powder coating

[hyperduc]

First off, NONE of the parts on your sled (with the exception of the epoxy bonded joints) will ever get hot enough to change any of the tempering of the steel, anyone who tells you otherwise is just plain wrong.

As for the spindles, I chose to anodize as the alloy used takes the process very well. And you don't have to deal with the clearance issues that powder coating causes, and with powder coating there is not physical way to insert the part into the area without damaging the finish outside of where the surfaces will be joined.

I powdered my arms and anodized the spindles and the finishes turned out surprisingly similar. wouldn't change a thing about the setup.

 

[m1kflyingtiger]

First off, NONE of the parts on your sled (with the exception of the epoxy bonded joints) will ever get hot enough to change any of the tempering of the steel, anyone who tells you otherwise is just plain wrong.

I heard it directly from IceAge. They make the rails, amongst other things, for Polaris. It's an alloy designed to be strong at low temperatures and the hot bake does weaken them.

Haha Well the aluminum alloy they use at least. So i guess your right. It probably won't change the tempering of the steel if you powder coat the aluminum parts....

I don't feel it makes enough of a differance to worry about, but it's not "just plain wrong"

 

[mickyd32]

As far as heat treating the aluminum, it's pretty simple. The alloy will be effected. How will it be effected? Well that depends on the exact make up the alloy, temp of the oven, time in the oven, and the orientation of the part while in the oven.

I don't know the exact types of aluminum alloys used in these parts but I know I've seen it mentioned elsewhere. I suspect MountainHorse knows. Simply if you know the alloy, any metallurgical text can tell you exactly what happen to the alloy under heat treatment.

Simply remember this; generally hardening a metal makes it more brittle(easier to shear under load) but more wear resistant. Softening a metal makes it more ductile ( easier to bend) but will make it wear easier. The outcome of heat treatment ( ductility vs hardness) one again depends on the alloys make up, time, temp, and physical orientation in the oven

 

[donbrown]

I heard it directly from IceAge. They make the rails, amongst other things, for Polaris. It's an alloy designed to be strong at low temperatures and the hot bake does weaken them.

Haha Well the aluminum alloy they use at least. So i guess your right. It probably won't change the tempering of the steel if you powder coat the aluminum parts....

I don't feel it makes enough of a differance to worry about, but it's not "just plain wrong"

Wow I am surprised a 2 hour 400F temp influences the temper on IceAge rails.

Guess I better keep those rails garaged on a hot brite sunny day !

What type of Aluminum are they using?

 

[milehighassassin]

Hot sunny day = 400 degrees of heat? I guess global warming is for real.


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[tdblakes]

Well I guess I'll be a guinee pig. If I the coating doesn't hold up, the rails fail, or everything works great and holds up well, I'll let you all know.

 

[die hard poo]

Just FYI I have been powder coating sleds and other misc. things for years and have had great success. I am not saying it is better than anodizing, it has its place for sure
-doesn't require nearly the baking process
-doesn't hardly additional thickness to the substrate where tolerances are needed
-it's suppper tough stuff, basically becomes part of the aluminum rather than a coating

But there is a couple reasons why I don't choose anodizing for ME:

Cost- I would have to ship my parts out of state(Live in AK) and shipping costs are outrageous
Time- I don't want that kind of turn around time when I have a great LOCAL business that takes care of all my powder coating needs
Fitment- Yes I have to use a mallet sometimes to get the lower ball joint to fit into the spindle due to the additional tolerances, but if your powdercoater does a good job and plugs all of you mounting holes, then assembly time goes way down.
Performance- Powder coat simply works great, especially if you use an epoxy based coating, it will take quite a bit of abuse and keeps working. I never had it spider out when assembling the suspension. It works great on protecting your equipment, sheds snow and ice, and lets all face it, makes it look cooler
Choices- there are literately thousands of color choices with powder coating vs anodizing where there is just a handful.
Carbon Steel- Can't anodize because it will turn it into rust lol

Being all that said, I understand the idea of changing the metallurgy of the aluminum when it heated, but come on guys 300-400* for 30-60 minutes is going to change it that much? What the heck does the wheel manufacturer do when they powdercoat wheels that support 3 ton vehicles going down the road getting abused by the elements and such.

Another note, people worried about powdercoating over new glued 13' lower arms and running boards, don't worry. I just got my parts back from my powder coater with great success. He claims he runs his oven at 375*, and I asked him if he could lower that to prevent any running of the glue, and he said he will lower it to 340*. Well it all turn out great, fitment was just like I took it off and frankly, it looks killer. Here is some pictures:

 

[tdblakes]

Here is some pictures:

Looks great DHP, whats on your tunnel?
I was told my stuff was baked at 350, I didn't ask the duration though... I'm not too worried about it being weak. It looks like you do alot of powdercoating and have plenty of experience with how it holds up. Sharp lookin sled you got there

 

[die hard poo]

I wrapped the tunnel with 3M 1080 Scotchprint vinyl. The top is done with the matte black and the sides are done in gloss black. I ran this last year with great results. I did have a couple little chips on the edge after 1300 miles of abuse, but that is the beautiful thing about vinyl, it easily replaceable. I simply peeled off the 3" wide edge pieces on each side and replaced it, took 30 minutes. Anyways thank you very much for your compliments!

 

[Leaf27]

Good job! Very nice!

 

[SpokaneRMK]

Just FYI I have been powder coating sleds and other misc. things for years and have had great success. I am not saying it is better than anodizing, it has its place for sure
-doesn't require nearly the baking process
-doesn't hardly additional thickness to the substrate where tolerances are needed
-it's suppper tough stuff, basically becomes part of the aluminum rather than a coating

But there is a couple reasons why I don't choose anodizing for ME:

Cost- I would have to ship my parts out of state(Live in AK) and shipping costs are outrageous
Time- I don't want that kind of turn around time when I have a great LOCAL business that takes care of all my powder coating needs
Fitment- Yes I have to use a mallet sometimes to get the lower ball joint to fit into the spindle due to the additional tolerances, but if your powdercoater does a good job and plugs all of you mounting holes, then assembly time goes way down.
Performance- Powder coat simply works great, especially if you use an epoxy based coating, it will take quite a bit of abuse and keeps working. I never had it spider out when assembling the suspension. It works great on protecting your equipment, sheds snow and ice, and lets all face it, makes it look cooler
Choices- there are literately thousands of color choices with powder coating vs anodizing where there is just a handful.
Carbon Steel- Can't anodize because it will turn it into rust lol

Being all that said, I understand the idea of changing the metallurgy of the aluminum when it heated, but come on guys 300-400* for 30-60 minutes is going to change it that much? What the heck does the wheel manufacturer do when they powdercoat wheels that support 3 ton vehicles going down the road getting abused by the elements and such.

Another note, people worried about powdercoating over new glued 13' lower arms and running boards, don't worry. I just got my parts back from my powder coater with great success. He claims he runs his oven at 375*, and I asked him if he could lower that to prevent any running of the glue, and he said he will lower it to 340*. Well it all turn out great, fitment was just like I took it off and frankly, it looks killer. Here is some pictures:

More pics plz. Looks bad azz

 

[die hard poo]

More pics plz. Looks bad azz

Here is more pics, just finished her up tonight!

By the way the rear skid weighs exactly 41lbs!

 

[donbrown]

Hot sunny day = 400 degrees of heat? I guess global warming is for real.


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The heat does funny things to a man out here near Death Valley ... you start hearing and saying strange things.

 

[milehighassassin]

Bats!


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[Snodawg]

Got all of my stuff back from Vanamburg. The powder coating turned out pretty good. Time to start putting her back together. Had my Ice Age rails done, too. I would have done some anodizing, but there is no one around here that does it. Closest is 150 miles away. (damn enviros shut em all down). Talking to Mike, he scoffed at the idea of losing temper in the rails, etc. He has done lots of sled pieces and has no problems.

 

[tdblakes]

Got all of my stuff back from Vanamburg. The powder coating turned out pretty good. Time to start putting her back together. Had my Ice Age rails done, too. I would have done some anodizing, but there is no one around here that does it. Closest is 150 miles away. (damn enviros shut em all down). Talking to Mike, he scoffed at the idea of losing temper in the rails, etc. He has done lots of sled pieces and has no problems.

Turned out awesome! Nice color choice How do you like the new boards?

 

[AndrettiDog]

->die hard poo

Are you already getting some chipping on your boards or is that just a reflection? Also, I plan on coating the same parts you did (minus the springs). What was the cost for you? I don't know what to expect for pricing.

 

[die hard poo]

->die hard poo

Are you already getting some chipping on your boards or is that just a reflection? Also, I plan on coating the same parts you did (minus the springs). What was the cost for you? I don't know what to expect for pricing.

Bug,
No chipping, it must be just the lighting in the pic. I expect these to hold up very well. The cost was $350 for everything(My powdercoater knocked off quite a bit for me):
2-Running Boards
2-Suspension Rails
7-Suspension rods/spacers
2-Spindles
4-A Arms
4-Springs
1-Front Bumper
3-Hood Vents
1-Seat Support

 

[donbrown]

Bug,
No chipping, it must be just the lighting in the pic. I expect these to hold up very well. The cost was $350 for everything(My powdercoater knocked off quite a bit for me):
2-Running Boards
2-Suspension Rails
7-Suspension rods/spacers
2-Spindles
4-A Arms
4-Springs
1-Front Bumper
3-Hood Vents
1-Seat Support

Pretty good price.

What material is your hood vents made of ... or are we talking about the Al frame of the vents?

 

[die hard poo]

The hood vents are aluminum this year vs steel in 11/12. They feel extremely light compared to last years!