Refinishing springs?

[Sivart444]

Hey guys!

Did a quick search but couldnt find anything on the topic. I've got some new-to-me springs on their way and i was wondering.
1) Should they be sanded to remove any flaking?
2) Is there a type of paint that could be used to make them look clean? I know it doesnt actually matter, i'm planning on going with black. Just wondering what you guys thought.
3) Is it a complete waste of time?

Cheers,

Travis

[Lactose]

I heard of some people powder coating them black to match OEM, but not 100% sure thought the springs had plastic coatings on them, should really open my prokits to check.

[terapr0]

springs move, and both paint & powdercoat are incapable of flexing with them. Given enough time, anything you put on there is going to crack. There are plastic based coatings that could potentially withstand the abuse (check out www.plastico.ca), but they're not cheap and will potentially alter the dimensional and mechanical characteristics of the spring.

In short - probably a waste of time. Plastidip might work out for a little bit, but not long, especially in the winter. Scraping off peeling flakes wont hurt, but I wouldnt bother trying to refinish them unless you just want to for the hell of it.

[Cab0oze]

Depends why you're doing it, and what color they are.
If you do a phenominal job prepping them, paint should stick well enough, but as mentioned will crack over time. PC works but is way more expensive and unless its a show car would be a waste of money.
If its just to patch up some rust spots, sand it down, clean, and put some tremclad on there. If its to recolor them black, cleaning and sanding them very well and painting them would work, but itll take quite a while to do a good prep job on them.

Bottom line - its totally up to you if you want to invest that much time (not so much money, black tremclad or bbq paint is dirt cheap) in something that is relatively trivial and will only stay looking 'perfect' for a short amount of time. Think about calipers - they dont even flex, and they often require major touchup after <3 years here in canada (if you did a very good job painting them in the first place).

[Aitch]

If you're doing it because they're rusty, it is definitely worth it. Sand them with a wire wheel on your power drill, then spray them with rubberized wheel well coating (sort of an industrial plastidip, from Canadian Tire). Did it on my last springs and it was awesome.

[Cab0oze]

If you're doing it because they're rusty, it is definitely worth it. Sand them with a wire wheel on your power drill, then spray them with rubberized wheel well coating (sort of an industrial plastidip, from Canadian Tire). Did it on my last springs and it was awesome.Oh, I wouldn't have thought of that stuff... good idea!

[Tollis]

If you're doing it because they're rusty, it is definitely worth it. Sand them with a wire wheel on your power drill, then spray them with rubberized wheel well coating (sort of an industrial plastidip, from Canadian Tire). Did it on my last springs and it was awesome.

+1 I did that on my old Golf sprayed just about everything with that stuff actually works great and STAYS when paint does not

[Sivart444]

Awesome guys! Thanks for the tips! Will definately be picking up some of that wheel well coating. Any idea on the brand? I'll probably just go mosey around crappy tire until i find it otherwise... heh

Thanks again

[Sivart444]

I'll post up a before and after when i do it

[Lactose]

Awesome guys! Thanks for the tips! Will definately be picking up some of that wheel well coating. Any idea on the brand? I'll probably just go mosey around crappy tire until i find it otherwise... heh

Thanks again

Let me know if you see Garbage bins for $10 ;]. Moseying around the store is the only way to shop, how else do you find random things you dont need but end up buying anyways?

[Harbour Rat]

IIRC the undercoating is located with auto body stuff like body filler and fiberglass. Be sure to get the rubberized stuff as it dries to a flexible rubbery state. The non-rubberized stuff stays sticky and is basically just tar so you won't want to handle anything coated with it.

You'll want to spray it outside and away from anything you care about. The stuff is basically aerosol asphalt so it really stinks and the over spray is pretty messy. Give it a full day to dry before you try to handle the springs or you'll have tar all over the place.

[Sivart444]

Thanks for the tips Harbour Rat, i will make double sure i get the right kind before i start!

[Flagrum_3]

Thanks for the tips Harbour Rat, i will make double sure i get the right kind before i start!

To save alot of work; ask around if you know anyone who may have access to a sandblaster. A sandblaster will clean those springs in like 2 minutes and do a perfect job.

_3

[Wes08M3]

To save alot of work; ask around if you know anyone who may have access to a sandblaster. A sandblaster will clean those springs in like 2 minutes and do a perfect job.

_3

+1

You can get a sand blasting gun with a hose for around $15 at princess auto. And you can get a bag of sand there too for about $10. You can just stick the hose into the bag and go nuts. It'll make a HUGE mess of sand so be sure to do it somewhere that you can sweep all the sand up easily or just leave it everywhere (i.e., some sort of gravel lot) if you choose to go this route. It's obviously not going to be as high quality as a sand blasting booth but it'll get the job done.

[terapr0]

you're forgetting that you also need an air compressor to run the $15 princess auto gun.

I have access to a small sandblasting booth and full shotblasting room....depending on where you're located I might be able to help.

[Wes08M3]

you're forgetting that you also need an air compressor to run the $15 princess auto gun.

I have access to a small sandblasting booth and full shotblasting room....depending on where you're located I might be able to help.

What? People don't have air compressors?!

I should have mentioned that you need a compressor, I guess not everybody has one :P

[Sivart444]

I wish i did! I'm currently in an appartment in Burlington... My cousin has a reasonable one but a booth sounds WAY better! I would be totally up for the hike to you for that!