• From: Glasford, IL
  • Registered: 2008-02-17
  • Posts: 155

Topic: Painting/coating calipers, rotors, coil springs, sway bars on V8 bug??

Hello everyone, as some of you guys know I'm working on building a V8 VW beetle  www.zbcreations.com/index3.html. 

http://www.zbcreations.com/epbimages/vwhome.jpg

Currently I am working on rebuilding the front end of the S-10 chassis.  I'm wanting the car to look real nice when I'm done and stay that way for as long as possible, so I'm looking for some advice on keeping some of the front end parts from rusting.  I'm wanting to do this stuff right, or at least as right as I can afford..... LOL

Calipers and rotors

On the calipers and rotors what would you guys suggest to use to paint them with to keep them from rusting and also something that won't peel off in a year or so.  I know they make the rattle can caliper paint, but I'm always a little leary of rattle can paint on a car LOL....  Also I've seen some of that stuff peeling off after a year or so.  Is this just from poor prep or is the rattle can stuff any good.  Any suggestions???  I do have some Master Series silver chassis primer, but I'm not sure how this would hold up to the heat???

Coil Springs

How about the coil springs???  I have some new Moog springs, they are painted from moog, but not that great so they'll be rusting in no time.  I've though about the master series, but  I'm thinking most paint is going to want to crack/ flake off with all the flexing they'll be doing.  I have also thought about using some truck bed liner on them, it's kinda flexable, but would it just delaminate from the springs eventually.  Then I've been thinking of getting some black vinyl tubing slightly larger than the wire dia and soaking it in warm oil and sliding it over the springs.  But I'm not sure how that would work.....  I've even thought about electrical shink tubing and shinking it on the wire, but I'm thinking that might want to wrinkle up or crack up???   Any Suggestions???   

Sway Bars
I'm upgrading my sway bars to the ZQ8's from an extreme, the guy I bought them from degreased them and painted them with rustoleum.  Once again I'm thinking with the flexing paint would crack and flake off???  Plus again I'm not real big into putting rattle can paint on the car... LOL, and there might be rust under the paint that might come to haunt me in the future?   So I'll probably take them to work and blast them down to clean metal, but then what???   I'm worried about the master series or any paint cracking with the flexing.  I've thought about the truck bed liner, maybe it would be better suited for the sway bars being that they won't flex as much as the spings???  Any Suggestions???



Thanks for all the help guys!!!

Have a good weekend!

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body.... Rather it is to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, WOW WHAT A RIDE!"

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  • From: Canada
  • Registered: 2004-03-27
  • Posts: 630

Re: Painting/coating calipers, rotors, coil springs, sway bars on V8 bug??

A lot of it is prep, and some of it is quality of paint. 

Do you have a mediablasting booth?

Take a look down this thread:  http://www.garagehangout.com/forum/inde … pic=3188.0

He's rebuilding a Jag, and we get into a bit of a discussion about prep and paint here.  He uses stuff mostly Dupli-Color and Tractor Supply Farm Implement Valspar products and seems quite happy with the results.

Good to see you're still working on the project, I was wondering about it the other day.

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