Hi guys, I would like to know what all parts off the zed engine can be powdercoated? Can any part of the exhaust be powdercoated or does it need to be HPC coated? I can get powdercoating done for really cheap and would like to use that option i have tried but cannot get a cheap enough price on HPC coating so at this stage my only option is powdercoating. As for the parts that can be powdercoated...doing it is a benefit i was told as it helps with cooling plus it can look a lot better than stock if done correctly with the right colour I was told they cant get chrome powdercoat colour...but i will be trying to organise some...if not i will be going for silver colour as that is close enough and would look nice Any information would be much appreacited Abraham
The guys I deal with at Narromine Powdercoaters have shown me some realy sexy pearl, and candy colours. Chrome power is not an option, but ceramic coating will give a chrome look. Ask Karl 90ttz his plemum is ceramic coated and it looks great. Powder coating is easy to clean (and I have a white plenum) with a Mr sheen and a wipe down. It has not discoloured with engine heat. Basically it sure beats paint. Chrome will blue with heat, ceramic coating will not.
Graham i went and asked the guy...he said they dont do chrome but they hae something that is 85% close to chrome...and it would be a lot brighter than silver...so i will be dropping off the bracket from my stillen brace as a test itemand see how the results come... I know that the plenum and valve covers can be powder coated...any other items on the actual engine? Even if it is a nut and bolt name it as i plan on getting as much done as possible. Does anybody know if i can powdercoat my zees exhaust or not? Would it withstand the heat or would it get too hot? Is HPC coating better due to the heat? Abraham
What he said. Either HPC coat it for the slight benefits it will give you, or hit it with some high temp paint out of a rattlecan. After a week of driving it's going to get dirty as anyway. As for powdercoating in your engine bay, you can really do as much or as little as you can afford. I'm guessing you want to get it to look as close to a full chromed engine bay as possible?
Theo you can HPC coat the exhaust for cooling purposes...but i wanted to know if i can powdercoat it or not...ryan answered that question for me thanks ryan I still havnt decided what i am doing with the enginecolour code...i was thinking all chrome as i already got a few parts in chrome...or i can go all stealth black which i might still do just incase i get the attention from the popo. With the plenum...does anything need to be covered when powdercoating it? Does it need to be sandblasted or do i just give it straight to the powdercoaters? Does anything on it need to be covered or anything like that? Ryan does that mean i could basically powdercoat basically the whole engine except for the block or anything that is plastic? The only thing i can think of that is plastic would be the engine cover on top...anything else? Thanks Ryan and Graham for the helpful comments no thanks for you Theo Abraham
Well theoretically yes, but if you want to just see chrome nothing but chrome just get your whole engine bay sprayed with chrome paint Also, just so you know hpc coating dulls over time and won't stay shiny forever.
You can powdercoat pretty much anything that you can paint. If its done well and applied/heated evenly the finish is as good as anything you can have painted, durable and fade resistant. Some of the custom powdercoated bike fuel tanks Ive seen done are breathtaking.......! However AFAIK, powdercoating does not tolerate extreme heat well so Id be ruling out your zorst. Ask your powdercoater. Hes the one who will know for sure. I think Id also rule out coating fasteners tho. Its fairly tough but not tough enough to withstand a spanner or a socket leaning on it! L8r E
I wasnt going to HPC coat the exhaust as i cant seem to find a price I'm happy with. Good to know that it would fade...thanks for that I will basically start stripping my TT engine and start getting all the parts powdercoated...everything else i will be getting brand new like the gaskets, seals, turbos, etc...so my plan is to have everything powdercoated so it looks like a brand new engine I have dropped off one of the coolant pipes in front of the engine as a test item to see how the chrome powdercoat turns out...i already have actual chrome ones of them so i figured i might aswell get my old stock ones done as a test. Hopefully the end result will be nice and pretty E i wouldnt be doing the fasteners...i was thinking along the lines of all the bolts like the coil pack bolts, etc... If the chrome powder coat isnt what i wanted...i will just get it in stealth black or even gloss black like my wheels Abraham
HPC won't "fade" off... Cermakrome gives a nice long lasting finish but not as "deep" as chrome. It also keeps heat in or out. Function first. You HPC exhaust manifolds to keep heat in and gasses moving. You can powder coat everything, but it won't hold up on exhaust manifolds or exhaust. Have a look through John/UAS VQ30 build at www.300zx.com.au -they coated everything in a silver/chrome finish, pretty sure or was powder coat. Use stainless or anodised fasteners for bling.
A caution for coating cam covers.....part of the prepararation for any coating some coaters use is to bead blast the covers/parts. A lot of this blast media gets into the oily crank case breather baffles in the cam cover. You can only imagine what this grit will do to your motor as it makes its way around the motor. Prepare the covers yourself and ask them not to bead blast.....hopefully they do as you ask.
Would like to see the finished pieces. Actual chrome plating is not that expensive. What did the guy say PC temps range are?
Thanks Rob for the information...ill definitely have a read of the build thread As for the bead blasting/sand blasting...i wont be doing that on any parts as the shop i get my parts powdercoated dont do that...the coolant pipe i gave in was just dirty that was all... Rob got a link to where i could get some nice blingy fasteners? Graham the guy said that the exhaust would need HPC coating if i was to do it...i forgot to ask actual temperatures...ill ask him tommorow when i pick up my test pipe...ill try and upload a pic or 2 of the test pipe. I can get chrome plating done cheap aswell...but i chose to do powder coating because of it helps with heat as well as the fact that its a lot easier to maintain and keep shiny when compared to chrome plating. Question...ive got a plenum with throttle bodies all bolted up to it like it is on the engine...cani give it to the powdercoaters all assembled the way it is currently ordo i need to disassemble them? Im more worried about the throttlebodies as they have springs and other stuff on them...so should i seperate (if so, how?) or just give it to them as is? Abraham
Throttle bodies have to come appart re Hi heat and gaskets. throttle linkage has to come appart re bearings and springs also don't like the high heat. Check my bling thread for the linkage disassembly instructions.
I can't see how powder coat helps at all with heat as its essentially just powdered paint applied to the part then baked on to make it more durable. That's a very simplified explanation of course. I had my cam covers, coil pack brackets, lower timing cover, water and power steer pulleys, power steer pump brackets, power steer tank, balance tube and some of the turbo pipes done in candy blue. If you do get the pulleys done, make sure whoever does it doesn't powder coat the V rib parts. The muppets that did mine didn't mask anything and it's a prick to remove. Originally I left it on there but it made the belts squeal all the time. Speaking of masking, make sure you leave spare bolts in all threaded holes. Saves having to tap out all the powdered up threads afterwards. Another pain in the ass job. Ben
Yep what HE said. In addition, PC process is different for ferrous and non-ferrous items. So all parts must be completely bare of any bits and bobs. Just view PC as a slightly fancy paint...no more, no less. You can get equally good results with some thorough preparation and rattle cans so dont go blowing too much sunshine up its arse. As mentioned, the powder will find its way into every nook and cranny so you either poke a bolt into every hole or you'll have to "chase" each threaded hole with an appropriate tap to clean them out. Mask up every area you dont want coated using aluminium "High Speed Tape" BEFORE everything is bead blasted. This adhesive ally foil tape will resist indirect bead blasting and no further masking will be required before coating. You can also roll the tape up into little tubes and stuff it down threaded holes to prevent coating in threads or even just stick a bit over an offending bolthole. Foprget about any heat transfer/retaining/resisting outcomes from PC. As mentioned above, at the end of the day its basically a fancy and durable paint so dont get too dazzled in heat science. HPC coatings are a different animal altogether but remember that power gains and retained/radiated heat from coating inside and outside of manifolds and the like tend to be incremental at best and are more a smaller part of a big performance picture rather than some magic bullet some "must have" supporters of ceramic coatings will have you believe! have fun amigo! E
I didnt know about the threads...ill keep that in mind and ill put some bolts in the parts i get powdercoated... I know its just a fancy paint...but the whole reason im getting it done is because i can get it done super cheap I got all my 19" rims powdercoated to gloss black for $10 a rim hence why im going to use this great pricing to get as much done for a quarter of the price most people have spend Abraham
Oh I certainly get that M8. Thats pretty good price too if the guy does a good job. No wonder ur going down the PC road! Wont be dissapointed especially when you drop the first spanner on your plenum!!!!! Wont chip or scratch easy at al! Cheers E
