spindle and hub paint question

[chimp koose]

Not that I am there yet but just wondering . What type of paint do you use on your front hubs and spindles that stands up? The T will have these parts showing at the front of the car and be subject to everything I manage to drive through . I would like to use something that can be retouched if necessary but not so soft as to need doing frequently . Also wondering if it is a good idea to paint inside the cooling fins of the discs and what product would work well in there . I understand POR15 is not good in this application because of UV exposure . I will likely be painting my front axle as well . What have you tried and what has worked ?

[rumrumm]

Single stage urethane would be my choice. It held up well on my previous rod. As far as painting the fins, I just painted the edge of the rotor but not the inside. But after a year of driving, I sprayed rust converter inside the fins and let it evaporate on a hot, sunny day.

[enjenjo]

I don't know the resources you have in your area, but you might look into having the parts ceramic coated. The hubs can be masked in the bearing races easily, and you can have the whole rotor coated, and machine the coating off the pad faces.

There is also powder coating, they have some "chrome" powder coating out now that looks really good.

Once the price of paint and preparation is taken into account, the price of these options are not that bad. Once they are sand blasted and ready, I can have brake drums powder coated for $10 each.

[idrivejunk]

Kinda sounds like you're wanting to go directly over bare iron and or steel. For bare cast substrates not exposed to UVs, I always use engine paint. The rattle can variety, best you can find. Unless a customer or boss wants something else specifically. Heat resistance being my reasoning.

Any catalyzed acrylic or polyester urethane topcoat will last, but none of them are intended for use over bare metal, and film thickness will be much greater. Brake heat could also discolor the pigment in refinish paints.

Powder coating is great, and touch ups with spray paint on that are possible but do not restore the coating or weather the same. On the other hand, engine paint is a thin film that can be wiped away or touched up easily.

My logic says a thinner film is harder to chip and is less likely to peel.

It also says for a person who both uses and shows their supension the surest bet is engine paint or caliper paint, in aerosol or gun spray form. Easiest to freshen, least likely to chip and peel and less obvious when it does.

If the engine paint makes sense to you but UVs are a concern, consider a clearcoat over it using quality single component aerosol clear such as U-POL offers, or check into availability of aerosols with catalyst from your local paint supplier and try a low-grade body shop type clear. Spot repairs would be fairly quick and painless with this finish.

Sorry I don't have a "What works on my exposed suspension" type answer. At work we use Eastwood's Cast Blast and Spray Grey on many cast undercar and underhood items, but those are just metallic single stage colors with less gloss and not claiming UV resistance. They are, however, recommended for use over bare metal.

Personally I think if a person clearcoated "wet-on-wet" right over epoxy primer, that would be fairly bulletproof.

Since not only heat but also chemical resistance is going to be a factor, I'd say keep it as thin as possible and use clear with hardener on anything the weather sees.

[chimp koose]

good information guys. Some things mentioned that I had not considered. That's why I like this place . Thanks.

[Digger]

Guess I'll toss in my 2 cents. Over the years I have painted lots of chassis and parts, all my shop trucks, an airplane etc etc. and won't use anything but Imron. It seems to stay slightly pliable (I sat a coffee cup on the hood of my wrecker and it left a depression but an hour or so later it was gone) I think that is why it is so chip resistant. Also has great wet look gloss.