Finally removed all the "stuff" off the frame; next step, powder coating. TimR if you have any photos of the finishes I would greatly appreciate them. I remember seeing a thread that had all the colors. I will look it up before I start. I will need everyones help putting this thing back together. Thanks, in advance. Len
good work! Get a couple of "before and after" shots to share. What are going to do to all the little pieces? Blast and paint or powdercoat? Are you taking the frame to that place um... I can't remember the name.. Its north of you. Anyway let us know how it goes.
Len,you will love the powdercoating. The black they did my frame in is almost a dead match to the semi-gloss that GM put on it. One thing to remember....remove the powdercoating on your control arms where the bushings go.I just bent one on my fronts, pressing in the bushings without removing the coating.
Be careful doing that. It is the biggest drawback to powdercoating. It may chip off and leave a jagged edge.
Thanks for the info. I will probably blast and paint the rest of the parts. Powder coating all the other parts can get pretty expensive. I am going to buy a small blasting cabinet and do the work at home. Should I blast the cast iron pieces or just clean and paint? If I blast the parts wouldn't it be best just to clear coat them? Len PS. I printed out Ken's color list, this will be a great resource.
What pieces are talking about? As for the dremmel tool I would have to see one in action that does not pecker the inside of the cylinder for the bushings.
A better method would be to mask off those areas before powdercoating.....Use the green mylar tape. It holds up to the curing heat well. Available from most hobbiest powdercoat suppliers.... Caswell, Columbia, and Eastwood, to name a few.
I had no problems with any of my bushings. What I did do though was put the bushings in the freezer overnight, and put the arms in the sun for a while before pushings the bushings in. I also used a bit of anti-seize on the outside of the bushing (or inside of bushing hole), they all went in very easily. Make sure you support the inner sides of the arms before squeezing bushings in. A 2x4 with a hole cut in it works well, cut through the center of the hole and now you have two half circles that can be used to prevent the walls from collapsing. We did all this on friends 67 chevelle and we had no issues with bushings in the powdercoating either. It might depend on the type of coating used, the newer ones are thinner I think. And Len, your powdercoating place should have samples. I have almost 1000 pics of my resto so far, i'm pretty sure we've got you covered on the reassembly... later Tim
When you buy the sandblast cabinet, don't get too small of one. I bought a small one from harbor freight and it is a clumsy, confining, little pain. I would suggest one big enough to put a wheel in or an intake. That'll give you some room to move your arms around. The extra money spent will be worth it.
I was thinking middle of the road size also. Harbor Freight has some small ones for $ 100, don't see them lasting too long. They have a larger one for around $ 300. I am going to check out a local tool supply place near me they usually run sales on them. Thanks for the advice. Len
That green tape is iffy in my book. I wish I never bought so much. $$$ masking tape works better but it does turn brown, smell funny and leave a sticky mess that alcohol will clean up. That green tape is fine if you just covering up bare metal but its awful for doing stripes or mulity colored parts in powder. The edges of the tape will melt into and leave super visible line on the powder. Where masking tape just leave a sticky mess and no defects. I have been told to remove the tape half way throug the curing to get ride of that but handling hot hot parts half way cured is not a good idea if you want it to stay 100% nice. Just for myself I have found the stick mess of masking tape less harmful to my end results.
hey i've got a '58 buick and got the body of of the frame now and planning to powder coat. What prep word did y'all do and how much is the powder coating going to cost. i cant seem to get a logical price here. (no one has a big enough oven and they are just guessing) Thanks for any help y'all can give me. Gary (58sled)
Id smooth out any welds or defects in the metal. Powder will make even small grind marks stand out 10xs. You can use brass rods to fill spots. I would have it bead blasted smooth if you want a show room finish. Though you should find a place first. They may insist on doing the final pre stuff them self to make sure the powder sticks. But yea, finding a place with a big enough over is harder. Its also gonna be pricey. Its gotta take some juice to get a garage size over to near 400f. curing along will cost $100+ I assume. painting is some what easier as you can use body filler to smooth it all out well. Though powder can be cured in stages with a infrared heater. Its slower and takes more time but you just kind of walk the heater down the part as the powder flows n cures out. I would opt for someone with a big over again if its gonna be a show car. Myself I have the infrared heater but never used it yet. I try to just do parts that fit in my over.
Gary, I've gotten quotes here in the Philadelphia, Pa area ranging from $200 to $600 to powder coat a '66 frame. Average is $250-300 for the powder coat only, and another $100- 150 for the sandblasting.... Sandblast prep is the way to go. You must have a clean, bare metal surface before powdercoating. Some outfits will then use a phosphate wash and an oven dry before pc'ing. One place also uses a zinc primer pc before applying the color coat. Call around, techniques and prices vary! Hey Len, where are you getting yours done? I might do a road trip if yours comes out real nice... Buick350x.....yeah, the green tape does shrink some during curing. Works well enough to mask off bushing contact points, etc. Hey, maybe aluminum tape (HVAC supply) would work well for you to mask off your striping?? I'll have to try it... And I often use aluminum foil to mask off larger areas.....
Walt here is where I had the problems with the green tape. You can kind of see it in the yellow box. I first did the fender in mirror black and then did the stripes. crisp edges are fine for the stripes but every edge of the tape melted in and left a very visible line. I do like the crisp edge. So I now put down masking tape first so the only edges I want crisp, the green tape touches. I wonder if aluminum tape would work though. Though here is the final result. Powder is like paint so I was able to wet sand the lines out and clear coat. http://www.ViragoTech.com/XVFinishes/fendertest.html
WOW I really appreciate all the feed back I've been on other buick forums and post have sat for weeks with no reply. I've been on this forum for 2 or 3 days and found an engine I may be buying and knowledge about powdercoating I am a young but knowledgable person that has a huge love for all cars and just need a little dirrection sometimes (no one around louisiana has been much help) THANKS AGAIN........... GARY
Walt; I am still waiting on my body shop to verify the price. I have received another quote for $ 450 to blast and coat from a shop in Carlisle PA. I will see what pans out. I may just opt to blast it and paint it myself. I am not going to smooth out any of the seams and such, leaving it el-natural. Len
Sandblasting is the only way to go for a frame. I spent many many hours grinding down crap welds and removing slag....then set up your appointment with the powdercoaters, sandblast the frame and head right over there. yes i know its nice to leave it all the way it was, but man my frame must have been wlded by someone half asleep, there wer 1/2" high blobs of slag everywhere...really looked like crap. This way the sandblasting will level out grind marks and even things up. It will hide more than paint will, be careful sandblasting not to take the VIN or anything like that off.... Again, I detailed all this on my website, including detailed shots of one section of the frame before grinding, after grinding, and after powdercoating. Check it out! later Tim
Tim; I am planning to sandblast the frame; however, I am not going to go around and infill the welds. I still cannot find the VIN number on the frame. The frame number (part number) is on the back of the driver side frame section. Perhaps I will find it when it is blasted. Len
