Powder Coating, Dash Frame and Other Assorted Chassis Parts...

[Moparman01]

Looking for some opinions on powder coating, what can/should be done and what not to do. No OEM restoration going on here so factory correct finishes are not a concern for me. We have a very good reputable sand blasting/powder coating place right in my home town and i'd like to do some business with them. My first thought, since i have my dash out of my Charger and fully stripped down to the bare frame, i thought maybe the dash frame would be a good candidate to be powder coated. It has some minor surface rust here and there that needs addressing, but i figure they have larger hi-pressure sand blasting units that could take care of that, then give it a satin black powder coat finish, would last forever wouldn't it? Good idea or not? Also, i plan on having my K-member, tranny cross-member, rear end housing, and some various front end suspension hard parts that may not be swapped out with the new suspension kit i plan to buy (Just Suspension's "The Works" kit). Also, has anyone had anything powder coated with a "chrome" powder before? I don't plan on doing my bumpers or anything like that in chrome powder coat but maybe some under hood brackets and pulleys. I know powder coat is more durable and can last a lot longer than paint, what do you guy's think? Thanks!

[Dino]

Powder coating when done right will beat a paintjob in durability hands down.  Your budget would be the only limiting factor here because short of the body itself you can powder coat just about anything.  I have not seen the chrome powder coat yet, sounds interesting.

I'd take your questions to the shop, they will have much better advice as far as what to coat and what not.  Make sure they can show you some of their work before you fork over any cash and see if you can find some clients to get feedback on quality and customer service.  Powder coating is not cheap and you want to do this only once.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Regardless is you use paint or powder, go with a flat on the dash, the satin will reflect on your windshield and that would be no fun.

[Moparman01]

Cool, thanks for the info! Luckily I have a buddy that had some under hood parts for his Vette powder coated by our local shop and it looks good, plus he's real happy with thier work and he said they are very reasonable price wise! One of the things I was kinda worried about is warpage from the baking process since the dash frame is not an extremely thick metal. I will be talking to the shop soon, yes I will keep you posted!

[Dino]

Cool, thanks for the info! Luckily I have a buddy that had some under hood parts for his Vette powder coated by our local shop and it looks good, plus he's real happy with thier work and he said they are very reasonable price wise! One of the things I was kinda worried about is warpage from the baking process since the dash frame is not an extremely thick metal. I will be talking to the shop soon, yes I will keep you posted!

Not to worry, the dash will not warp in the baking process. 

[green69rt]

Just thinking out loud...  The surface or the dash under the window really needs to have some kind of special finish to prevent reflecting light into the inside of the windshield and cutting your ability to see.  I don't know if the powder coat "satin" is dull enough to prevent that relection??  Also the vents would show a different color unless you were lucky and found it in regular paint.  If the diff in color is not a big issue for you then sounds like a good plan, I have considered the same plan.  I'd be interested to hear how yours comes out 

[green69rt]

Also, I did get the axle housing powder coated gloss and I like it.  On the front, my k-member, bumper brackets( all of them including the big ones), some of the bracing that goes behind the bumper done in what the shop called mini-tex.   It is a very flat black that has a strong resemblance to a smoother than normal undercoating.  I think I may get my grill frame done in the same stuff (mini-tex.)

[moparnation74]

I had the dash in my charger powder coated. The color I painstakingly picked out mimics the factory finish.  The flake in it gives it that factory texture look and the color is very close to the factory black color.  Plus, I never ever have to worry about care of cleaning or longevity of the powder coat versus the factory lacquer finish.  To date, I never had any glare/visibility problems.  The steelies on my car are powder coated gloss black.  That was a two stage process and as tough as concrete.

[green69rt]

I had the dash in my charger powder coated. The color I painstakingly picked out mimics the factory finish.  The flake in it gives it that factory texture look and the color is very close to the factory black color.  Plus, I never ever have to worry about care of cleaning or longevity of the powder coat versus the factory lacquer finish.  To date, I never had any glare/visibility problems.  The steelies on my car are powder coated gloss black.  That was a two stage process and as tough as concrete.

Do you happen to remember the color choice/brand and were there any other additives??

[69hemirr]

I powder coated my K frame, upper and lower control arms, torsion bars, leaf springs, rear end housing, rear brake drums, rear shock mounts 10 years ago when I redid my 68.  It looks like I did them yesterday.  Keep in mind I drive my car about 4-6K miles each year.

I had them done in a chassis black and they look really nice.  If they know what they are doing it will look good.  Trick is getting them really clean before coating. 

[Bandit72]

I powder coated a dash frame and had absolutely no issues. Make sure you plug any hole you don't want powder to get in, and any threads will have to be tapped if not blocked off.