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Dad's Truck Build

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Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

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Got a bit of media blasting and powder coating done today. Here are the parts after blasting:

And here they are after powder coating:

The handle was a test, and was off of Huck the half-truck. It is in glass black and is shiney, but that's hard to capture in a picture.

It had some dings on it and I wondered how or if they would show up. Sure enough, they do. (I don't know why this looks brown.)

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

grumpin

Re: Dad's Truck Build

That is cool! Handy that you can powder coat!

Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona

1986F150Six

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

I like the black handle! Would the aluminum windshield trim as well as upper and lower grill trim warp in the oven?

Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

Grumpin - That's why I got into powder coating, to have better-than-new parts. But that takes media blasting. And that takes parts washing. So it is "involved". And then installation is slow 'cause you have to protect the powder from the socket, and then sometimes touch up.

David - I like the door handle as well. But there's a good friend in AZ that wants a pair, so I was checking to see how it would turn out. Pretty well, if I do say so myself.

As for the windshield trim, that is more involved so I didn't try it in the midst of this test. I don't know what prep the trim will need. The powder needs some "tooth" to adhere to, but something as thin as the windshield trim could easily warp from the heat generated in media blasting.

And then there's the hour in the oven at 400 degrees that most aluminum needs in order to burn off all the impurities hiding in the pores. But does anodized aluminum have pores? After media blasting?

So the learning curve on the windshield trim is steep, and I wasn't ready to start the climb - just yet.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

1986F150Six

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

Gary Lewis wrote

David - I like the door handle as well. But there's a good friend in AZ that wants a pair, so I was checking to see how it would turn out. Pretty well, if I do say so myself.

I believe that good friend in AZ needs 2 pairs.

Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

By golly, I believe you are correct. Not sure I have that many spare. But, if I remember correctly, he's not quite ready for them. Perhaps he can pick them up in September?

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

85lebaront2

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

Gary, I think I have an extra pair I can send so you will have some more to play with and then maybe you can do exchanges for people who want them.

Bill AKA "LOBO" Profile

"Getting old is inevitable, growing up is optional" Darth Vader 1986 F350 460 converted to MAF/SEFI, E4OD 12X3 1/2 rear brakes, traction loc 3:55 gear, 160 amp 3G alternator Wife's 2011 Flex Limited Daily Driver 2009 Flex Limited with factory tow package Project car 1986 Chrysler LeBaron convertible 2.2L Turbo II, modified A413

Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

Thanks, Bill!

My only concern in PC'ing door handles is how long the powder will stand up to the UV. The powder I used yesterday is a Sherwin Williams powder, which is supposedly good for UV. But if anyone knows of a better powder then it might be prudent to use it as door handles get a lot of sun. Especially in AZ.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

1986F150Six

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

Perhaps Jonathan can provide long term feedback?

Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

That would work. So, I could ship him the one I have and he could put it out in the sun 24x7. Or, maybe send him four - just in case he had a place he could mount them safely and securely.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

1986F150Six

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

I wish I had thought of that!

Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

I forgot - we need to send one for "control" that is kept inside out of the sun. That way he'll have something with which to compare.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

Well, I had a goal for today - get the right side suspension on. Didn't quite happen.

Things were going swimmingly until one of the bolts holding the front shock bracket went "soft". The spec's call for torquing them to 25 ft-lbs, but at 15 it started stripping out. So I considered my options. The bolt is just going into the axle housing, so it would be easy at the moment to back it up with a nut. However, as I thought about it I realized that it might not be so easy with the axle itself in. Given that, I drilled and tapped it the next size up - 7/16".

Then the question was how to "coat it". All the other parts are powder coated, but on this one I chose to daub it with paint after it was installed. But first I blasted it so it would be clean. Then I installed it, and reached for the POR15 bottle. No go. The lid was glued on with POR15. So I sprayed semi-gloss black into a lid and used a Q-Tip to "paint" it.

Here 'tis - the top bolt under the empty shock mount. Tomorrow I'll daub it again just to make sure it is well painted, although I got three coats on today. Then I'll, hopefully, finish installing the rest of the suspension components and torque them down. And at that point it is ball joint and spindle time!

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Steve83

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Banned User

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis wrote

...the heat generated in media blasting.

There's not a noticeable amount of heat. If there was, you'd feel it through the gloves, and they'd melt. Thin parts warp from the pressure & force of the air & sand hitting & stretching the metal.

Gary Lewis wrote

...burn off all the impurities hiding in the pores. But does anodized aluminum have pores? After media blasting?

Myth. Preheating dries out the metal (which doesn't have pores large enough for water to penetrate, or water would leak through metal), and makes the powder stick better (because it begins to melt onto the hot metal as it's being applied; and because it ensures that heavy parts reach full temperature).

The problem with powdering the w/s trim is getting the mounting tabs out without breaking them, and back in without cracking the coating. And it's unnecessary because Ford produced so many black w/s trim sets for most of the '94-97 F-series/Broncos.

What equipment do you use, and where do you get your powder?

Ford F834

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Gary, that suspension section looks awesome! The two-tone parts theme is so nice. I certainly can’t afford the time to do anything like that on my projects, but it is inspiring to maybe add a few accents to pieces that are easy to color separately... speaking of which... how about that red TTB that you see in the brochures 🙃.

Thank you for trialing a black door handle! It came out beautifully! I would love to do a AZ field test of the finish. I can do a sample size of n=4 😁. I am in no hurry, and I can certainly supply handles!

The last time I checked, not all of the windshield trim parts were/are still available in black (NOS), and the available pieces were prohibitively expensive. I don’t know if used sets (in black) are readily available, but I don’t recall running into them in the junkyard. Maybe I just need to pay close attention to the Aeronose?

The upper and lower grille valences seem to me like they are thicker and may survive better than the windshield trims. That said, (at least for my project) I am looking at doing the wheel arch openings and upper body trim as well. I’m guessing the pieces for the bed are too long for the blasting cabinet and PC oven, so maybe all of the aluminum stuff should just get painted? That way it will all match?

SHORT BED 4-DOOR DIESEL: 1986 F350 4x4 under construction-- 7.3 IDIT ZF5+GVOD

STRAIGHT SIX 4X4: 1981 F150 2wd to 4x4-- 300 I6 close ratio diesel T19, hydroboost brakes, Saginaw steering

BIG F: 1995 F-Superduty under construction— converting to 6.9L IDI diesel ZF5+DNE2

Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

Steve - Perhaps the term "porosity" is what is causing you concern. But the issue of impurities hiding in the pits on the surface of aluminum is not a myth. I've had several powder coating jobs ruined because I didn't properly heat the part for an hour or so to drive off the impurities.

In one case it was an aluminum air cleaner top, and when the impurities out-gassed as the part came up to temp they blew the powder off and the result was a really ugly finish with holes in it in many places.

I doubt the impurities are water, but whatever they are they can certainly ruin a finish. And it isn't "pre-heating" the part that does the trick. I like to apply the powder to a "cold" part as it is very easy to get way too much powder on a hot part. When using electrostatic attraction the insulating properties of the powder tend to limit the amount of powder you can get to stick. But when applying powder to a hot part you can load it up with way too much powder. Ask Brandon/Bruno2 about his timing cover.

The trick is to put the aluminum part in the oven for an hour or more at 400 degrees to drive off the impurities. Then allow it to cool and wash it with brake cleaner to get off the yuk that came out - and then evaporate the cleaner with the heat gun. And when it is finally cool you can apply the powder.

Jonathan - On the door handles, let's see what I have and come up with before shipping any. But I think the sample size needs to include a control, so should be 5.

On the other black parts, the wheel arch trim should fit. And if I were doing a black-out XLS I'd consider doing away with the body/bed trim. It might be too much, but then I don't remember what an XLS looks like.

As for the red TTB, I've often said the factory suggested this is the way they were supposed to be. After all, this is right out of the brochure.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Ford F834

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

Thanks Gary, if you do come up with enough door handles I can replace your stash at a later time when I can hand deliver them and save on shipping 😉. At this point I can’t make any promises for 2019 for reasons you already know, but I will certainly try.

The “real” XLS has no body trim, just stripes. My hang up is that I think the stripe kit looks pretty nice on the flareside, but gets less and less attractive the longer and straighter the vehicle gets. The long bed XLS look “off” to my eye, and I think a crew cab with XLS stripes would be ghastly. I have always liked the angular 80-84 trim, so my idea was to black that out in lieu of stripes, along with the fender arches to give it something other than the plain Jane look. But I do see where you are going with this, because painted aluminum is not likely to last, and will look like sh💩t when it starts to wear off. I may want to rethink my exterior theme but that is food for another thread.

Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

I'm not worried about "chasing rabbits" on this thread. So I don't mind discussing the side trim.

My oven is 3' x 3' x 6' tall, so I can't get a full 6' piece in w/o angling. And your bedside pieces would be 6 1/2'? That would be tricky, although it probably could be done. However, they would have to be blasted outside, not in the cabinet as they wouldn't fit in there.

Anyway, yes let's wait and think on this. And, I hope you get to come this year, but understand the situation.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

FuzzFace2

Re: Dad's Truck Build

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis wrote

Steve - Perhaps the term "porosity" is what is causing you concern. But the issue of impurities hiding in the pits on the surface of aluminum is not a myth. I've had several powder coating jobs ruined because I didn't properly heat the part for an hour or so to drive off the impurities.

In one case it was an aluminum air cleaner top, and when the impurities out-gassed as the part came up to temp they blew the powder off and the result was a really ugly finish with holes in it in many places.

I doubt the impurities are water, but whatever they are they can certainly ruin a finish. And it isn't "pre-heating" the part that does the trick. I like to apply the powder to a "cold" part as it is very easy to get way too much powder on a hot part. When using electrostatic attraction the insulating properties of the powder tend to limit the amount of powder you can get to stick. But when applying powder to a hot part you can load it up with way too much powder. Ask Brandon/Bruno2 about his timing cover.

The trick is to put the aluminum part in the oven for an hour or more at 400 degrees to drive off the impurities. Then allow it to cool and wash it with brake cleaner to get off the yuk that came out - and then evaporate the cleaner with the heat gun. And when it is finally cool you can apply the powder.

Jonathan - On the door handles, let's see what I have and come up with before shipping any. But I think the sample size needs to include a control, so should be 5.

On the other black parts, the wheel arch trim should fit. And if I were doing a black-out XLS I'd consider doing away with the body/bed trim. It might be too much, but then I don't remember what an XLS looks like.

As for the red TTB, I've often said the factory suggested this is the way they were supposed to be. After all, this is right out of the brochure.

I also had a used intake I painted with high temp silver paint and put in the oven to bake. That is when the job all went down hill. I did wash it good and let dry a few days before this painting.
When it was baking it pulled up what I call oil and blistered the paint.
I had to let it cool off wire brush the flaking paint bake it 2 more times with cooling off between before I painted it again and a final bake. All was fine after that and any time I am going to paint & bake it gets baked a few times before paint goes on.
Dave ----

Dave G.
81 F100 flare side 300 six / AA OD / NP435 / 2.75 gear
http://cars.grantskingdom1.com/index.php/1980-Ford-F100?page=1
81 F100 style side 300 six/SROD parts truck -RIP
http://cars.grantskingdom1.com/index.php/1981-Ford-F100

Gary Lewis

Re: Dad's Truck Build

Administrator

Yes. Whatever impurities are in there on aluminum make a big mess of the finish. It took me a few tries and a bit of Googling to figure out what was happening. But since I've started baking the part at 400 for an hour after the media blasting things have gone much better.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

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