A-arms: Paint, powder or other?

[ILXLR8]

Please share how you recondition a 911 A-arm and why. Powder, paint Cerakote or other?
Is the surface area under the rubber bushings protected by the same or some other form of protection?

I have a 912E that I am doing a complete restoration on. Complete tub is ready and now focusing on the best direction for reconditioning some main components. It will be a car for me to drive and enjoy, no winters and salt, however may end up in rain on occasion.

[mepstein]

I like powder because it's easy. Blast, spray and bake. It's hard to go wrong. Cerikote looks great and is really durable but way more money. For $25 I can buy enough powder to do the whole suspension on my 914, 3x over. Powder also smooths out a lot of the pitting from corrosion. It obscures fine detail so it really depends on the look you want. Cericote goes on really thin so you can read all the date stamps, etc. If I did paint, it would be 2 part epoxy.

[RWebb]

people say powdercoat is hard to touch up - after it chips from rocks


my protection tray is powder coated and I don't see any chips tho...

epoxy paint will be pretty durable...

[Ctopher]

Cerakote is what I plan to use for all my suspension when I get to it. I have already done a few items like headlight rings, whammy bar, belly pan front oil cooler and oil lines. While powder is nice, Cerakote is amazing. My whammy bar has multiple pavement rubs/scrapes on it and it still looks new. I don’t see powder coat lasting through that kind of abrasions.


CTopher

[roblav]

I do DP90 epoxy.

[911tracker85]

my tub is about ready to paint. trying to make final decision on some stuff to weld.

I had a number of parts powder coated including some of my suspension stuff and had the bushing area of those A arms PCed. but for my oil tank and engine fan had Shaun at Tru-6 cerakote along with replating a lot of stuff. and for aluminum stuff, after bead blast to clean, use a couple coats of cast aluminum paint to help keep the dirt and grime from getting impregnated into the raw aluminum. not long ago learned Shaun has a huge tumbler and he sent me pics of those alum banana arms afterward. the tumbling gave the alum a very nice finish and eliminated the porous nature of the raw alum.

there are endless ways to dump $$ into these projects. I only hope I live long enough to finish and get to enjoy it. now how else can I tempt you into spending all of your money like I am?

looking forward to the day I start putting stuff together.

It will be a car for me to drive and enjoy, no winters and salt, however may end up in rain on occasion.

me too. building to show quality but I drive my cars....

best of luck on your project.

[jjeffries]

Two-pack urethane.... single stage.
Cheap, durable, EZ. John

[911tracker85]

^^^
I have used all new rubber bushings since primarily a street car with track intentions... will see a few DE but not a lot.

now for my 951 track car, a lot of polybronze and mono ball stuff.

[KTL]

The area under the rubber bushings is bare metal. I believe it needs to be bare (or similarly rough) to provide best means of adhering the rubber to the suspension arm

Since powdercoat or cerakote are tough materials, be sure to have any attachments to your parts installed before you coat them. Last thing you want to do is ruin the coating to weld on a bracket (e.g. U-bracket for Tarett front sway bar). At least with paint you can touch it up afterward if you had to disturb it

I chose to paint my A-arms with POR-15 simply because I had it on hand and wanted to use it up. A lot of people hate this stuff and I can see why. Goes on ok (sort of self-levels but still shows some brush strokes) and tends to leave bubbles. And removing it after it has cured is tough. IT STICKS GOOD

[ILXLR8]

Thank you everyone for all the tips here!
Sure is a full list of Pros & Cons.

I think for this project, my best option is powder coating.
I'm going to put a group of parts together and take them all in.
My black powder list includes: a-arms & brackets, spring plates, sway bars, steering rack skid plate, engine cross-member, trans mounts, axle shafts, fuel filler neck, engine tin, valve covers, fan pulley, brake dust shields, brake & clutch pedals, shift lever, e-brake lever and misc brackets.

[slow&rusty]

I powder coated my A-Arms a few years ago and they look beautiful to this day.

[75 911s]

Just had mine done, looks fantastic and was cheap. Only problem is I forgot to attach the U bracket for the upgraded sway bar. So yes, take Kevin's (KTL) advice from above.