[iceman411]

I dropped the frame from my '71 LeMans Sport convertible at the sand blaster. $200 to get it to bare metal and it has to come home for a little work in a few mount locations. The blaster also offers powdercoating in the correct semi gloss finish I'm looking for. Now, I am familiar with the Eastwood line of chassis paints and I can't decide what path to take... They want $400 more to powder the frame. I'll have to 2K prime the frame, sand it a little smoother, seal it and then top coat it. I do my own paint work and I can get materials at cost, so price isn't the deciding factor. I did do a search and am still on the fence with what to do. It's my first frame off and have two more to do following this one. Car will be enjoyed maybe 1000 miles in the best of weather per summer. Any suggestions? I'm open to anyone who has an opinion to any product of procedure. Thanks in advance, Mike

[rexs73gto]

Paint if you use the correct stuff & your going for a concours restoration. That will give you all the points you will need for frame work at Pebble Beach, but if you want a great looking frame & you have the frame looking great & your going to spend that much time on it to drive & show , go with the powder coating. It holds up great looks good for a very long time, plus with having it powder coated it is done off your property, it gives you time to finish some other part of the car so when you get it back (the frame) & you have all your breah lines on so they can be put in place then some of your other parts will be ready to go on to, like the BODY. Powder coating is a real time saver, & if done correctly it's hard to tell if it's paint or powder coating. Plus with the price of paint these days It;s probelay less expensive to do that.

[RST]

We paint all ours. SEM Rust-Shield. Paint will let you do filler work over welds and pits on side rail, in order to make you frame look like new! Powder Coating will not fill in any large pits left from blasting. Just my 2 cents... Good with your project,Jim

[paint guy]

You might want to search on here "paint vs powdercoat" as the subject has been addressed by many numerous times. Personally I would lean heavily towards primer and paint instead of powdercoat for auto chassis and parts.

[JC61]

IMO powder coating is the way to go.

[Mr Twister]

Touch ups are easier with paint. I'm assuming you are using southwest sandblasting. Randy is a great guy. If you have all your welding and customizing done go with powder, otherwise use paint.

[Cammer-6]

Metal lab can be used for fixing minor blems in metal before powder coating.
make sure to mask off (or plastic plugs) any areas that are threaded and or bushed.
Also inquire if the inside of frame can be done,at least to the points that can be seen.
Powder coating is very durable but cant be repaired and will chip on edges.

[iceman411]

Thank you for all the responces. I belive I will go the powder coat route for the durabilty. I don't want to make this car too nice as to never drive it again and the powder seems more durable than paint. I do plan to paint all the 'pieces' that make up the entire underside and that alone will be a pretty good undertaking, literally... Yes, Mr Twister, Randy is the man I have done alot of business throughout the years with. He is adding newer cabinets with finer grades of sand for less prep work for smoother paint lay-out results which trnslates less sanding and prep work for me. He may seem a bit higher on price compared to others, yet I know what I'm getting back and it's a more personal touch and not just another # or person. I do plan on all stainless lines and parking brake cables so getting caught in the rain here or there isn't such a 'end of the world' occurance when that happens. It's exciting to have a project go this far and easy for the Dr Jeckel/ Mr Hyde to come out and to achieve perfection and then what do you do?... It's a gas to say the least.... Thanks again, Mike...

[iceman411]

Went to pick up my frame today.... I dropped it off 2 weeks ago and I was told then that there were some issues with the blaster and they are 1-2 weeks behind... No problem as I can always use the space... I get there and the frame is still hanging on the rack... It looked pretty good (the side that faced the floor pans) and I looked at the other side that you would see while under the car inspecting it for whatever reason and there are some long scratches that go thru the powder down to bare metal from the dog leg to almost to where the rear conrtol arms mount to on both sides of the frame.... Now, I have an engineering backround and I know how things can happen, yet it appears as if something has struck the frame and slid down it and if I were to guess, it took a pretty good blow to get it to bare steel... You can see the chips on the floor yet the guy swears nothing like that could have happened.... Hmmmm.... Well, I have top believe him right? No... I see what I see and put things into motion and the fact I could smell a decent amount of alcohol on his breath(I'm a recovering alcoholic here and my name is Mike). He apologizes up one side and down the other and swears he will have it fixed and ready tommorrow and I can pick it up... Well, I had to leave work 3 hours early to make the trip today(we are on mega hours lately) and I just can't leave like I used to for this stuff.... Man, its a damn shame that this is the first of three cars I have to do(all which are mine) and I have to find a new sandblaster and powder coating guy... Would you trust a drunk to get this stuff right the first time or am I being a little too picky here.... Curious on your thoughts....

[irgoatmike]

Etch primer, 2k sealer, paint. Not as strong from chemical resistance standpoint, but MUCH more chip resistant and much easier to repair/maintain. When you get a rock chip in Powder coat and a driver will, there is nothing to keep the moisture/rust from crawling under the powder coat. Just find another blaster and paint it yourself. irgoatmike

[paint guy]

Originally Posted by irgoatmike

Etch primer, 2k sealer, paint. Not as strong from chemical resistance standpoint, but MUCH more chip resistant and much easier to repair/maintain. When you get a rock chip in Powder coat and a driver will, there is nothing to keep the moisture/rust from crawling under the powder coat. Just find another blaster and paint it yourself. irgoatmike

I tried to tell him that, too. Maybe I should have been more specific rather than just telling him to do a search, probably not a very good answer on my part. You and I both have seen powder come off in sheets when it fails. BTW, any truth to the rumor that PPG bought Spraylat?

[Chipper7]

Originally Posted by paint guy

I tried to tell him that, too. Maybe I should have been more specific rather than just telling him to do a search, probably not a very good answer on my part. You and I both have seen powder come off in sheets when it fails. BTW, any truth to the rumor that PPG bought Spraylat?

You are correct PPG did purchase Spraylat. I am currently restoring my 69 GTO and I powdercoated my frame. I had it chemically dipped and then applied a powder primer that will fill minor imperfections and improve adhesion. Then I applied the black powder and then I used a clearcoat powder as the top coat. Very happy with the results plus with powdercoating you can get some coverage up inside the frame rails.