts.

Soon I hope to start coating some powder coated pieces with the John Deere Semi Gloss. It has been recommended as being durable, strong, and easy to work with. I will see, I hope soon. I was going to try another brand that needed to have a gloss reducer mixed, but I got inconsistant finishes.

Good Luck

Fred D

Tom

I am also considering the same procedure and hope you get an accurate answer. In addition to powder coating I am getting prepared to apply a wet overcoat to my powder coated surfaces.

I am overcoating the pieces because the powdercoat turns out with different finishes/gloss when applied to different metal composition. For example heavy/thick formed pieces, sheet metal panels, and cast parts.

Soon I hope to start coating some powder coated pieces with the John Deere Semi Gloss. It has been recommended as being durable, strong, and easy to work with. I will see, I hope soon. I was going to try another brand that needed to have a gloss reducer mixed, but I got inconsistant finishes.

Good Luck

Fred D

That seems like a heck of a lot of extra work for no good reason. Powdercoating does not turn different colors or have a different gloss depending on the material to which it is applied. It's really no different than paint other than it goes on dry and then melts to form a liquid barrier that then hardens at room temperature. The material onto which it is applied has no effect on the powder itself, although it sticks better to surfaces with some "tooth" than to smooth, unprepped surfaces. I've powdercoated hundreds, maybe even thousands of parts on my 1941 Buick and other applications and the powder is far more consistent than paint because it doesn't care about humidity, temperature, or what you had for breakfast in order to come out right. If you want consistency, have everything powdercoated at the same time using the same batch of powder (colors may vary a tiny amount between batches, just like paint, but you can't see the difference with the naked eye). I've never ever had a problem with colors or gloss being variable on any of the parts I've done myself or had professionally done. Adding some kind of paint on top seems like a needless extra step and powder is a relatively poor primer unless you're scuffing it before paint and using another primer. And while the powder will flex and resist heat, abrasion, and chemicals pretty well, the paint will just be paint and will eventually chip and flake, revealing the powdercoated surface underneath. In short, by adding the paint step, you're eliminating all powdercoating's virtues and adding a lot of extra work for yourself without any advantage. Your car, your choice, but why spend the money and time doing it twice?

Anyway, if the leafs were originally painted, the powder will work better. If they were originally raw metal on the mating surfaces, there might be some wear issues where the powder won't hold up any better than paint would have. I haven't personally done leaf springs, and I know that the movement of the spring leaves against one another are integral to their function, so unless there's grease or oil between them, the powder will probably wear off. I don't think it'll do any harm and the areas that don't see any friction will probably never flake or peel and powder is far more resistant to flexing than paint. Powder will work better than paint if they were originally painted, but if they were not painted originally, then it's probably not a good idea to use paint or powder on the leafs.

Does this help?

Matt

I do not want to steal or hijack this thread. I personally called you a long time ago and we discussed your project. As for my own experience the fellow that did my powder coating however has had produced different results while doing different materials at the same time. I agree different batches will produce different results. And yes surface prep is also critical. I just offered Tom my experience on my project. Hopefully Tom receives the information he is inquiring about. Thank you for your reply. I will not offer any more on this particular thread.

I meant no offense, Fred. I was just pointing out that there's no need for the paint step when using powder. If you prefer the look of paint, that's cool, although I haven't found powder to look significantly different and done properly, it doesn't have a heavy coating look. Everyone thinks it looks like the plastic-dipped handles on a pair of pliers or something, when in reality it's not much thicker than paint and details still show through.

Anyway, I didn't mean to step on your toes, I just didn't want anyone thinking that powder needs to be top-coated to look right. It's fine all by itself as long as the user is happy with the color and sheen.

Powder coatings are a cheap option compered to paint and proper finish

FWIW: I try to powder paint every part I can for durability and longivity. Here is a picture of my 77 Chevrolet pick-up leaf springs. Larry

I don't see why it wont work on leaf springs. The coil springs on ATV's Bikes and snowmobiles have been powder coated for years.

IMO, it is not a good idea to use powder coatings between leaf springs.

I have used dry moly lubricant in a spray can (in stock at John Deere dealers). This lubricates between the leaves as originally designed and eliminates grease that attracts dirt. The outside of the spring leaves can still be painted to match the chassis.