Anyone have Kentrol windshield hinges?

williambmac

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Fucktard state of NJ
I was going to send my stock hinges out to be blasted and powder coated, but they want $200.00. I am now considering replacing them with Kentrol black stainless.
They appear to get decent reviews compared to the other aftermarket replacements. I'd like to hear opinions on them from anyone that has them.
 
That’s a ridiculous price for powder coating that small of a piece… you can get a cheap gun, a cheap tabletop oven and do it yourself for less than that last I checked. Contact other shops… or email this guy https://perfectplasma.co/contact he may be willing to do it.
 
That’s a ridiculous price for powder coating that small of a piece… you can get a cheap gun, a cheap tabletop oven and do it yourself for less than that last I checked. Contact other shops… or email this guy https://perfectplasma.co/contact he may be willing to do it.
There are several shops by me, but they are expensive. I was considering the Kentrol hinges because they are stainless, so I don't have to worry about them corroding.
 
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I tried Kentrol SS hinges when I was rebuilding my YJ..the Kentrol hinge is made from metal that is half the thickness of the factory hinge..ended up with a used pair of original hinges from ebay, to replace my rusted up factory stuff
 
I tried Kentrol SS hinges when I was rebuilding my YJ..the Kentrol hinge is made from metal that is half the thickness of the factory hinge..ended up with a used pair of original hinges from ebay, to replace my rusted up factory stuff
Thats my concern. I want to make sure they are the same gauge steel.
 
I was going to send my stock hinges out to be blasted and powder coated, but they want $200.00. I am now considering replacing them with Kentrol black stainless.
They appear to get decent reviews compared to the other aftermarket replacements. I'd like to hear opinions on them from anyone that has them.
I just had the following powder coated, blasted first.
Full TJ Unlimited corners
Rock rails
Rock rail backers
Cowl
All internal backers
Tailgate skin inner and outer
Lower valance under tailgate
Hinge and latch boxes for tire carrier
Tire carrier crossbars
Tire carrier
Gas filler bezel
28 pieces in total for 715 bucks.
 
Powder coating prices can be all over the map. I've been quoted anywhere from $75 to $200 per wheel. I had a guy do some for $100 ea. and they turned out great. I've been doing my own for the last year or so. Small items only ... anything that can fit in a counter top size oven. My Brother uses a kitchen oven and there have been very few parts for his Mini restoration that he hasn't been able to do in it. I'm building a larger oven and will be able to do items up to about 4' long or a couple of wheels at a time. It's a simple process and the results can be very rewarding.
 
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I just had the following powder coated, blasted first.
Full TJ Unlimited corners
Rock rails
Rock rail backers
Cowl
All internal backers
Tailgate skin inner and outer
Lower valance under tailgate
Hinge and latch boxes for tire carrier
Tire carrier crossbars
Tire carrier
Gas filler bezel
28 pieces in total for 715 bucks.
I wish I was out by you. Everyone in this state wants a premium for everything, it's only gotten worse since the Covid thing. Businesses feel that they have to make up for the losses by price gouging customers.
A few months ago, I was quoted $500.00 per bumper to media blast and powder coat.
I was just quoted $500.00 to paint an aftermarket replacement windshield frame for my Jeep.
 
I wish I was out by you. Everyone in this state wants a premium for everything, it's only gotten worse since the Covid thing. Businesses feel that they have to make up for the losses by price gouging customers.
A few months ago, I was quoted $500.00 per bumper to media blast and powder coat.
I was just quoted $500.00 to paint an aftermarket replacement windshield frame for my Jeep.
To be fair, we have the you hold'em, we fuck'em coaters as well. The reason I have my current coater is my last one was terribly inconsistent. I know about what it should be based on having so much of it done over the years. I dropped a stock TJ tire carrier off and had it done in the common semi-gloss back that is done daily at every coating shop. Should be cost effective since it isn't a set up and do a single item. The miserable cow charged me 125 bucks, I told her it was an unfair price for the above reasons and I had done 1000's of dollars in work with the shop. Nope, that's the price, take or leave the part here.

No problem but that will be the last item you ever do for me. That's fine, take it or leave it.
 
To be fair, we have the you hold'em, we fuck'em coaters as well. The reason I have my current coater is my last one was terribly inconsistent. I know about what it should be based on having so much of it done over the years. I dropped a stock TJ tire carrier off and had it done in the common semi-gloss back that is done daily at every coating shop. Should be cost effective since it isn't a set up and do a single item. The miserable cow charged me 125 bucks, I told her it was an unfair price for the above reasons and I had done 1000's of dollars in work with the shop. Nope, that's the price, take or leave the part here.

No problem but that will be the last item you ever do for me. That's fine, take it or leave it.
My local powder coater does very nice work, but at about 20% more than Mr. Blaine's. The problem with them is lead time. They are way backed up. Back during COVID, it took almost 4 months to get a batch of stuff done. I have some stuff with them right now, and I was quoted 4-5 weeks, which is so much better, but that's still a long time to wait for something that's ready to be put on my LJ, save for cosmetics. Also, as I've mentioned before, I'm doing a lot of my stuff in matte OD green, which is a special order powder for them. This last time, I dropped off a couple of welding table bases (2x2 square tubing) with the LJ parts to be done in OD green, and I said that I'd like those back ASAP and didn't care what color they were - I just want to keep them from rusting away. His response? "That won't make a difference because we only do things in the order they come in" I guess that's a very fair way of doing things (no "butting in"), but it's terribly inefficient, and I'm sure it contributes to longer lead times.
 
My local powder coater does very nice work, but at about 20% more than Mr. Blaine's. The problem with them is lead time. They are way backed up. Back during COVID, it took almost 4 months to get a batch of stuff done. I have some stuff with them right now, and I was quoted 4-5 weeks, which is so much better, but that's still a long time to wait for something that's ready to be put on my LJ, save for cosmetics. Also, as I've mentioned before, I'm doing a lot of my stuff in matte OD green, which is a special order powder for them. This last time, I dropped off a couple of welding table bases (2x2 square tubing) with the LJ parts to be done in OD green, and I said that I'd like those back ASAP and didn't care what color they were - I just want to keep them from rusting away. His response? "That won't make a difference because we only do things in the order they come in" I guess that's a very fair way of doing things (no "butting in"), but it's terribly inefficient, and I'm sure it contributes to longer lead times.
Efficiently they would fill a rack with all the color in the order it comes in. I've been in PC shops more than a few times and not once were they not running semi gloss black that day.

That and I've had my fill of crap PC shops and there's more than a few of those around.
 
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Efficiently they would fill a rack with all the color in the order it comes in. I've been in PC shops more than a few times and not once were they not running semi gloss black that day.
Agreed, and it's not just powder-coaters where the crap vendors substantially outweigh the good ones. It takes some thought and planning to run a production line efficiently, whether for in-house production or a job shop... Low-ish prices usually indicate either of two diametrically opposed situations. Either they are doing a poor job by taking shortcuts, or they run a legitimate high-efficiency operation. Of course there are outliers, but generally production that's efficient results in reasonable quality and reasonable prices.
 
Agreed, and it's not just powder-coaters where the crap vendors substantially outweigh the good ones. It takes some thought and planning to run a production line efficiently, whether for in-house production or a job shop... Low-ish prices usually indicate either of two diametrically opposed situations. Either they are doing a poor job by taking shortcuts, or they run a legitimate high-efficiency operation. Of course there are outliers, but generally production that's efficient results in reasonable quality and reasonable prices.
Yeah sorta but not so much when it comes to PC. There are production powder coat lines. I despise them because they hang the part and send it down the line. It gets washed, dried, sprayed, baked, and puked out the end with some shiny shit on it. The washing and cleaning does not and can not prep the surface properly for good adhesion and the high heat short flash time never gets the base metal up to temp for good bonding. Those shitheads are responsible for all the bad we hear about PC whereas a custom shop that we deal with blasts and preps with enough bake time to get good bonding. They are not the same process.

They also typically won't even touch a run of less than 500 pieces.