L_perm

I have no idea who in my neck of the woods will do a proper job of stripping and powder-coating my intake. I've seen several owners here on RL testify that their intakes were done "right" and still look fresh several years on. I want that.

Who has the experience, will do the blasting correctly, clean out all of the blast media, degas it, cap and plug everything that needs it, coat it with a correct conversion coat, use quality materials, and provide an excellent finished product?

I'm in Charlotte, NC. Closer is better, but I'll box and ship it anywhere in the lower 48.

Thanks,
Louis

GregBBRD

The problem isn't the actual powder coating, it's who does the stripping (and how they do it) of the old paint from the intake.

Some shops will chemically strip the intake....which generally softens the paint, but doesn't totally remove it. They then will attack the remainder of the paint with silicon beads....which stick into the softened paint on the inside of the manifold, under the cast velocity stacks.

Even a tiny little bit of these beads, left in the inside of the manifold, will destroy an engine.

Tiny, tiny amounts. Destroy.

I've found that not chemically stripping the manifolds but going directly to low pressure sand blasting (not silicon beads) is the best approach.

Even with this approach, plan on spending a couple of hours with your favorite dental style tools, making sure that there is absolutely nothing trapped under or around these velocity stacks. And then pressure wash the inside. And then scrape again. And then pressure wash again.

I have manifolds and valve covers done on a continuous basis....and my guy is pretty well "trained"....and it is still a pain in the butt.

L_perm

Thanks for the advice Greg. I'm a hair's width from saying f*** how it looks, just take care of how it runs.

I might just chip off what will come off, scuff it, maybe sand smooth the remaining paint edges, and take a can of something to it.

I do want one of your new 25mm auto drive shafts, btw. Not sure if you got my message the other day. I hope to have my transmission headed your way by the end of the month.

Louis

GregBBRD

I used to paint all my manifolds, to avoid the bead blasting problems. I blew off whatever I could, chipped off a bunch more, and then had them chemically stripped.

Duplicator makes some paint that is really close to correct, which i then put clear over.The only problem is that they started selling the color in only small cans and it can be tough to find enough to get the job done.

I can get the color code off of a can at work, if you decide to do it this way.

I've got driveshafts, in stock, right now. Give me a heads up, when you ship your transmission.

L_perm

Will do.

If you get a chance, then please do send me that color code.

I'll call to buy the driveshaft.

Thanks,
Louis

Tom in Austin

I put Dupli-color wheel paint and clear on my manifold and came out pretty well. Probably won't be as durable over time as powder coating though.

BC

I was going to have a set stripped and actually use real epoxy primer, some regular build 2k , and then some real color/clear and see how that went. That way I can better match the OEM colors for the GT anyway.

worf928

What are the thoughts on olmann's approach as detailed in this thread?

Aluminum oxide blasting followed by a multi-step process.

It seems well thought out on the surface?

GregBBRD

I forget who turned me onto this color, but it is pretty close to the early (1987) 928 32 valve manifolds.

Dupli-Color "Perfect Match".....Light Almond Pearl BCC0425 (replaces T367). It's a Chrysler color.

No push on the driveshaft. I simply set one to the side for you, today, so when you are ready, I have one.

JWise

Here's what Duplicolor Light Almond Pearl looked like on my intake. Note: the cam covers had NOT been painted at this point.

(I later re-did everything with Duplicolor Engine Enamel in Cast Coat Aluminum as I wanted it to look more like Zermatt Silver)

Dave928S

Jarrod .. a few questions.
How close was it to Zermatt? Is it still on your intake and valve covers, and what did you do for preparation?

Chris Lockhart

That looks beautiful Jarrod!

zekgb

For the S3 it's even worse, the side plenums have lots of nooks and crannies to hide blast media, I'm now on my third pressure wash/scrape cycle and still have a small amount of media at the bottom of the tub when rinsing, probably have 6 hours or so into the process so far and hopefully just about done.

bureau13

Is it possible to seal off the openings when blasting it so you don't need to worry about stuff getting inside?

zekgb

Yes, but some media will get inside regardless where it is easily trapped and not so easily dislodged.