Dad's Truck Build

[1986F150Six]

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.

I wish I had thought of that!

[Gary Lewis]

I wish I had thought of that!

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 Lewis]

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.

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!

[Steve83]

...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.

...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.

https://supermotors.net/getfile/859762/thumbnail/wstrimbk.jpg

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

[Ford F834]

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, 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?

[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?

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.

[Ford F834]

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.

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]

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.

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.

[FuzzFace2]

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 ----

[Gary Lewis]

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 ----

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.