maybe an idiot question but i want to sandblast my control arm i burn my old bushing to put poly bushing and replace balljoint here are my question if i sandblast my control arm because of the sandblast does it will affected the thickness of the metal where the bushing will go ( the poly will not have a little slack in ) ???? it is not too significant to see that ????? and for the lower front control arm i remove the press fit ball joint and i sandblast in this hole do i will have the same problem with my ball joint because it is press fit????? if i want to sandblast my front knuckle spindle if i place a tape where the spindle go does is is ok to do that ???? does the heat of the powdercoat will affect the spindle part of the knuckle???? many thanks all
The heat for the setting the powder coating will not hurt any metal parts. Tape will keep the parts from getting sand blasted as long as the person doing it takes a little care, unless he just stays in one place it removes very little metal, mostly just the rust and paint. Any hole I was worried aboutI would just put a bolt in it. Larry
For me, I rather be safe than sorry with sandblasting. If I even doubt any damage, that area is masked off. Then I hand sand the area to remove the paint rather than blasting. As far as powdercoating, it adds thickness to the part so definately mask off bolt holes, threaded areas, and bushing areas. The heat from the powdercoat oven will not affect strength as long as you let the part cool all the way down on it's own. Don't be in a hurry to cool it and you will be fine.
Sandblast it,don't worry at all. I sandblast and regularly coat steel and aluminum,unless you have heavy grit on aluminum you won't take material off. I have also blasted and coated sensitive parts like pistons,cranks,cams etc..
Just tape off where you don't want powder,or sand/scrape it off afterwards (I use high temp tape). I've heated pistons and rods as well as aluminum heads (steel valve seats) at higher temps so doubt you will have an issue.
I have a simliar question. Is powder coat realy going to stop the bushings/shells from getting pressed into the control arms? weren't they painted there? Is the powder that much thicker?
when I get my parts Powder Coated, the shop burns off the old crap with an oven. It heats up to 700 deg and all the rust, paint and gunk burns off. Then they blow off the crap, clean it and then powder coat it.
I have a simliar question. Is powder coat realy going to stop the bushings/shells from getting pressed into the control arms? weren't they painted there? Is the powder that much thicker?
yes. the PC is thick and may need to be cleaned out of any holes that you are putting bolts or bushings/shells back in. I had my cradle PC and after it was back, I had to chase the holes for the lower control arms first. Same with the holes for the trans/motor mounts.
you will know if you need to clean out the holes when you go to put the first bolt in.
the only thing that they tape off or plug are holes with threads.
yes. the PC is thick and may need to be cleaned out of any holes that you are putting bolts or bushings/shells back in. I had my cradle PC and after it was back, I had to chase the holes for the lower control arms first. Same with the holes for the trans/motor mounts.
you will know if you need to clean out the holes when you go to put the first bolt in.
the only thing that they tape off or plug are holes with threads.
Rob
Agreed 100%. I've seen some powder coat that has been chipped off and if you just wanted to touch it up with similar colored paint, not powder coat, you would need a thin coat of body filler to fill in the chip. It adds quite a thickness of material.
Sand blasting can ruin even the best protected parts. The stuff can be evil. I sandblasted the brass radiator top on 124 spider; made it look great, only to end up replacing the front camshaft seals and bushings a few days later! And yes, I thought I had protected everything real good.
Yeah,blasting parts is very particular. Suspension stuff though,regular iron can take whatever you throw at it. Don't blast around ANYTHING that might ingest it,the dust will get everywhere. i use a vac and a blast cabinet and still get dust on things. When it comes to blasting aluminum or clearanced or thin parts then things like material and pressure etc.. Come into play. I blast pistons,cranks and sensitive stuff with 220g aluminum oxide prior to coating. Things like wheels,brackets etc.. I use black slag. Depending what you do with it,aluminum is picky. Too low grit and sand will pit and etch it,if your Pc'ing then you don't want to use anything that will close the pores (like sand or plastic beads iirc) or embed itself in the aluminum (glass bead). Steel is pretty versatile really,mainly just pick your surface finish I think. For good PC burning it off is best option. Some stuff will come right off with easy blasting,some stuff i've had no choice but to burn off then blast. I'm not a pro by any means,just hobbyist and this is what i've noticed.
