Any reason rear leaf springs cannot be powder coated?

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65 Cuda 340

65 Cuda 340

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I have a used set of heavy duty rear springs from a 340 A body to replace the wimpy slant six springs in my 63 Valiant. I have taken them apart, and have a rebuild kit for them which includes all the straps, insulators and interliners.

I have a vague memory that powder coating leaf springs is not a good idea. Is that so?

Alternatively, I can paint them with black single stage urethane, which would be very durable, just more trouble (for me) than handing them to a powder coater.

Thoughts?
 
Don't think the temperature is high enough but power coat used heat to bond.

Spring steel exposed to heat looses temper.
 
The heat required for powder coating won’t bother the spring steel at all, it’s no where near hot enough. And yeah, pretty much all the springs for coilovers are powder coated.

Most of the aftermarket torsion bars for these cars are powder coated too. The Firm Feel 1.12” bars on my Challenger are powder coated. 13 years and 70k+ miles and the powder coating still looks great. Might be a little different on a leaf spring since the leaves do slide a bit on each other, but I don’t think it would be a major issue.
 
On the B Bodies Only forum there's a thread about this from 5 years ago. Pro's and con's listed and The Mistress of Metal Leanna states she won't powder coat them. Things may have changed in the past 5 years.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Powdercoat is probably not flexible enough, and will likely start to crack and peel.
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Actually powder is MORE flexible than paint.

The only reason powder would crack and peel is due more to insufficient prep work (i.e. just roughing them up with a ScotchBrite pad versus media blasting), a failure to clean the metal after blasting, and/or under- or over-curing it. Just like paint, you can spray it on any untreated surface; how long it stays there is dependent on whether the metal has any "tooth" for the finish to adhere to.

The biggest reason I won't coat them is because most people won't replace the Delrin liners or take the time to disassemble the spring packs to do it right.

One of the Morning Coffee crew had his leaf springs coated recently ... and regretted it. The place coated the springs completely without taking anything apart. Not only will they now not operate as designed, along with the receipt for the "work" they gave him an apology ... because the Delrin 'liners melted and ruined the finish, and made a big mess out of (his) oven.' If I remember right they gave him half his money back ... maybe enough to buy another spring. :elmer:

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CudaChick1968 said:
Actually powder is MORE flexible than paint.

The only reason powder would crack and peel is due more to insufficient prep work (i.e. just roughing them up with a ScotchBrite pad versus media blasting) and/or under- or over-curing it.

The biggest reason I won't coat them is because most people won't replace the Delrin liners or take the time to disassemble the spring packs to do it right.

One of the Morning Coffee crew had his leaf springs coated recently ... and regretted it. The place coated the springs completely without taking anything apart. Not only will they now not operate as designed, along with the receipt for the "work" they gave him an apology ... because the Delrin 'liners melted and ruined the finish, and made a big mess out of (his) oven.' If I remember right they gave him half his money back ... maybe enough to buy another spring. :elmer:

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Wow.

I can’t believe anybody thinks you could have a leaf spring powder coated without fully disassembling the spring pack and removing the liners first. Let alone someone that does powder coating!

Or reassembling the spring pack without the liners? Good grief. This is why we can’t have nice things.
 
I'm more inclined to blame Eastwood for its "Start Your Own Business for $100!" marketing ploy fifteen years ago, and more recently all the rookie Youtube videos / internet posts showing that even a slightly trained monkey can do it. That all combined into a total and complete market saturation of The Blind Leading The Blind ... and not one iota of it serves to the benefit of any customer.

"If I wouldn't put your finished parts on my own car, I would NEVER ask you to put them on yours."​

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This is what I started with back on April 9, 1991, thirty years ago next month. My daughter was almost six there; now she's 35.

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My quote up there sums up my philosophy. Now you know where it came from.

I don't want your wallet.

I want you to open the box I send you and be so happy to see your idea made into reality that it will bring tears to your eyes.

The same way I did when my 340 fired up for the very first time after owning it for 14 years.

It's not just a job to me. It's your dream. And having the chance to be involved in it makes me happy simply to be a part of it all.
 
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