Powder-Coating Outer Door Handles?

[bluesky]

Anyone try powder-coating their outer door handles black?

When I did my first resto, I painted mine to match the body color....now I want to go back black. I was gonna just purchase black ones but thought I'd ask if anyone had gone the powder coat route to see how they turned out. If any has done this, how far down do you need to break the handles when powder coating? I would presume that the lock cylinders need to come out but what about the springs, plungers, etc.?

Any thoughts, suggestions, experiences on this to share?

[beamonk]

Mine were done in black crinkle finish. They look great, hard to get wax off of them but there are brushes around. Be sure to take out the lock barrel and not get finish in that area or you will be scraping it off to get the locks working smothly.

[Jeff Alton]

Pretty simple to do, drop them off at the powder coater, a day later return to get them.....

They would stand up very well to abuse, better than any other coating you could put on them...

Great, now I have to back to the powder coater....

Cheers

[Mike_Lettrich]

I had mine powdercoated satin black about a month ago.

Yes, you need to remove the lock cylinder, latch mechanism, etc. It is not difficult, though. Just pay attention to how they come apart so that you can reassemble them when the time comes. While they were apart, I cleaned out all of the 30 year old grease in the lock cylinder and the rest of the mechanisms.

Make sure that your powdercoater plugs up the cylinder's hole and does not coat the parts where the mechanism attaches. I used Cooter's Powdercoating in Michigan, and they came out perfectly. No problems on reassembly, and they look great. I think it was around $35 for the coating.

[equality72521]

Originally Posted by Mike_Lettrich

I had mine powdercoated satin black about a month ago.

Mike, were they done before the PVGP? I believe you said they were when we spoke. They looked very good when I saw them whether they were or not.

[TroyGT]

Don't want to rain on any parades, but I thought powder coating would break down in UV and therefore you didn't want to powder anything that would be exposed to direct sunlight.

-Troy

[equality72521]

People powder coat wheels all the time

[Mike_Lettrich]

Mark,

Yes. I installed them about a week before the PVGP. Thanks for the compliment.

Troy,

No, the powder used will not break down in UV light.

[Laneco]

Steve has all the door handles on the 911's powder coated. Looks great, holds up forever. He has them done in either a gloss black or a medium gloss black, depending on the car. Dismantle them completely.

Want to know a little trick? Steve showed me this on a set he was putting together after coating: Wrap the lock cylinder with tape after you remove it. Leave the tape in place until you are ready to reinstall. All the little wafer like bits stay in place that way. Do not DO NOT turn the key in the lock with the cylinder removed and no tape. Bits go everywhere and the key will probably not work in the lock again...

Go ahead - ask me how I know this...

angela

[75blkcarrera]

Troy, There are different types of powders that can be used for a multitude of applications. There are some epoxy powders that do not stand up to UV's as well as other base materials. A recommendation from your coater, on the proper type of powder he is planning on using is a good avenue to follow. JC

[84porsche9113.2]

Just curious, what kind of costs are you guys paying for powdercoating the pair of door handles? Does that include removal of the old finish? (Mine were painted and the now the paint is chipping so will have to be removed).

[Mike_Lettrich]

84 Porsche - It cost me, I think, around $35 for two door handles. I removed all the mechanicals and lock myself, and degreased them in a parts washer. The old finished was the stock anodization, so there was nothing to strip. I would have to think that if the powdercoater would have to degrease and strip them, the price would be more. I'd call and speak with your powdercoater before you shipped them. The powdercoater could also help to select the right powder for the job.

Angela's tip for keeping the lock assembly together is a good one, which I did use. If you don't do that, the parts of the lock that fit into the cylinder could (and I'm sure would) fall out and cause all kinds of grief.

[bluesky]

Thanks everyone for the information. This is excellent

I have a broken handle assembly that I am going to use to practice disassembling.....I looked at it last night very briefly but I couldn't see how the handle itself could be separated from the trigger pull and it's spring/plunger mechanism.

$35 per handle is a much better price than forking over 3-4 times that much for a new-ish handle.

I know the factory finish is anodized black....so is a satin coating finish a close match?

[bluesky]

Also.....can anyone snap and post a quick pic of their masterpiece? That would be a great help....

[porsche930dude]

My sc had a plastic/rubber kind of coating that was chiped off in places so i scraped it all off and now they are a sort of anodized black look that looks very good

[bluesky]

Originally Posted by 84porsche9113.2

Just curious, what kind of costs are you guys paying for powdercoating the pair of door handles? Does that include removal of the old finish? (Mine were painted and the now the paint is chipping so will have to be removed).

I talked to my neighbor, who restores mustangs, to get the name of his powder-coater guy......he told me that this guy uses a soda blasting process to remove the old paint without damaging the substrate. I'm going to stop by the place and talk to him to get a quote.

[Porsche_monkey]

I water sanded mine, POR'ed them, water sanded again and top-coated with rattle can of OEM matte black. They look great.

[Buckterrier]

No epoxies stand up to UV, (epoxies are for corrosion resistance), I would recomend a urethane, tough and durable.

[yngwie1]

This might be a dumb question, but why not have them anodized again? It seems like a long lasting solution. Is it cost prohibitive?

[Jeff Alton]

You could have them anodixed, my anodizer would charge about 5 bucks each. Mind you we do a lot of business with them....

Cheers