I'm in the process of building some axles for my 60 with ARB's and all new components. What I'm wondering is whats the most durable coating? I've considered powder coating but I think it'd be very expensive. I'm leaning towards POR15/paint. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Building axles...powder coat or paint or POR15?
- Thread starter backwoodsman
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I would say powder coating is the strongest.
i wouldn't expect powder coating to cost much more than $150-200 per axle.
i don't think I'd want to PC the axles though...wouldn't it just be easier to paint and be able to touch up if ever needed? you can't touch up PC as easily. Paint would be cheaper too.
My frame is powdercoated and it's been very durable. No issues. Make sure you get a nice thick coating from a good shop, you won't regret it.
I would not bother with PC axles... they are bound to see more flying gravel, rocks, sharp objects than the rear end of a frame would.
Once the coating has been breached water will work its way under the coat, and by the time you find it it has already chew a few inches...
Besides how do you to repair a damage section of an axle that has been PC'ed?
You use the rattle can treatment....
I PC my frame and painted my axles with POR15, but I did get the axles sand blasted for better paint adhesion.
The frame and rear axle have rub some boulders and the quick fix has been and will be rattle can.......
Spend that $$ on a long range tank or drawer system instead....
My $0.02
Once the coating has been breached water will work its way under the coat, and by the time you find it it has already chew a few inches...
Besides how do you to repair a damage section of an axle that has been PC'ed?
You use the rattle can treatment....
I PC my frame and painted my axles with POR15, but I did get the axles sand blasted for better paint adhesion.
The frame and rear axle have rub some boulders and the quick fix has been and will be rattle can.......
Spend that $$ on a long range tank or drawer system instead....
My $0.02
See if your local paint jobber will mix you up a 2K rattle can of urethane acrylic. It's the toughest spray paint available, and a basic black shouldn't get you into any matching charges. It's a can-in-a-can: pressing the bottom button mixes in the catalyst and gives you 48 hours pot life. An axle should take about 2 cans. I paid $22/can this summer. You can also get a matching 2K primer.
Good info here, Imron is one of the brand names of a urethane acrylic...ridiculously tough paint!!
Yup. I painted my rear quarter this summer with DuPont Centauri urethane custom mixed into one if those 2K rattlecans. I had some fish eyeing, and sanding that stuff down took many sheets of 180 grit and half a day's elbow grease. I've never seen paint so tough.
The downside is that that the activated urethanes contain isocynates. You need a seriously good respirator and either an extraction spray booth or plenty of outside space.
The downside is that that the activated urethanes contain isocynates. You need a seriously good respirator and either an extraction spray booth or plenty of outside space.
If you're not grinding over rocks, the powdercoat is simply amazingly durable.
For a street/ logging road truck, I'd try it.
It's rubbery, to an extent, so s*it just bounces off of it.
But Manu has it right- once it fails, it's no better than paint.
t
For a street/ logging road truck, I'd try it.
It's rubbery, to an extent, so s*it just bounces off of it.
But Manu has it right- once it fails, it's no better than paint.
t
I bought a quart can of satin black Rustoleum and because I applied it with a brush, the coating was thick and durable. Much more durable than spray paint, and the brush marks weren't visible under the truck. I would use satin, not gloss black.
Did a bumper in POR when I first built it. No top coat. UV killed it, but it took 10 years for the rust to show up. Did the prep for Rustoleum and re-coated with it. This coastal climate showed rust coming thru that in 2 years.
Moral: Use POR and read the instructions about top-coating it. I rattle can Rustoleum over the POR while it is still tacky. Resulting finish looks and feel one heck of a lot like PC, but so far has proven to be far, far tougher.
Moral: Use POR and read the instructions about top-coating it. I rattle can Rustoleum over the POR while it is still tacky. Resulting finish looks and feel one heck of a lot like PC, but so far has proven to be far, far tougher.
Personally, I would not use POR. I know some people have good luck with it but I've used it several times throughout the past 10 years, followed the instructions exactly, and still had issues with it peeling about 50% of the time.
For about the same price as POR you can get epoxy primer. On my rear axle I brushed on SPI black epoxy primer, then topcoated it with NAPA "chassis black" spraypaint:
Brushing it on works fine but takes forever. For the front axle I sprayed the same epoxy primer with the Harbor Freight turbine HVLP sprayer:
For about the same price as POR you can get epoxy primer. On my rear axle I brushed on SPI black epoxy primer, then topcoated it with NAPA "chassis black" spraypaint:
Brushing it on works fine but takes forever. For the front axle I sprayed the same epoxy primer with the Harbor Freight turbine HVLP sprayer:
Every time I have had or seen POR peel it was due to improper prep. As crazy as it sounds, clean, freshly sand-blasted metal is one of it's least favorite things to bond to. When I built the bumper mentioned above I intentionally allowed it to rust first. Then I did the prep according to the instructions.
Use Herculiner, the over the counter bed liner. A gallon should be less than $100. I put that stuff on my wheel wells and front bumper. I drive 12 miles of gravel every time I leave the house and had already been through the POR15 routine on the bumper with poor results. I am amazed at how long the Herculiner has held up (50K miles). I initially worried that the Herculiner, with the rough texture of the rubber bits, would gather mud. but this has not happened to the degree that it did with the original paint. Furthermore, I believe the Herculiner is more resilient to gravel and that some gravel hits are cushioned by the rubber bits. And, you can paint over it with more. You can bring it back from faded to bright with a rattle can of black Krylon Fusion for Plastic.
As someone earlier said about POR15..."don't get any on your hootus!"
As someone earlier said about POR15..."don't get any on your hootus!"