I am about to coat the frame on my 1959 Chevrolet Apache Fleetside. I am considering powder coating but wanted to see what others have had good luck with. Are coatings such as por 15, chasis saver, kbs as good as powder coating? I have everything apart and the cab off the frame. Local powder coater says he'll strip and powder coat for $550. I also was wondering about the axles and drive shaft etc... should I powder coat those as well? Thanks for all advice.
I'll be watching for your responses.. I have a 1958 version of the same truck, but haven't gotten to the level of repairs you're at right now.
I have two trucks, 58 Cameo and a 59 Stepside, on the 58 Cameo i have installed a C4 Corvette suspension and i am going to Paint the frame a Gloss Black over powder coating, why? because i can paint easier then i can powder coat and in the build if something comes up were maybe i need to re-fab say a bracket or move something, i like the idea of being able to go back and do a paint touch up in this area. i am also going to paint the frame of my 59 also, i just checked my paint supplier and i will be around $115.00 for a gallon of paint,hardener,and thinner. i have used POR15 on the underside of the cabs and top and bottom of the trans covers with good results (BUT) some will say they don't like using it as from what they said it peels off. so far i have not experienced this with what i painted it on and it was clean media blasted metal, No Surface rust, I think what also shy'd me away from using Powder Coating was my best friend powder coated a brush guard RED on his Jeep and in a matter of less then a year it faded out and dulled to a flat finish (Maybe they have a UV inhibitor today?) also we are in the DRY HEAT Az Sun Lol... I do know with POR15 you need to try and use all of the can up as the lid will weld itself on to the can if you don't use wax paper AND with the wax paper trick it still was a pain in the A$$ getting back into the can to use what was left! of coarse you will need a paint gun and compressor and cant imagine not having if you are restoring or Hot Rodding anything? I did brush the por15 on and it self leveled to a nice finish so far so good! i will be spraying the black using my paint gun fwiw. Allen
Powder coat is nice BUT ~ if any water gets underneath it (much more common than you'd imagine) it'll travel and rust severely under the powder coating . Far better to use paint , many different paints , for Farm rigs I always used gloss black RustOleum , it smoothes out pretty well and doesn't ever peel like Eastwood's rust encapsulator so often does in damp climates . Wait for Evan to chime in and figure ouit if you'll ever drive it as this makes all the difference in what you should paint it with ~ look at any 10 year old show rig .
Decided to go with KBS coatings they have been very helpful in answering all my questions. I have talked with some old timers who have been restoring these old rigs for longer than I have been around and convinced me that powder coating may not be the best option for me. I plan on driving my truck once completed on a regular basis. Tried the drill with wire wheel for a day and decided to have the frame sandblasted for $350. thought that was a great deal!! Got them to blast my rims both sides plus the spare for another $75. Beats the heck out of the wire wheel and wire brush and much better surface prep. I am going to use KBS rust seal two coats and then two coats of their satin black topcoat. Here's a couple pics before frame sandblast and after. I am coating the frame this weekend and will post some pics once completed. Thanks for all responses! !
My experience with powder coating is that if it's for brackets, heater/ac housings, accessories, etc it is very good as it's so tough you can't hardly scratch it. On frames and running gear it can get scratched to bare metal and cause rust problems. This happens on undersides of frame and gear from parking lot curb stones and high curbs. You can never drill or weld on it again like for a trailer hitch, light brackets, or anything else. POR 15 cannot be exposed to the sun and even KBS will fade some so we topcoat it. We use a lot of KBS and if there is an adhesion problem it's your fault, not the product. For a driver I use plain old frame paint as it can be spotted in or re-coated.
Went with the KBS rust seal satin black two coats over sandblasted bare metal. I wasn't able to do it all in the same day so I followed the techs advice at KBS and lightly sanded between coats wit 220. I am going to lightly sand one more time and use their satin black topcoat that does contain the uv inhibitors for the final coat. I like their product it seems very durable and adheres well to the metal. The people at KBS have been very helpful. I'm glad I went with kbs instead of powdercoating and am very pleased with the way it looks so far. Took two quarts of the rust seal to do everything. Pictures are before i applied the second coat. Going to topcoat in the next day or two. I will post a couple more pictures once i have finished.
Here's a couple of the cab. I am having all the sheet metal work done now. New cab corners inner and outer, front part of the floor pan both sides, step plate and rocker panel right side, the cab overall was in decent shape compared to others I have seen. There was a good bit of damage on the top part of the back window around the seem at the pinch welds. Replacing all that. If it was rusted through it is getting replaced. The fleetside bedsides were in decent shape except for the inner bedsides which are also getting replaced along with the wheeltubs.
