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Powder coat or paint engine parts?

M

miketyler

Member
Am ready to start prepping parts on my 351C and not sure how I want to proceed. I have always been a fan of powdercoating. However, I did several parts on my 340 Cuda and some don't look that great now compared to others that I painted.

I had the headers and intake both ceramic coated and they nearly looked like chrome but both have dulled now three years later and the car is RARELY driven. Also, they claimed that their ceramic coating could be polished but that doesn't seem to improve things either.

On the other hand I had a set of polished valve covers clear powder coated. They look about the same as the day I installed them. So now I am thinking I am going to just clear the valve covers on the 351c and paint all else.

Maybe I'm not giving the powder coating a fair shake? The company that did the work on the 340 was Quality Powder Coating out of Carrollton Tx. they have a good reputation but maybe their products for automitive application is sub-par? They offer powercoat for hire and have huge bead blast cabinets and ovens for gates, fencing, and other items.
 
I did basically all black and silver with my 351. No powder coating. Stock exhaust manifolds are ceramic coated. Here's an earlier pic during assembly.


4_19_01_10_4_44_18.JPG
 
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and how does it look today? Am thinking on saving the expense of powdercoating (except the clear) and painting all else
 
I painted my bare metal block with Zero Rust, then topcoated it with the rattle can Ford Blue engine paint. Honestly it still looks nice but wherever there was a leak, be it antifreeze or oil, the paint discolors. My guess is that the heat and reaction with the fluids cause it to discolor. Areas that didn't have this problem look great after a few years. I had problems with the rattle can engine paint chipping before, so I tried using the ZR as a primer and I haven't had one flake yet. I'm not sure if ZR is rated for heat like that, but its lasted this long!
 
Painting parts is easy and a lot cheaper, but I always thought powder coating would last longer.

My painted parts seem to be holding up pretty well, but I only have about 4000 miles on my fresh restoration now.

Oh, one other note... if you paint parts first, it's pretty easy to go back and powder coats parts later. However, if you powder coat first, it's more of a hassle to strip and repaint later.
 
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