Wheel hubs - paint or not?

[Simon Bannister]

Hi all,

Another newbie question I’m afraid. In the process of refurbishing suspension and have just stripped old paint of the first of my hubs.

What do folks doing in terms of painting these or not?

 

[Randy V]

Paint or powder coat - but leave the interface between the rotor/hat and hub clean. A thin wipe of anti seize on that surface and wiped dry is what I would do...

 

[Bill Kearley]

Powder coating is quite thick and good for a lot of areas but I would go with anodizing, ( very thin ) on areas like the hubs.

 

[Neil]

I'd opt for electroless nickel plating but whatever you choose you will need to disassemble the hub completely.

 

[Mike Pass]

I use paint. I use POR15 which really sticks well to everything as under coat. Expensive but really good stuff. And then i use a good chassis black. I get them from here.
http://www.frostrochdale.com/
Cheers
Mike

 

[Howard Jones]

I don't recommend power coating or chrome type plating on any part that may be subject to cracking AND the resulting failure will result in loss of control of the car. Suspension parts, highly stressed drive line parts, engine/grbx mount, steering system pieces, and wing mounts, etc.

These kind of parts need to be inspected from time to time for stress cracking. More often for track cars, somewhat less so for road cars. But inspections for loose hardware, evidence of cracking and bending should not be overlooked.

So why not power coat? You can't see cracks forming under it until they become huge and often only after complete failure. Most professional racing sanctioning bodied either don't allow it on these pieces or recommend against it.

Anodizing would be OK in my opinion BECAUSE it so thin and will propagate the forming crack almost immediately. I think Neil's nickel plating can also be put on very thin but I am not familiar with it in this application however the thickness of the plating is important and should be considered. Don't put on anymore than would prevent corrosion.

My advice is a light coat of anti rust/paint, matt silver or light grey will show cracks very well, and leave it at that. Even several coat of paint can cover a forming crack.

That's my 2c's worth.

 

[Paul W]

These are fairly cheap to replace with ally versions and save a few kgs.....
https://www.hispecbrake.co.uk/hubs.html

 

We Parkerised mine.

 

[Bill Kearley]

Haven't heard that for years ( parkerised ) forgot what that was till I looked it up, common on guns. How durable is it and what about colors?

 

[Bill Kearley]

Light grey has been used for years on unibodies and other parts, it shows a distinct black line at cracks. I'm guessing you just want to stop corrosion on some parts. That's where anodizing or even ni-cad is good. I'v got 50 year old parts done in ni-cad 20 years ago and look new. It's thin and robust.
On a budget, try Eastwood for home done coating kits.

 

[Neil]

Bill;

The Parkerized finish has very little corrosion resistance by itself. It relies on its absorbed oil film to prevent rust of firearms.

 

[Ron McCall]

A light coat of SEM Trim Black will do the trick perfectly.

 

Bill;

The Parkerized finish has very little corrosion resistance by itself. It relies on its absorbed oil film to prevent rust of firearms.

Neil is correct. I figure I'll have the hubs apart often enough to keep things oiled.