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Powder Coating DJM Suspension Parts... Is It Worth It?

Blitzkrieg

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There's a thread on these forums concerning DJM's lowering kit that got me thinking about whether or not it is a good idea to sand blast and powder coat a new DJM kit. The gray, bumpy metallic finish that DJM uses (paint? power coating?) doesn't seem to last all that long and it would be nice to have a finish on the suspension components that does last. However, I'm inclined to think that powder coating might not be worth the cost and effort... and here's why:

On my 2001 Tacoma, I've had the DJM upper control arms for 10 years and it doesn't appear like DJM has changed the finish on their products in that time. I was a bit miffed when all the gray coating started flaking off years ago, however, pretty much everything under my truck looks like dookie these days.

It started snowing today here in Wisconsin, so I snapped some photos of my suspension while I was swapping-out my summer wheels with my winter wheels. The photo of the upper control arm is the DJM piece. What you're seeing is pretty much solid (wet) rust as the DJM's gray coating fell off long ago. However, the control arm is pretty darn hefty and although it doesn't look pretty any more, I don't think that means it's at risk of failing (I guess it could be, but hasn't yet).

The lower control arm is the OEM control arm which doesn't look pretty either. So in my opinion, although the DJM coating certainly isn't nuke-proof, nothing under our trucks is. If you live in the northern half of the USA or Canada and have to put-up with salted roads in the winter, you might as well get used to your suspension looking horrible after a few years. That being said, unless someone has proof that powder coating will protect the suspension parts from rust and road salt for longer than the DJM's finish and the OEM finish will, I'm going to say it's not worth doing... at least not on a daily driver.

Have any of you powder coated any of your suspension parts? How has the coating held-up after a few years? (Pictures would be good :smile: )
 

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TommyXrunner

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the gray coating on the djm parts i got were partially flaked off when i opened the box. and they started getting rusty where the coating came off really quick. if you got the money and plan on keeping the truck for a while i'd go for it!
 

cwatt

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I've been using a paint from my local automotive paint supply store. They add a hardener agent and load it into a spray-can. You'll have 24-48hrs to use it for best results, and it's hard as a rock when it dries.

As always, it's all about the prep. I've never used a primer, but I do use a wax and greece remover prior to application. Something like that might be worth looking into. I plan to do my rear axle and intercooler come the spring.
 

SPEED808

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those look like dodo. lol i wish i powder coated my djm stuff before innstalling because their coating is crap. but i was rushing to get it on and now its on i dont want to take it off lol. would of done matte black oh well
 

burnboy

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You must live up north. That metal looks nasty
 

Blitzkrieg

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I took my DJM kit to get it powder coated black today and learned a little while talking to the salesman. I took the parts to a commercial powder coating company that deals with farm equipment and the like, so I'm assuming they know what they are doing.

I requested that the old finish be sand-blasted off, but the salesman said they ship off the parts to be chemically stripped instead of blasted as the original coating might be too hard for sand blasting.

Since my kit is going on my brand new truck that I plan on keeping for a long time, rust and corrosion is an issue for me (see the pics in my first post!) To combat rust, parts can be Zinc treated before they are powder coated. The zinc coating provides protection for the metal even if the powder coating comes off.

I've read that some people have had issues pressing in their ball joints, so I asked that the inside lip where the ball joint hole is not be powder coated. I guess that's not a problem... they just tape over the areas that shouldn't be coated.

And lastly, you can powder coat springs and other metals that flex somewhat. I wasn't sure if powder coating was flexible enough for springs, but I guess it is. Makes me think that powder coating the leaf springs might not be a bad idea since they get rather ugly over time due to rust.

I was quoted $150 for the chemical stripping, zinc coating, and powder coating. Since the company I went to does commercial work, this will pretty much be a cash deal. I'll post up pictures when I get the parts back.
 

easts1d3

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The place I took my rims to E-coated them before powder coating
 

*IrunnIt*

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Absolutely, next time mine will have to come off for any reason im def powder coating them or at least sand blasting and painting them.
Mine also look like shyt.
 

triumphx

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What kind of steel does djm use? Looks like some shitty steel to me
 

Blitzkrieg

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What kind of steel does djm use? Looks like some shitty steel to me
I wouldn't go so far as to say it's not good steel. After all, any metal with iron in it will rust.

The issue, at least as far as I'm concerned, is that the coating that DJM uses doesn't last as long as I'd like it to. I'm gambling a little bit in the hopes that having the control arms refinished along with a zinc coating will help the coating last longer. I guess only time will tell if my extra investment pays off (Hopefully the X-Runner Underground will be around in 5 years so I can post my results! :laugh: )

Although one member of these forums did have a failure of their DJM kit, overall, the 2nd Gen Tacoma kit is really beefy and uses very heavy gauge steel.
 

X-MOKED U

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those parts look like they got pulled outta the titanic lol sorry man but i would deff get those coated or something
 

Blitzkrieg

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Well, my first "mod" for my new truck is just about done. Too bad it's not actually on my truck!

8678797563_d57dbb4384_b.jpg


One thing is for sure, going the route of having the kit re-powder coated is not the route to take if you're trying to save your pennies. The costs so far:

$375.00 DJM Front Kit from DJM Direct
$113.06 Moog Ball Joints from Rock Auto
$150.00 Acid wash, zinc coating, powder coating by Armour Coatings
$110.82 Ball joints pressed in at local NAPA
$000.00 Elbow grease required to get the bushings out and back in :smile:
---------
$748.48 Grand Total :argh:

My hope is that *some day* the cost and effort of doing this will seem worth-while. I don't want my new truck to have any Titanic-looking parts :laugh:

Costs aside, I think this is how the kit should come from DJM. Who would complain about a shiny black, well coated kit? I obviously would've been willing to pay a little more for a better finish. Maybe DJM just don't know of a decent powder coating company?

I'm sure glad I told the powder coaters to tape-off the bearing area and the bushing holes. The powder coating sure is hard and relatively thick. I had to use some metal files to clean-up a little before putting the bushings back in. Speaking of which, putting the bushings back in was considerably more difficult than I thought it would be.

Now that I've got the kit back, I was able to verify that my kit has the reinforced lower arm... yeah me. I think I would've blown a gasket if I had found that I just had the non-reinforced kit powder coated.

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Now that all the original DJM black and silver "cottage cheese" coating is gone (due to the acid wash), the finish is actually kind of shiny and smooth.

8679907636_c0534d3ce8_b.jpg


Upper control arm...

8678797741_8f395d5c23_b.jpg


Lower control arm...

8679905662_2177790084_b.jpg


So now all this junk gets put on the shelf. :frown: I'm waiting for my 3" rear block kit from StreeTacos.com and I have an appointment in early May to see about getting a custom notch put in the frame.

I guess I'll post back in like 10 years to let all of you know if this was worth the hassle or not! :rolleyez:

On a completely unrelated topic, I love the photo quality from my Nokia Windows Phone... the lighting condition was pretty bad when I took the above shots, but they turned out pretty darn nice.
 

*IrunnIt*

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Wow that looks awesome, im kicking my self in the ass for not getting mine pc'd when I had it off.
 

Torspd

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Wow! Wow. That is the way they should come new. Those look professional. :adore:
 

zXrunner

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So is it worth powder coating these? I work at the Harbor and I constantly water spray my X every after work. How long do these last til it starts rusting?
 

TommyXrunner

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wow those look awesome man! i don't understand why DJM dosn't powder coat there products black like that. looks like a $1000000 :top:
 

Torspd

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So is it worth powder coating these? I work at the Harbor and I constantly water spray my X every after work. How long do these last til it starts rusting?

When it starts flaking off because of the fact it is a cheap coat, then it will be.
 

Blitzkrieg

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So is it worth powder coating these? I work at the Harbor and I constantly water spray my X every after work. How long do these last til it starts rusting?
I had my kit zinc-coated before being powder coated, so my hope is that even if the powder coating comes off (which it already did in some spots around the ball joints), that it won't rust. It's probably pretty pointless to try and fight rust in Wisconsin where I live, but I keep trying to anyway!
 

Blitzkrieg

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I finally got around to putting the kit on my truck. I took all sorts of pictures because my suspension will never look this good again :frown:

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