Powdercoating a rear axle, who's done this?

Hello,
I scored a complete 8.75 A body axle assembly last weekend for my Demon project and now have the rusty/crusty/dirty mess mostly disassembled on my garage floor. I'm considering having the housing and spring/shock plates powdercoated. Any downside to this, and about how much should I be spending to have these parts blasted and coated? I've never had powdercoating done before and would like to know what I'm getting into if I go that route. I read the thread about protecting the threads, and this sounds like a good plan.
Thanks!
Scott

up here in Chicago $200 seems to be the going rate for it to be blasted and powder coated

i had mine done. i had it blasted and coated but its a real pain to get it spotless. clean clean clean and once you think your done clean it some more i dont remember what i paid but it wasnt cheap probley close to the $200 mark

We're in Minnesota (JIT Powder Coating) but I can make a few recommendations on powder coating. You won't want to try powder coating a fully assembled unit. I can't tell you how many people have dragged in a fully assembled rear end here. Remove axles, seals, 3rd member, etc. Pressure wash the bare housing as best you can prior to blasting. If you want to do the 3rd member you'll need to remove the ring and pinion, pinion seal, etc.

After blasting, everything needs to be washed and dried thoroughly prior to painting. Depending on how greasy the housing was it may be advisable to have it put in the cure oven for a half hour or more prior to doing anything else to see if any impregnated grease or oil will become viscous and bleed out. Much better to find out now that after it's painted.

Don't go with a real high gloss black if that's the color you want. We recommend a 60 gloss black (Your powder coater will know what that means) which is a good compromise on appearance, maintenance and long term performance.

If the housing is really pitted badly, you should discuss a primer coat being applied before the color top coat. This will make for a much smoother, 'new' looking housing. Don't let them go crazy putting a lot of powder on. 1.5 mils of primer and 2- 3 mils of color is plenty. Some people fall into the some is good, more is better trap. I don't recommend a clear coat.

In this area we charge $175-250 for blasting, prime and color top coat of housing, spring perches and backing plates. Drums can also be done but the brake contact surface needs to be masked and that's labor intensive. 3rd member can be done too, but masking is involved here, so figure another $100-125 for 2 drums and 3rd member in the mix.

The heat required to cure the powder will not warp or otherwise affect the housing. The ramp up of heat in the cure oven is not a problem and most powders only require 350-390 degrees F for up to 30 minutes to cure properly. Let the parts cool down on their own once through the cure oven.

If you have other questions feel free to call us at 651-463-4664 or email JITPOWDR@AOL.COM

Good luck with the project!

Make sure the rearend is oil free inside before blasting and coating.

I charge $100 to hot tank, blast and powder-coat a rearend housing.

Thanks!
I will only be dropping off the empty housing, spring plates, and maybe the bare 3rd member. This housing is pretty rusty/pitted and am NOT looking for a really glossy show finish, just something durable that looks decent (probably Black or Gray). I'm thinking that there will be some agressive blasting to get all of the rust off the housing, since I'm assuming it will have to be completely rust free to coat but I also an guessing the coaters are used to dealing with this on chassis parts.

Larry at JIT did my 8 3/4 housing, backing plates,trans crossmember, k-frame, fast service, quality work!

Here is a picture of mine. I'll be working in the garage this weekend re-assembling the third member, axles, etc. I had everything powder coated, including spring perches, sway bar plates, and brake drums. For everything you see in the photo, cost around $150 in my area. My axle housing was heavily pitted as well. What I did was grind the entire axle housing down to bar metal with a flap disk. I was very pleased with the results, I only wanted to do it once! What I found very expensive was the axle bearing kit that I needed to buy from Jim's Auto Parts, close to $300. I wasn't expecting that.

Semi gloss black on a 8.75 housing was $90 at Technical Coatings in Kingston NY a few months ago. Blasting included.

mine was $25.00 to have the housing and backing plates sand blasted (thay use a fine sand) and was $50.00 to have them powder coated semi gloss black

I spent $600.00 for all of this..

And

Plus

and some more

Also

I had my rear, shock plates,backing plates and
gas tank powder coated for $200.
For my Demon.

I'm back into this old post hoping some of you could chime in and help me. I had my 8-3/4 axle housing and end plates powder coated and they turned out great. My problem is getting the inside of the housing clean. They blasted and baked the housing and the inside looked clean and dry except for the dried grease/oil residue.
I started with an industrial water soluble machine shop type cleaner degreaser. I thoroughly washed the interior with a brush. After it dried I cleaned the inside again with brake cleaner spraying until the cleaner ran out clean. I still feel a very fine grit when I touch the inside. How did you guys clean the inside of your housings? Do I need to keep cleaning until all interior surfaces feel smooth? Should I try pressure washing the inside. I definitely want all the grit out before I reassemble everything.
Thanks

The housing must be free of oil residue BEFORE blasting and coating.

I would hot tank/power-wash then blow the housing dry. Hot tank solution (lye) won't hurt the finish.

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I'm back into this old post hoping some of you could chime in and help me. I had my 8-3/4 axle housing and end plates powder coated and they turned out great. My problem is getting the inside of the housing clean. They blasted and baked the housing and the inside looked clean and dry except for the dried grease/oil residue.
I started with an industrial water soluble machine shop type cleaner degreaser. I thoroughly washed the interior with a brush. After it dried I cleaned the inside again with brake cleaner spraying until the cleaner ran out clean. I still feel a very fine grit when I touch the inside. How did you guys clean the inside of your housings? Do I need to keep cleaning until all interior surfaces feel smooth? Should I try pressure washing the inside. I definitely want all the grit out before I reassemble everything.
Thanks

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Steam pressure washer kicks azz when it comes to heavy oil and grease removal. This tool has saved me me countless hours. Perfect for cleaning the inside of a axle housing.