Spring plate plating or powder coat?

[Maxhouse97]

To powder coat or plate? Most I’ve seen are plated, but with regard to the pic below (which is off my G50), the left t-bar cover to me seems to want to be powder coated, but the right side metal spring plate seems to want to be plated (again from other pics).

What do you guys think? Do I have to separate these by removing the two bolts shown?

[Lyle O]

You can do either, but when I refreshed my rear suspension some years ago I replated these (yellow zinc). Besides being what came originally from the factory, it's lighter and smoother than powder coating. The bling factor is cool, too. And yes, you have to take the spring plate apart (by removing the two large bolt/nut assemblies). That way you can replate everything, including the nuts and bolts.

[brasch]

Yellow zinc plating looks the best

[brasch]

[Charles Freeborn]

I'd re-plate. Any type of paint is going to rub off and possibly interfere with the adjustment overlap and slotted bits.

[Maxhouse97]

Stupid question - do most platers do some sort of media blast to clean up the surfaces before they plate? My powder coat guys do this - its half the reason I get it done (especially with the rubber bushing material that will be left from the spring plate bushings).

[seafeye]

Originally Posted by brasch

Big brakes on the back, small on the front?

[Harpo]

I powder coated mine unless they are done in cad or Nicole they will rust again

[Techno Duck]

Definitely replate them. Powder coat is not good on this application. It wont hold up around the bolts and may even cause the ride height or alignment to shift.

I had my pair done by Shaun with Tru6 in yellow zinc (check the classifieds). He did a great job.

[brasch]

The old guy I bought the car from put turbos on the back, I’ve got S Calipers going on the front this winter. Surprisingly the current setup worked pretty well, balanced. I was worried about that

[Lyle O]

Originally Posted by Maxhouse97

Stupid question - do most platers do some sort of media blast to clean up the surfaces before they plate? My powder coat guys do this - its half the reason I get it done (especially with the rubber bushing material that will be left from the spring plate bushings).

Check with your plater. In my case, the guy I use does not clean them up; the cleaner you supply them, the better the outcome (I have access to appropriate media blast and other cleaning methods, so not an issue for me).

[canamfan]

Yellow Zinc plating is most likely the way to go here (like/similar to factory), as others have mentioned for avoiding potential shifts & improper alignments/settings of hardware/bolts I'd bet this is the least likely to do so once properly plated.

[Jdub]

Agree with plating and do talk to ShaunB (Tru6 handle) on this BBS. The gold plating against the rest of the parts is beautiful, and you are dealing with parts that will not need to be filed or opened up by removal of thick coating. Instead, you have pieces essentially electro-plated and tolerances that will work well for rebuilding.

Clean the parts as much as you can using a reasonable chemical and wire brush.

[steely]

I went with plating (yellow zinc chromate?) for the rear suspension bits (Terrific guys at Phila. Rust Proofing). I saved the powder coating for the front suspension stuff (control arms, belly pan, rear sway, etc).

[Maxhouse97]

Hmm - checked with my plater, and similar to others they DO NOT media blast and I do not have access to one. So I would either have to pay someone else to do that or use hand tools myself (which I’m not fond of).

I get and agree that plating is more appropriate in this area. It’s cost vs ascetics vs corrosion protection question.

Does Tru6 include media blast in the price? Would have to calculate shipping as well.

[kghjr]

Do not powder coat it. Send it all to Shaun at Tru-6, don't fret the cost, what ever it is, it's totally worth it. He has my entire intake system, velocity stacks, throttle bodies, injection lines, linkage, trailing arms, brake calipers, brake dust covers and he's fixin' to get my entire front end. I'm sending this stuff from Denver. The State and Federal EPA's ran every single commercial plater out of Denver and there is no one I now who does Porsche OEM specs in-state. Did you see Shaun's site? Tru-6

This is his work

[Ionizer]

You should be aware that plating without the following heat treatment could make steel brittle. I think it affects high tensile strength steel more but anyone plating suspension components should read up on this.

I've been told that's the reason 10.9 and 12.9 bolts are usually black, not plated.

[Ionizer]

Originally Posted by seafeye

Big brakes on the back, small on the front?

Two 42mm pistons have almost the same area as four 30mm pistons so there might not be such a big difference in brake balance.

But the calipers are bigger and should handle more heat. Plus they look good.

[911 SLANT]

Plate them

[911 SLANT]