Suspension restoration - best practices?

[82DMC12]

Hi guys,

Thinking about digging in and doing some suspension restoration on my car. I'd start with the front suspension and do the following:

1. Remove upper and lower link, steering knuckle - how to restore them? Sand blast and paint? Powder coat?
2. New upper/lower ball joints
3. Wheel bearings
4. Get brake calipers zinc-plated, install brake kit
5. No need to do rack and pinion, already replaced
6. New bushings

For the rear suspension, basically the same job except also replace the one pivot bolt that's seized up...

For the "big parts" - the links and trailing arms, etc., what should I do? Take them to a machine shop? What should I ask them to do for a lasting restoration job? I want them to look like new but I think simple paint isn't going to last long enough. If I get them powdercoated, should all the bushings be installed first and taped off?

First I need to find a machine shop to help with pressing out bushings or get me out of a jam but I want to make sure they are equipped to restore the parts properly, too.

[painterdave72]

Hi andy. .I blasted and powdercoated all mine. .you should let me do yours!! I always like making a little extra money!

[82DMC12]

Hi andy. .I blasted and powdercoated all mine. .you should let me do yours!! I always like making a little extra money!

Oh really, I should have thought about you! OK Sounds good you can definitely help out.

Do you know anyone in town who does the gold-color zinc plating for my calipers?

Andy

[DMC-81]

Oh really, I should have thought about you! OK Sounds good you can definitely help out.

Do you know anyone in town who does the gold-color zinc plating for my calipers?

Andy

If you have to call around, the process is called Yellow Zinc. They start with clear zinc (the normal gray zinc), and then add a yellow chromate layer on top ( at least that was the process where I live).

I would recommend stainless steel pistons for extra peace of mind.

Here are my selections: Re-plated parts, SS pistons, ceramic formulation pads and hardware from DMC, and new rubber kits.

Front:
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=36698&d=1441642143

Rear:
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=36531&d=1441465057

[David T]

To just get a few parts done (plated/anodized) is very costly. The vendors do large batches so it is more economical for them. Your best bet if you want plated calipers is to just use one of the vendor's exchange programs and buy a set of 'loaded" rebuilt calipers. As for painting before or after you install new parts, if you powder coat you can't put the new parts in before you powder coat, to cure the powder you must get the parts too hot so you install the bushings and joints after you powder coat. To clean the parts before you paint or powder coat, typically they get sand blasted. A good paint job could last a long time unless you use the car regularly or store it outdoors, powder is expensive overkill but it will stay newer looking longer and is easier to clean. Be sure to keep the places where the new parts go masked off so you don't get powder build up. The new parts won't fit unless you remove the powder coating.

[Mark D]

Sounds like you're on the right track with your plan. I pretty much did what you listed and took a bunch of photos if you're interested in seeing how the process worked for me. Photo albums linked below. I stripped most of the suspension parts with aircraft stripper to remove the majority of the paint, then sand blasted what was left. I bought a cheap blasting cabinet and media from harbor freight for less than it would have cost me to have a shop do it. It took a lot of time though. If I had to do it all now (8 years later) I'd probably just have the powder coating shop blast the parts for me.

For the zinc plated parts I sand blasted those too and send them all to DMCMW. They have a local vendor that does the plating and DMCMW checked to make sure everything was inventoried and nothing was lost. They really went above and beyond considering what they charged which was not much above the vendor's cost. I yellow zinc plated all the large parts and clear zinc plated all the hardware since the chromate layer is a bit thinner so it wouldn't gum up the bolt threads.

I also replaced all the front bushings with poly, and replaced all the rear suspension bushings with new rubber DMCH reproduction parts. While I was in there I also replaced all the rubber coolant hoses, radiator, fuel lines, clutch master and slave, brake master, shocks, lowering springs.... yeah, talk about scope creep. Totally worth it though to just hit all the chassis parts at once and be done.

Teardown and parts pile here (Some parts already sand blasted):
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=253

Suspension Parts Here, stripping, blasting and powder coating:
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=327

Zinc plated parts here:
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=347

Brakes Here:
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=97

Ebrake disassembly/reassembly:
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=235

Rear Hub Carrier Refurb (Powder coated the aluminum carriers silver, installed new bearings)
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=170

Rear Suspension Link Refurb thread:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?5020-How-To-Rear-Suspn-Control-Link-Bushing-Refurb

Note: If you plan to powdercoat the rear links you need to press out the old bushings. The baking process involved with powder will destroy the rubber so it's better to just remove them right away so you don't damage the finish trying to remove the old bushings.

For flaking epoxy on the frame I used sanding discs to remove the epoxy down to bare metal, feathered out the epoxy so there was no hard edge, then applied POR-15 rust preventative paint, POR primer (which helps the top coat stick, and adds coating thickness similar to that of the stock epoxy) and then top coated with Rustoleum Smoke Gray.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?5199-Frame-Paint-Color-Comparison


Some overall before and after:


http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=24979&d=1391179503

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=24963&d=1391113762

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=24962&d=1391113762

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=27718&d=1401483846

[82DMC12]

Sounds like you're on the right track with your plan. I pretty much did what you listed and took a bunch of photos if you're interested in seeing how the process worked for me. Photo albums linked below. I stripped most of the suspension parts with aircraft stripper to remove the majority of the paint, then sand blasted what was left. I bought a cheap blasting cabinet and media from harbor freight for less than it would have cost me to have a shop do it. It took a lot of time though. If I had to do it all now (8 years later) I'd probably just have the powder coating shop blast the parts for me.

For the zinc plated parts I sand blasted those too and send them all to DMCMW. They have a local vendor that does the plating and DMCMW checked to make sure everything was inventoried and nothing was lost. They really went above and beyond considering what they charged which was not much above the vendor's cost. I yellow zinc plated all the large parts and clear zinc plated all the hardware since the chromate layer is a bit thinner so it wouldn't gum up the bolt threads.

I also replaced all the front bushings with poly, and replaced all the rear suspension bushings with new rubber DMCH reproduction parts. While I was in there I also replaced all the rubber coolant hoses, radiator, fuel lines, clutch master and slave, brake master, shocks, lowering springs.... yeah, talk about scope creep. Totally worth it though to just hit all the chassis parts at once and be done.

Teardown and parts pile here (Some parts already sand blasted):
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=253

Suspension Parts Here, stripping, blasting and powder coating:
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=327

Zinc plated parts here:
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=347

Brakes Here:
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=97

Ebrake disassembly/reassembly:
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=235

Rear Hub Carrier Refurb (Powder coated the aluminum carriers silver, installed new bearings)
http://dmctalk.org/album.php?albumid=170

Rear Suspension Link Refurb thread:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?5020-How-To-Rear-Suspn-Control-Link-Bushing-Refurb

Note: If you plan to powdercoat the rear links you need to press out the old bushings. The baking process involved with powder will destroy the rubber so it's better to just remove them right away so you don't damage the finish trying to remove the old bushings.

For flaking epoxy on the frame I used sanding discs to remove the epoxy down to bare metal, feathered out the epoxy so there was no hard edge, then applied POR-15 rust preventative paint, POR primer (which helps the top coat stick, and adds coating thickness similar to that of the stock epoxy) and then top coated with Rustoleum Smoke Gray.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?5199-Frame-Paint-Color-Comparison


Some overall before and after:


http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=24979&d=1391179503

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=24963&d=1391113762

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=24962&d=1391113762

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=27718&d=1401483846

Hi Mark,

Wow, awesome photo set! Now you really have me inspired! I did some work on someone else's DeLorean a few years ago and had DMCMW zinc plate the hardware and brakes for me - it was a really nice look but I have yet to do the same for myself. Your car looks great, hope to get mine to that level soon.

Andy

[Mark D]

Hi Mark,

Wow, awesome photo set! Now you really have me inspired! I did some work on someone else's DeLorean a few years ago and had DMCMW zinc plate the hardware and brakes for me - it was a really nice look but I have yet to do the same for myself. Your car looks great, hope to get mine to that level soon.

Andy

Thanks Andy, I got a lot of help from the community here and from following a few other builds like VIN 3281 at No Roads Garage. If you want to get inspired reading this site will definitely do it.
http://www.noroads.com/delorean/3281/

If you haven't already seen the Project Vixen rebuild or Protodelorean's car, those are also amazing:
http://projectdelorean.com/index.html
http://www.projectvixen.com/

Since I've completed my own build I've seen a few other guys on here do work that goes above and beyond what I did. If you check out Rich's restoration on DMCToday you'll see one example of what I mean.
http://dmctoday.com/showthread.php?1456-Rich-s-Resto-VIN-4728

[CyberBill]

Sounds like you're on the right track with your plan. I pretty much did what you listed and took a bunch of photos if you're interested in seeing how the process worked for me. Photo albums linked below. I stripped most of the suspension parts with aircraft stripper to remove the majority of the paint, then sand blasted what was left. I bought a cheap blasting cabinet and media from harbor freight for less than it would have cost me to have a shop do it. It took a lot of time though. If I had to do it all now (8 years later) I'd probably just have the powder coating shop blast the parts for me.

For the zinc plated parts I sand blasted those too and send them all to DMCMW. They have a local vendor that does the plating and DMCMW checked to make sure everything was inventoried and nothing was lost. They really went above and beyond considering what they charged which was not much above the vendor's cost. I yellow zinc plated all the large parts and clear zinc plated all the hardware since the chromate layer is a bit thinner so it wouldn't gum up the bolt threads.

I also replaced all the front bushings with poly, and replaced all the rear suspension bushings with new rubber DMCH reproduction parts. While I was in there I also replaced all the rubber coolant hoses, radiator, fuel lines, clutch master and slave, brake master, shocks, lowering springs.... yeah, talk about scope creep. Totally worth it though to just hit all the chassis parts at once and be done.


Sorry to resurrect a year-old thread here, but I am going through this process myself now! I've mostly disassembled everything and starting to look at options for powder coating and zinc plating. I am curious how you decided on which parts to POR-15 (rear half shafts) vs black powder coat (suspension links, control arms, front hubs) vs silver powder coat (rear hub carrier) vs yellow/gold zinc plate (most of your brakes, rear hub assembly, wheel spacers, some bolts & washers) vs clear zinc plate (most of your bolts & washers)? I assume it's mostly aesthetics? What made you chose to POR-15 the half shafts rather than silver powder coat like the hub carrier?

[David T]

Powder coating is the most desirable choice but there are some considerations that may prevent that. You have to get the parts really hot to melt the powder so if you have rubber bushings or boots or grease,they must be removed and installed after curing the powder. If you have to assemble things the powder coating is thick and will prevent you from sliding things together. Anodizing doesn't affect the size much so it doesn't interfere with assembly. Parts to be anodized must be completely disassembled. Paint is easy to apply and you can mask things off and you don't have to heat to cure. It can last depending on how well you can prep the parts and what kind of paint you use.

[dmcman73]

Should also note that Zinc plating does not last very long once it's been exposed to the elements, within a few years time, it will look just like it did prior to plating it. I painted my calipers knowing that it would be easy to touch up whenever needed without full disassembly.

[David T]

Plating, when exposed to the elements (weather) does deteriorate. If you want to protect the brake calipers you must also consider that they get very hot. There is paint made specifically for the brake calipers that can handle the heat. One place that sells paint in different colors is Eastwood (eastwood.com) for the calipers.

[mr_maxime]

Plating, when exposed to the elements (weather) does deteriorate. If you want to protect the brake calipers you must also consider that they get very hot. There is paint made specifically for the brake calipers that can handle the heat. One place that sells paint in different colors is Eastwood (eastwood.com) for the calipers.

They also got powders for powdercoating available. I'll be ordering powder from them, but sending mine out to a local place to get done the color I want.

[CyberBill]

Lots of great info here!!

Since powder coating seems to be the more durable option, that's what I'll go with on all of the parts that I can. There are a ton of shops around here, so I'll shop around a bit. :)

[Mark D]

Sorry to resurrect a year-old thread here, but I am going through this process myself now! I've mostly disassembled everything and starting to look at options for powder coating and zinc plating. I am curious how you decided on which parts to POR-15 (rear half shafts) vs black powder coat (suspension links, control arms, front hubs) vs silver powder coat (rear hub carrier) vs yellow/gold zinc plate (most of your brakes, rear hub assembly, wheel spacers, some bolts & washers) vs clear zinc plate (most of your bolts & washers)? I assume it's mostly aesthetics? What made you chose to POR-15 the half shafts rather than silver powder coat like the hub carrier?


I haven't been around here much lately so I just saw your post.

For the rear half shafts I decided to POR-15 those since the majority of the part would have had to have been masked off for powder coating. I was also concerned about damage to the splines during handling. You can't really see much of the half shafts once installed anyway so it was just a simpler way to go. I didn't want paint or powder on any critical mating surfaces so I had the interior bearing surfaces of the hubs, threaded holes, and inner bushing surfaces on the control links masked before powder coating to not affect the dimensions for press fitment.

I powder coated as many of the other suspension parts that I could since it's more durable than regular paint. Anything that was originally black I had powder coated in black. The aluminum rear hub carriers were originally just raw cast aluminum so I had those done in silver powder coat to prevent the oxidation and corrosion that happened over the years.

For zinc plating I tried to match the original finish of the parts as best as I could. Zinc plating used to use hexavalent chromium conversion coatings which are all but replaced by trivalent chromium coatings today. The color of the conversion coating over the base zinc plating used to be indicative of the thickness of the coating and corrosion protection, IE: clear --> yellow --> green --> black, from least to best. Today the color is usually just a dye additive that doesn't affect the level of corrosion protection. I went through a DMCMW which has an outside company do their re-plating. They advised that the yellow conversion coating is still slightly thicker than clear so for threaded fasteners it was better to go with clear zinc to prevent gumming up the threads and potentially affecting torque / clamp load when reassembling. I opted for clear zinc on pretty much all of the hardware with the exception of a few washers for the hubs.

The hubs from the factory were finished a dark gray phosphate type coating that didn't provide much corrosion protection at all outside of stopping the parts from rusting in open air. I opted to have my hubs yellow zinc plated instead even though it was not the factory original look. I was mainly concerned with preventing rust and the yellow zinc matched the brake calipers and other nearby parts. If I were to do the hubs over again I'd probably have them coated in dacromet or magni coating that can be done in a dull gray that is closer to the factory appearance. I wasn't overly concerned with the exact factory appearance at the time.

There are more options available now for suspension parts than when I did the restoration on my car so I'd probably make some alternate choices if doing the work today. I'd probably go with DPI stainless front upper/lower control arms and save the hassle of stripping and refinishing the factory parts. My lower control arms weren't all that rusty and at the time and there wasn't much for alternatives. Pressing the bushings and ball joints in and out was kind of a pain, especially the bushings on the upper control arms. I ended up fabricating some special spacer plates to avoid crushing the UCA's when reinstalling the bushings.

It's been almost 10 years since I did the work on my car and everything still pretty much looks as it does in those reassembly photos. I've driven through plenty of rain and bad weather but no road salt. The POR on the frame has held up as well with no flaking or adhesion issues.

And good luck on your restoration project! Keep us all posted with some progress photos as you go along.