Discussion
While working on my steering rack issues, I decided that my suspension bits were in need of some attention as they were looking mighty rusty and overall rather nasty. So, powder-coating to the rescue. Here's a peek at the results as I was putting it all back together:
Spare me the comments about the "ricer" appearance; Jim Knowles has made them already! LOL!
Spare me the comments about the "ricer" appearance; Jim Knowles has made them already! LOL!
Thanks for all the compliments.
For those contemplating doing this job you must bear in mind that powder coating involves baking the parts in an oven. Since the suspension bushings and ball joints contain rubber (which will melt), they must be removed prior to the powder coating process and this is not a trivial task (just ask Jim Knowles who helped me do this). Removal in most cases will destroy the parts so they will need to be replaced. I just happened to have an extra set of bushings, ball joints, etc. laying around so I used those. Some of the bushings require a special Lotus insertion tool and all require the use of a hydraulic press. I would not recommend this job unless you were planning on replacing your bushings anyways.
I have powder-coated parts before but I didn't do these ones myself. I took them in to a local shop that specializes in this service. This was great because I didn't even have to prep the parts or mask the holes. They took care of everything for me. I just gave them the rusty parts, told them what to mask and what colors I wanted. A few days later, I picked up the parts looking brand new.
My springs were particularly rusty prior to this (wish I had a pic) and now they look better than new. It's a shame that all those components are typically hidden from view.
Also, it may not be evident from the photo, but the finish on these parts is actually 2 coats of powder-coating. The first applies a chrome-like mirror finish. The second applies a translucent color (cherry red or dark blue in my case) on top of this. The final effect of this process is a finish that has a lot more depth than the typical solid color.
For those contemplating doing this job you must bear in mind that powder coating involves baking the parts in an oven. Since the suspension bushings and ball joints contain rubber (which will melt), they must be removed prior to the powder coating process and this is not a trivial task (just ask Jim Knowles who helped me do this). Removal in most cases will destroy the parts so they will need to be replaced. I just happened to have an extra set of bushings, ball joints, etc. laying around so I used those. Some of the bushings require a special Lotus insertion tool and all require the use of a hydraulic press. I would not recommend this job unless you were planning on replacing your bushings anyways.
I have powder-coated parts before but I didn't do these ones myself. I took them in to a local shop that specializes in this service. This was great because I didn't even have to prep the parts or mask the holes. They took care of everything for me. I just gave them the rusty parts, told them what to mask and what colors I wanted. A few days later, I picked up the parts looking brand new.
My springs were particularly rusty prior to this (wish I had a pic) and now they look better than new. It's a shame that all those components are typically hidden from view.
Also, it may not be evident from the photo, but the finish on these parts is actually 2 coats of powder-coating. The first applies a chrome-like mirror finish. The second applies a translucent color (cherry red or dark blue in my case) on top of this. The final effect of this process is a finish that has a lot more depth than the typical solid color.
And I though LEW suspension looked good after powder coating! Any items coming off LEW's esprit that can be coated will be in the future. It's cheaper than you think and looks great. Beats slapping on rust proof paint!
www.lotusespritworld.com/EMaintenance/PowderCoating.html
On the same subject, LEW Sport 350 suspension has now been powder coated and is for sale on the parts page. Springs have been done in Sport 350 blue (a bit like karl's, great minds and all!).
www.lotusespritworld.com/Sale/parts.html
kato
Lotus Esprit World
www.lotusespritworld.com/EMaintenance/PowderCoating.html
On the same subject, LEW Sport 350 suspension has now been powder coated and is for sale on the parts page. Springs have been done in Sport 350 blue (a bit like karl's, great minds and all!).
www.lotusespritworld.com/Sale/parts.html
kato
Lotus Esprit World
That is stunning. I know how these things look as I've painted main before. I was impressed with the improvement I made but this is in a whole new league. Just need to find more our about replacing the bushes and Its a job I will do for sure.ErnestM said:
Looks great, Karl!
Can't wait to see it up close on our next outing. Was this work related to the "looseness" in the steering that you felt? Did it sort it?
By the way, how did you arrive at which colors to use?
ErnestM
Hi Ernie,
This all came about when I thought the looseness in the steerng may have been caused by worn bushings, ball joints, or tie rod ends. I already had brand new spares of all of these sitting on a shelf, so I thought I'd start by replacing them. Since the parts were coming off the car, I thought it was the perfect time for some "sprucing up".
Sadly, replacing the parts replaced didn't fix the problem. I still suspect the problem is the rack itself. It either needs to be rebuilt or replaced.
Anybody have a lead on a spare power-assisted rack?
You won't be able to see much of the powder-coated bits, even in person, unless you peek through the wheels. Most of it is covered from view which is a shame because it looks pretty good. I just like the fact that it looks better than the rusty, dirty parts I took off. Powder coating is very tough and smooth which makes it easier to keep clean. If I ever (God forbid) had to remove the frame I would seriously consider powder-coating it to match. The shop I used does this all the time and the results look amazing. They tell me that the powder only increases the weight of the frame by about 5 pounds.
As far as the colors: about 15 years ago I was at a CAD software demo for an SGI workstation. At the demo they had 3D drawings of a suspension with each component rendered in different colors to helps distinguish the individual parts. I have also seen automakers do this on concept cars and one-offs where they want to show off their work. I guess those two things are what gave me the idea.
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