Paint, powder, cad, chrome, etc

[Humpty D]

Paint, powder, cad, chrome, oh my?

How are you planning on finishing your frame and suspension pieces and why? Primed and painted (gun vs can), powder coated, cad plated, chrome plated, etc. I am sure there are many ways to finish off these pieces and there are probably just as many opinions. However, I’m sure you all have given this a great deal of thought so let’s hear them so it will help me zero in on a solution.

Also, I did search before posting and only came up with a few hits. I would have thought you all had it out over this already.

Humpty

[Xavier]

I think it is about durability and cost; how durable do you want it and how much do you want to spend? I have mine powder coated which is extremely durable, I could not imagine something being stronger and more encapsulated than this. If done correctly, it should be difficult to grind off, there are some good coaters and some great. Its price has also dropped since the economy has fallen apart. I have a guy local to me who can do an entire frame and then some. And unlike others, he can do nearly any color you could imagine, candy colors, metallics, rough coat, matte finish, whatever you want.

I have mine in gloss black with no regrets, it looks super good, maintenance free and no longer costs and arm and a leg to get done. There are some who swear it should be done in white or silver so you can detect leaks in your drive train quickly.

[rustyBob]

I painted every thing to help keep the cost down and also so i could touch it up if i went over a speed bump to fast and scratched the frame or any other part of the under carriage.....at the time i did mine powder coating was rather spendie......plus i wasnt building a show car and these things dont get driven everyday in all sorts of weather so rust on the underside isnt going to be a problem anyway...

[RallySnake]

Black POR15 lasts a long time and is easy to touch up if you change something.