Tim111s Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Hi, About to refurb my wishbones (possibly some suspension brackets as well) and looking for local (ideally Notts, Derby, Leicester) places to undertake the cleaning, zinc passivation (and de-embrittlement), and powdercoating. Does anyone have any recommendations? I'd also be interested in views as to the best way to clean them up. They have the usual covering of road dirt/salt residue and possibly a little surface rust but nothing major that I can see. Would an acid clean be the best option (do they clean them in acid prior to passivation anyway), or should I be looking at some form of shot/bead blasting? Thanks, Tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russelld Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Hi Tim, I have used these guys in Nottingham for wheel refurbishment . They also do a lot of work on motorbike frames, they bead blast and then powdercoat the frames. Reasonable prices too. http://www.totalwheelworks.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve J Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Sticking them in a bucket of vinegar is a cheap and effective method of cleaning them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin R Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I would use POR 15 and not powder coating myself. Powdercoat can and will chip, it allows water in then. POR 15 sticks like the proverbial to a blanket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbo Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I've had some powder coating done at Millenium Services in Derby before. They do lots of big stuff like railway carriage chasses, bogey sets, etc. I did the prep myself, but I'm sure they can also do that as they'd need to know what they're coating it clean before they start. The Metal Improvement Company (also Derby) do shot-blast work (not sure if they do small cash jobs, though - they're a major supplier to Rolls-Royce for surface improvement techniques and might not be keen on small "foreigners"). Years ago I'd have taken stuff there, but RR is more strict now and MIC might have had to change the way it works. As far as cleaning is concerned, I'd take the advice of whoever you get to do the coating. Be prepared for a shock, though - it's not unheard of to discover that your wishbones are beyond repair when you get them off and grit-blasted. Obviously, this means that they only had a short life left on the car if you'd left them alone, so it's better to find it out this way than the other way ! Before you start out, it might be worth checking that (eg) Eliseparts are in a position to supply replacements for any that are suspect (and that you have the credit card ready....). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayj_prod Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I can't really give any suggestions of where to go, but I did my front suspension last winter... blasted and then painted with POR 15. Not a mark on even the lower wishbones. I'm doing my rear (amongst other things) at the moment and plan on the same method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim111s Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thanks for the replies. I did consider POR15 but having a limited space to work in, as well as the time required to do the job properly and get a good finish, is what has led me down the powder coating route. Having them re-passivated was with the intention of providing some protection should the powder coat chip and I figured I could always touch-up any chips with a little hammerite if required (I'm going for black so any touch-up should be less noticable). I accept it probably means the finish in a few years time won't be as good as with POR 15 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayj_prod Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 You mentioned possibly doing the suspension brackets. I would suggest doing those at the same time. It won't add anything much to your costs, but you'll have done most of the work getting your wishbones out. Getting a bit more protection on those other steel pieces is worth it while you can access them easily. If you do, don't forget about applying Duralac between the steel and aluminium when you re-fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil S1 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I used Nuns Street Plating in Derby when I did mine.....click on my suspension refresh link below for more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim111s Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Hi Phil, That's a useful link/guide. Out of interest, where did you get your diffuser powdercoated, and are you happy with the result? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil S1 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Hi Tim, I had my diffuser powder coated at this place in Ripley:- http://www.millenniumcoatings.co.uk/index.htm There were a few blemishes here and there but I was pleased with it overall, to be fair most of that was probably due to the remains of the old coating that I had rubbed down. They didn't fancy shot blasting the old coating off as it would have deformed the diffuser, unless I'd perhaps made a plywood support for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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