As some of you know I'm not too happy with the powder coating on my car which has an old Luego chassis . Have just spent the last few weekends stripping the car down so that I can sort it out and have found the problem is even worse than I thought. The powder coating is pulling off in sheets and the chassis under the coating is badly rusted. Going to get it shot blasted and use something like POR15 . Don't know if this problem affects any newer than old Luego chassis's but worth checking especially you guys that took advantage of old Luego's show deals where they powder coated the chassis for free. Suspect had the chassis's been shot blasted before powder coating there wouldn't have been a problem

oh dear. Sorry to hear the problem, and hope its not terminal.

This identifies a good example of something looking good, but its functionality (or reality) is somewhat different.

Although powder coating is a nice finish, it needs to be done properly, and im always a fan of red oxide and a brush, with a durable top coat on any metal if it needs it. At least you can inspect the metal as you paint it, and you know the coating is making contact directly.

My locak powder coater won't put a coating on unless the item is zinc pasivated first, for for precisely the reason you have.

If you can find a product called 'Galvafroid', then it can't be bettered. Next is Zinc182.

I took loads of stick for brush painting the MotaLeira with epoxy 121 paint, but I don't have to worry about stone chips or rust and u can't tell if I re-touch the finish.
I went this route after all the moaning on the atom cub forums

There are areas on mine where the powder coating wasnt great, but overall its ok, but i havent purposely tried to remove it.

When did you purchase your chassis? Was it whilst Grant was running Luego?

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If you can find a product called 'Galvafroid', then it can't be bettered. Next is Zinc182.

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Originally posted by Project7
There are areas on mine where the powder coating wasnt great, but overall its ok, but i havent purposely tried to remove it.

When did you purchase your chassis? Was it whilst Grant was running Luego?

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Hmm I purchased my chassis in 2003 so probably the same powder coating company - I'll make sure i keep my eye on it, Thanks Rusty.

Luckily i bought my chassis in 2005 in bare metal and brushed red oxide primer and filler primered then gloss black enamaled and it is still excellent and easily touch upable!

Before i started my build i had the old powdercoat blasted off, then hot zinc sprayed before re powdercoating. £300 well spent!
kenton

i got mine of Grant back in AUG 2006 and i got the show offer of the free powder coating i will admit its not the best job ive ever seen by a long way ie very dull in places but ive not noticed any bubbling any wear, i'll go have a good look over it at the weekend as its still in the build stage its not seen any rain yet but thats not to say the chassis didn't before it was power coated cheers for the heads up.

Maybe you need to think about changing your username - after all it looks like the problem isn't just confined to the family jewels !!





Seriously though, I bought a second - hand unstarted project which turned out to be a Luego Locost - the powdercoating was rusty and flaking, also all the edges of the brackets and any other flat bits eg. the wishbones were sharp and unfinished.

The first job I did was to file these edges down then get it shotblasted and powdercoated. Lots of pics in my archive. This was all at the end of 2008. The new powdercoat job was a bit thick, but is good quality. I think the locost was sold between 5 and 7 years ago (but I don't know) so it was almost certainly back in Grant's days.

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Originally posted by stevegough
Maybe you need to think about changing your username - after all it looks like the problem isn't just confined to the family jewels !!





Seriously though, I bought a second - hand unstarted project which turned out to be a Luego Locost - the powdercoating was rusty and flaking, also all the edges of the brackets and any other flat bits eg. the wishbones were sharp and unfinished.

The first job I did was to file these edges down then get it shotblasted and powdercoated. Lots of pics in my archive. This was all at the end of 2008. The new powdercoat job was a bit thick, but is good quality. I think the locost was sold between 5 and 7 years ago (but I don't know) so it was almost certainly back in Grant's days.

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Old Luego, didnt do much with the chassis before powder coating.

I have the same problem, at the moment I just flake it off, and paint up.
When I do a back the to chassis rebuild, it will get a sandblast and a proper coating.

As said so many times before, the final finish (of any type of surface) and its quality its down to PREP PREP and MORE PREP.

There is nothing wrong wiht the Luego powder coating. Where the chassis has been ground near welds etc, the coating is stuck like Sh*t to a blanket! IMHO Its just the chassis was not properly prepared.
This has been mentioned to all subsequent owners of the company. Hope they have taken notice.
At the end of the day its a commercial decision they take. Its a pity they didnt make a quality judgement first.
My chassis is 4 years old with 3 years on the road (and some it is in pretty wet weather) Its not bad, just annoying when bits flake off.

Galvafroid is excellent paint. Its Zinc Rich. You will understand why its £69 a can when you pick it up and feel the weight
I use it on my Landy and on my Galvanised radio mast. Expensive... but Very Good.
Again... make sure you do the prep properly first, as its expensive paint and you dont want to waste it!

Rusty... McKays on East road sell it.

Car is now stripped down to the bare chassis ready to take to get it shotblasted . Have been looking at various treatments but haven't decided what to use yet , possibly POR15 or Galvafroid. Will not be powder coating again that's for sure

I had mine blasted then 50 micron hot zinc sprayed and two pack epoxy coated... It is the dogs....

Dave B

Due to things that i wont mention on here, its now getting close to me starting the build finally after quite some years.
Now i picked up my chassis the same time as Geoff Wilkin.
Im now wondering about this powdercoat problem, i really need to know how much it will cost to get the powdercoated chassis blasted before i start my build, the money will set me back timewise but i dont want the coating chipping off once ive started/its on the road.
Could someone give me a clue on blasting costs ? if i do get it blasted, i will paint it myself afterwards but i would like it primered straight after blasting.
Also, whats the cost of the hot zink stuff or other decent base coat options ?
Sorry for all the questions but if its too expensive i may just have to stick with the powdercoat thats on it - it looks great after 4+ years but it has been in dry storage so hasnt seen any weather yet.
Other option is wire brushes in angle grinder but not sure i can face that but i do have an offer of help from Rich (makeeverything) which is really good of him.
Cheers Andy

Hi Andy, I've been quoted £1.10 per minute for shot blasting but he did advise me that powder coating is a bitch to get off when blasting for some reason which is why I'm using paint stripper and scrapers to get the worst of it off. Have found some paint strippers to be better than others , got some cheap stuff (£19 for 5 lts) from Toolstation to be pretty good but if you use it make absolutely certain you don't get any on exposed skin . IT BURNS! Hope to finish stripping this week end and get it to the blasters so it's ready for collection the following Saturday.

Cheers Mel, sounds like a bit of a blank cheque though ?
Problem i have is that if its a couple of hundred quid, that will put me back 6+ months just trying to get the cash together - things are tight at the mo
Im a patient guy but ive waited ages so far, bit of a hard decision to make.
Ive got plenty to get on with , without starting to fit bits to the chassis so maybe i will sit tight for a while and see if cash flow improves.....

My shotblasting and powdercoating was done by Flare in Warrington - maybe a bit far for you, Andy? However, to give you some Idea of cost, they charged me a very reasonable £220. (this was dec 2008).

Having said that, do not underestimate the importance of rounding off the sharp edges - powdercoating doesn't like them. - This job I did myself before taking it to warrington.

Finally managed to get the powder coating stripped off ready to get the chassis to the shotblasters. Just to show how bad it is.

Yikes! its worse than mine was!!

Good luck, Rusty (Chassis)-sorry- Nuts.


Er - you're not getting paint stripper on your tyres or alloys, are you?

[Edited on 25/1/10 by stevegough]

OMG ! i think i need to get saving up to strip mine off before i build after seeing that Mel, good luck with the blasting mate.

Any news rusty ? how did the shotblasting go ???

Shotblaster hasn't had a chance to do it yet but hope to get it back for next week end. Also hope to sort out some heating for the garage by then as POR15 would set below 10 degrees. Will keep you posted.

If you need a garage heater, i have a small wall mounted gas one that you could borrow mate, (my dad gave me it and i dont need it now because ive got integral garage which doesnt get too cold) you just need to pop a regulator on it and a bottle of butane or propane, cant remember what gas is better for heaters ?
It'll certainly warm up a small garage nicely.
Let me know if you need it and i will dig it out for you.

That would be great Andy , Are you going to the SG7 meet today ? If so any chance of bringing it along?

Im not going to the meet im afraid, visiting family in cheshunt today.
I will definately dig it out for you in the next couple of days though Mel, we can sort a good time to pick it up or meet half way or something, its one of those things that i thought was too good to get rid of but i have no use for it.
Will U2U my phone number mate.

Got the chassis back from the shotblasters lunchtime today . It's back in the garage and have managed to paint the under side and a few of the chassis rails . Got to take the other half out tonight otherwise I would still be at it. Many thanks to Andy for the loan of a gas heater , need to heat to above 10degrees for POR15 to go off. Sticks like the proverbial!

I have a small gas heater if u need it.
not very good, bet enough for a garage.
Bottle too, but a bit empty. can sort u out give me a bell.

Great news, good luck with the re-painting, hope the heater takes the chill off