Powder coat

[alackofspeed]

A very quick question: is anyone else's car rusting like a sunken battleship?

[Ric H]

Mine's not bad at all. There are odd spots and some pieces were not coated too well (rear chassis bolt-on frame got an extra coat of paint). I'm planning to slap some waxoyl on the vulnerable bits.

[limpabit]

Mine has quite a few rusty bits. Steering rack arms are worse on mine.

[MikeR]

A few spots here and there but on the whole not bad at all.

Regards
Mike R

[alackofspeed]

I've driven my car a lot in the rain, so I can only assume this is the cause. It's kinda lucky the whole rear end of my car is being stripped soon, as it'll give me a chance to POR15 all the chassis members.

I'll take some pictures of mine, and you'll see what I mean by it rotting more than one would hope.

[eaa53]

My chassis is under a tarp in the orchard waiting for its time slot in the garage so its been damp for a while. It also got a thorough soaking on the trailer on the way home.


Based on the advise you guys gave me at day one I am currently painting everything that unbolts with multi coats of thined Hammerite. I have noticed that the sharp edges of most of the powder coated components are showing signs of rust.

I also plan to liberally spray with some 'Plasticoat' cans and hope its coverd the thin areas and the soft areas of the powder.

What's POR15 is that anything like Hammerite?

JohnC

[alackofspeed]

POR15 is basically a paint that is especially durable, and ideal for harsh environments.

Sadly the only distributor in the UK is Frost, but having been sceptical initially, I've now used it on many items, and it does what it says on the tin.

http://www.por15.com/

[SDMC001]

Mine is not to bad the worst ares are where the welds are, but, I was aware of the quality issue when I saw Dilons car a long time ago, so I knew what maybe coming.

[bigrich]

...anyone remember the film Gremlins?......cute fury things that turned into little monsters when they got wet.

It is not by accident that mine doesn't have a hood......and I don't take her out in the rain or salt......the aforementioned Gremlin effect!

....on a positive note....I find that as long as I keep her cleaned / waxed (bodywork, chassis and susp bits) then she looks good still.

Rich

[alackofspeed]

Unfortunately there will always be occasions where it is unavoidable to drive in the rain, and in my view to have a car that can only be used when it's dry and will reliably stay that way, is not viable in this country.

Ultimately it's not difficult to coat steel with a durable protective material...... my friend's Caterham has taken 9 years to get to a state where he's felt the need to remove panels and repaint, and that's despite numerous excursions into the kitty-litter and the car having being stored outside most of its life.

[EXI Turbo]

Mine started to rust with in few weeks of collecting it, after sending some photos to Marlin they agreed to refund the price of the powder coat. Which meant I still had a rusty chasis which had to be rubbed down and painted. which wasn't that easy when all the other components were also in my small garage.


rgds Nick

[alackofspeed]

Originally Posted by EXI Turbo

....started to rust with in few weeks of collecting it......

The small section tubes in the driver's footwell did this on mine. The rest has only started to rust since being on the road.

[DavidH]

I'm surprised mine looks ok even where I had some job getting the front bulkhead in place I dont think its gone through the powder coat. I am however debating whether to underseal the bottom steel panels when I rivet them in place to try and protect those.

As mines not seen outside yet apart from a few journeys in teh dry on the build trolleys I guess only time will tell if it rusts.

[alackofspeed]

David, your powder coated items are a different colour to most other people's, which make me wonder if Marlin made a deliberate change to a more robust product / company.

I keep meaning to take some pictures of my car, and when I do, you'll see how the powder coat is just falling off my uprights, and rust is coming through on near enough all the other chassis members.

[MikeN]

Gent's the quality or durability of the powder coating is more down to substrate preparation and cleaning rather than the powder coating itself. The colour is inmaterial and has no bearing on quality. It might however be a method by which Marlin can differentiate between chassis if they had changed powder coating jobber/contractor.

My chassis has spent the last 3 years (how time flies) in my garage being built and does have signs of corrosion in one or two places. I have bought spray touch up paint and more importantly a large tin of underseal.

Best regards

MikeN

[Patrick]

The Sportster started rusting in place after about 50 miles on the road. I've been cleaning up and touching up with hammerite since. Also a lot part have holes in the powder coat which I've gone over anyway. Every new part has dozens of tiny pin side holes.

The roll bar spray paint that nfauto / cbs sell seems pretty good match to the black.

[alackofspeed]

By "more robust product / company" I meant that perhaps a firm that better prepares and applies the powder coat had been employed, as from my discussions with local firms when I was contemplating coating my rollcage, I learnt that preparation of the surface, and continuity of the coating are critical to longevity.

I was informed, and am witnessing it on my car, that the problem with powder coat is when it chips / if it has flaws (bare patches), water can easily get between the coating and the metal, the metal then rusts and the powder coat flakes off.

I was strongly advised by two different powder coaters, to paint any surface likely to be struck by stones or similar objects that would be likely to chip the powder coat.