slipplate paint rusting (1 Viewer)

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1973Guppie

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Was wondering if anyone else has had this problem with slipplate paint used on leaf springs? I recently took apart some stock 40 springs, wire wheeled them and coated them in 2 coats of brushed on slip plate. I let them dry for several days and left them outside in the rain. They are now becoming rust colored. It looks as if the metal under the slipplate is rusting through and bleeding through the slipplate paint. I am very dissapointed to say the least as I put a lot of work into these darn springs. I expected the slip plate to protect the bare metal from rusting better than this? Is there anything I can do now to remedy this or will I have to live with the springs rusting away after I put them on the car? I was thinking I could put them all together and then spray them with standard black spraypaint to cover and protect the outside of the spring pack? Not sure if standard paint would stick to the graphite based slipplate paint? I was also thinking of using a coat of wd40 or something on the assembled spring packs to ward off moisture but the directions for the splate recommend no solvents to be used. Any help is appreciated.

Noah
 
I believe Woody had the same problem. I would paint the springs initially with a product like rust tough and then topcoat with the slipplate.

BTW, were did you get yours?
 
I'm butting in here, but I got mine at the John Deere dealer. Most any farm supply should have it.
I agree about painting it first with POR, that stuff is harder than the hubs of hell. Then topcoat w/Slipplate or use those polymer strips that eliminate or minimize friction.
Ed Long
 
Yup, I sprayed some leaf springs with a graphite based 'paint', and had the same thing happen.
What the others said about regular paint first sounds good, the paint will likely be rubbed off only at the leaf tips where the friction is highest.
As for the WD40, it'll work, but it'll also catch sand and grit. You really dont want to invite that happening :p. The graphite coating shouldn't be adversly affected by oil tho. It is sometimes used to spray the insides of blocks when an engine is being rebuilt.
 
I got my SP at Grainger. I just can't even bare the thought of taking a wire brush to those springs again. I need to find a solution that does not require pulling that SPlate paint off. I was thinking of using a clearcoat on the finished spring pack? not sure it will stick to the SP though? any opinions on this? After the clearcoat maybe some type of oil to protect. So, no on WD40 but yes on Oil? what type of oil? just basic motor oil? One person reccomended using a mixture of oil and diesel. Anything off the shelf in a spray can that anyone would reccomend using? I do have a spray can of this stuff called LPS 3 rust inhibitor. It seems to be basically a soft, waxy film that keeps metal from rusting, says it is safe for paint and other finishes, 2 years of protection, anyone use this stuff?

thanks for the help.

noah
 
looks like it is NOT the leaf springs rusting, yet it is the impurities in the actual slipplate that are rusting, see below for the response I got from slipplate:

Noah,

One of two things is happening. Either there was a lot of rust still on the surface prior to the application of Slip Plate and it has leached back through or the impurities found in graphite are rusting.

We have seen the 2nd possibility a few times in the past. Graphite is a carbon form and if the impurities are high they will rust. One way to tell is to scrape with your finger nail where the rust is. If the rust comes off then the theory mentioned would be what's happening.

If this is the case, the impurities are so fine that once they rust, they are gone soon after. This would not have any negative effect on the life of the spring.

As for painting over the Slip Plate, this would not work well as the paint would not bond to the Slip Plate well enough.

Mike Schmidt
Acrotech Industries, Inc.
http://www.acrotech.com
 

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