pic

like this

Those look Sharp

Why?

I would think powder coating would be a bit more ideal than zinc plating.

Is this discussion about bling factor? It's not like those parts need extra protection from all the latest technologies to survive. What is the goal??

Don't stop at zinc. Go for gold.

Don't They...

i've asked from the standpoint of - not bling - but from why put a on chipable protection that has some added weight, when one could plate?

george - exactly what i was asking : )

is plating about the same cost as powder or paint?

I figured that Jim.
I just figure when it comes to parts that don't typically have rust issues, paint is the cost-effective solution.

I would probably powder coat it myself, but those look damn good.

We don't do either anymore. Zero-Rust on bare metal then a semi-gloss finish over that. Powder is too thick for brake clips and, the base as the arms fit into the crossbar.

Those parts went on Carerror, so far only used as an A/X car. I did it for the weight, zink is lighter than paint.

+1
I had my A arms powder coated and cleared. I had to sand at least the clear away, being very careful not to expose bare metal, to get the ball joints to seat. Also, getting the sway bar bushings in was hard.

Plus -- Powder can't be touched-up if you ever want to, it needs to be blasted and coated all over again.

If I had to do it again, I'd get them blasted at a job shop and then paint them in my attic...or maybe take the $$ I would spend getting them powdercoated and buy myself a blast it all!

Rich,

Feel free to come over and use a large cabinet with a large compressor.
You can stand there all day long and have fun.
Not my favortie thing to do with my time.

I send my stuff out in large batches...it comes back all done.
Send junk, get back pretty painted or powder coated stuff.

Never thought of plating suspension parts, but now that I see them, its not a bad idea.
I wonder if there is a way to plate them black...not so shiny...

Rich

There sure is...zinc nickel. It comes back looking like anodized aluminum. We had it done frequently for marine applications at my first job. The cool thing is that it's still electrically conductive, so you can use the coated parts to ground things to engine blocks.

[HIJACK] Rich, you should see my garage right now. Suspension and brake parts everywhere. After I work, I have to clear a path so Abbie can get the stroller in and out.
[/HIJACK]

Box up what you want and bring some or your favorite media and have at it.
Its all hooked up, vacuum system, lights and compressor.

Again, not my favorite place to stand all day long....

You do know that Home Depot sells big ass plastic shelving units....right?

Get some 2*4,s and plywood, build a shelf over the front hood of the car.
Put all your shit on there, get it out of the mad angry mom's way.

Big ass plywood shelf/floor
Built for weight....post under shelf, dont rely on the shear strength of a nail.
Then, get the plastic shelves from Home depot and set them up there in half sections.
You get about 4 feet of storage...double depth if you do it right.
Everything (everything) but the engine can fit on top of a porsche....with proper shelving and roof racks

If you are an engineer, you can also put the motor above the car...but you need to lift it...and you have room in front of the car for that...so I would not bother.
Get her car inside dufus.

rich

rich

on the subject of arms lets talk about mak'n them stronger...

That is brilliant Rich! I know what I'll be making this weekend. The space above my 914 in the garage is wasted right now

Slight hijack...I have a similar solution. I put two of the steel shelving units together so the shelf is 3' deep and the car fits perfectly.

I wish I had just painted my A and Trailing arms. I'll bet I spent 2h on sanding the powder away because the guy didn't do a great job masking what I asked him to. It looks cool...but so would black paint.

Zinc or Nickel plating would have been pretty bad-ass...and been a lot thinner.

Next time...

"I am an engineer, What the fuch just happen here?"

When I had the parts plated all I had to do is pack them (no cleaning or sanding or painting) a huge savings in time and a small saving in weight and it was cheap.


From the Ranch
Joe Sharp
Team NARP

The PO of my car had mine blasted ,primed and coated in black enamel,this was sometime ago and they are holding up well,same with my rear trailing arms.