Axle Painting

Wade

Wade

Detail Oriented
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Joined
Dec 9, 2015
Messages
161
Location
Yazoo City, MS
Okay, so after a ton of research and some experiments I finally painted the 1992 Dana 30 high pinion I took out of a trashed MJ.

(Re-gear/locker install will start in about two weeks when my last duck is fully dressed and covered.)

I won't go into all my reasons, but this is what I finally decided on and will now do to my Dana 44. I did it in four or five work days.

First Day
strip down housing of all parts
make repairs as needed to bracketey

Second Day
have housing bead blasted
clean housing interior of most of the media - some *will* get in there for sure
clean exterior with brake cleaner (non-residue formula and lint-free cheese cloth from Kroger)
spray on Rust-Oleum self-etching primer, following all instructions to the letter (4 coats)
allow this to cure for about a week (be patient! there is acid that MUST evaporate)

Third Day
scuff entire axle thoroughly with 320 grit
wash off residue with plain, old soap and water - I used Dawn
allow an hour to dry
apply two or three coats of white Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer
allow to fully cure for at least 48 hours

Fourth Day
wipe down with soap and water and allow to fully dry for an hour
apply four coats of Rust-Oleum "Stops Rust" Hammered paint
allow to cure/harden for a week or so

Takes forever but works well and is not costly. Benefits are that the self-leveling Hammered paint hides damage really well, is cheap and is easy to find in stores, pretty much always being in stock. The two primers work well with the bare steel and the Hammered paint.

(Forgot to snap a few pics with the Clean Metal Primer. Imagine this axle snowy white. That is pretty much it.) ;-)

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This looks fantastic, and I intend to do this with my axles soon. I've considered powder coating them, but my issue with powder coating is that you can't touch it up easily like you can with spray paint.
 
Big Sarge said:
Looks great, but I would be pissed the first time it got dirty or scratched!! LOL
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Me too! I think about that all the time... What happens when my pretty new axles aren't pretty anymore! That's just something you have to accept unfortunately.
 
It won't. But neither will powder coat, nor (eventually) will the OEM paint. The point is to make it as solid as I can with a small budget, AND FOR IT TO BE SUPER EASY TO TOUCH UP AS I BASH IT INTO STUFF.

Keep in mind that I just fully rebuilt everything below the frame rails on my TJ, and after all that work my axles looked pretty crappy. I am doing this so that all the niceness starts out at the same time, like when the TJ was new. When I clean it up it will still look nice for some time. As I mess up the paint I can run to Home Depot or Ace and pick up a can of this stuff, wipe down the axle where the paint is damaged, and fix it so that it looks good.

You cannot fix powder coat that is damaged. You can only try to keep it from peeling off or strip it down and start over, which costs a lot. And my decade of experience with some decent powder coating on my bumpers and rock rails shows me that it lasts a long time, but that as it gets beat on it looks progressively more ratty. The paint will not last nearly so long, however, I can fix it as I go, so - theoretically - it should stay nice looking for much longer with the same basic upkeep to prevent rust from starting after it gets scraped off.

I am hoping it will hold up well, but know that the first impact with a big rock will take it off. But since all my costly powder coating did the same I am not really worried about it.

I will post a vid when I have to do my first touch up to it, so you can see what you think. This is not an axle painting panacea, but it is what I consider to be a solid solution to a constant problem.

My last experiment was to simply wash the axles off really well and throw on some VHT chassis and roll bar paint with no primer (as the instructions dictate). That was a massive fail. I had rusty spots from rain water after like four months. No wheeling, just driving. And it will still scrape off with my thumbnail, after months of cure time.

My next step with the axles would be much more expensive, though it would work "better" (which is relative because they would still get bashed up badly and require touching up). I would use a spray gun and apply a two-part epoxy primer and a urethane paint. (At least I *think* those are the terms - I am still learning!)

Anyway, I am hoping this will keep my axles looking decent enough for some years, with touchups, of course. HAHAHA!!!
 
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I hear ya on the spray paint. I touch mine up with spray paint from time to time, but it doesn't last long. I am on the fence though because I might fork over the money for some brand new Currie High Pinion Dana 44 axles.
 
Keep in mind that only the front end uses a reverse rotation, or "high pinion" design. The rear end is still low pinion. The high pinion is only to allow the gears to be in mesh with force being applied to the drive side of the teeth, like a low pinion rear axle normally has. If one were to put a high pinion rear end on you would be pushing it on the coast side of the gear teeth, which would weaken it just like a low pinion on the front. The high pinion is like a rear axle, but flipped over. This helps prevent the gears from wanting to walk out from each other when under a lot of load, so your housing does not end up vomiting out your pinion gear, which would be a bad thing on the trail, heh, heh, heh...

Normally, a low pinion front axle is strongest when you are traveling in reverse, when the teeth are in mesh on the drive side. So the use of a reverse rotation axle on the front restores the strength that was lost when the pumpkin was turned around backwards and told it would have to "go in reverse" for most of its life (using the coast side of the teeth). High Pinion on the front solves this. HP on the rear gets used, but it is really rare and for special applications the we probably would never encounter with a more-or-less stock TJ.
 
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Wade said:
Keep in mind that only the front end uses a reverse rotation, or "high pinion" design. The rear end is still low pinion. The high pinion is only to allow the gears to be in mesh with force being applied to the drive side of the teeth, like a low pinion rear axle normally has. If one were to put a high pinion rear end on you would be pushing it on the coast side of the gear teeth, which would weaken it just like a low pinion on the front. The high pinion is like a rear axle, but flipped over. This helps prevent the gears from wanting to walk out from each other when under a lot of load, so your housing does not end up vomiting out your pinion gear, which would be a bad thing on the trail, heh, heh, heh...

Normally, a low pinion front axle is strongest when you are traveling in reverse, when the teeth are in mesh on the drive side. So the use of a reverse rotation axle on the front restores the strength that was lost when the pumpkin was turned around backwards and told it would have to "go in reverse" for most of its life (using the coast side of the teeth). High Pinion on the front solves this. HP on the rear gets used, but it is really rare and for special applications the we probably would never encounter with a more-or-less stock TJ.
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Interesting, I didn't know that so thanks for the info! So basically I would only want a high pinion axle for the front, and the rear would remain a low pinion?
 
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Looks like I need to order the Currie high pinion 44 front and the low pinion 44 rear! They don't even make a high pinion rear so this makes perfect sense now. Thanks for explaining this to me!
 
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Did I miss something here? On day three you are doing something then waiting 48 hours before doing something else on day 4.:eek:
 
Stinger said:
Did I miss something here? On day three you are doing something then waiting 48 hours before doing something else on day 4.:eek:
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Not "Day Three" but the third day of working on it. Big difference...

I would not bother posting what I did to the axle on all the days that I did nothing to the axle. HAHAHA!!!
 
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Wade said:
Not "Day Three" but the third day of working on it. Big difference...

I would not bother posting what I did to the axle on all the days that I did nothing to the axle. HAHAHA!!!
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Indeed!;) I just slopped on two coats of POR 15 and called it good.;) My underside get to beat up to worry about paint. I use it as a guide to see what damage was inflicted.
I don't say that to in anyway knock what you did. I am serious.
 
Chris said:
Interesting, I didn't know that so thanks for the info! So basically I would only want a high pinion axle for the front, and the rear would remain a low pinion?
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Hi-9". Super light weight and way stronger. All it takes is a set of Richmond reverse cut gears ( only company who makes them). But I think you lose the pinion support. I recommend a 9"
 
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mouth said:
Hi-9". Super light weight and way stronger. All it takes is a set of Richmond reverse cut gears ( only company who makes them). But I think you lose the pinion support. I recommend a 9"
Click to expand...

Is that something Currie offers as well?
 
Yeah, the loss of strength is negated more or less when you get an axle that beefy. These are great when you rock crawl, like in a tube frame buggy. The extra clearance of the high pinion is great. We do not have any real rock crawling opportunities where I live, so you pretty much never see HP rear axles. The driveline angle correction of these is GREAT!
 
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We'll see what I end up with. I just know that I'm going to buy some axle housings from Currie and build up some strong axles for my Rubicon. It will just be one of those side projects. Once I'm done I can sell the Dana 44 axles, complete with lockers, 4.88 gears and RCV axle shafts from my Rubicon. Someone will pay a pretty penny for those.
 
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