Toughness personified

Ya'll do know that I don't charge for the lip balm and I've never not sent any out to anyone who asked for it, right?
I kinda thought that was the case but didn't know for sure. Do you have any other BMB swag available?
 
I've chosen matte OD green as the accent color on my khaki LJ, and I'm thinking of going with that on the steering parts. I received them yesterday, but just dropped them in my shop without a chance to look at them after a 14 hour day. Has anyone ever had their CurrectLync parts powder-coated a different color? If so, I'm wondering a few things. How easy are the rubber boots to remove and replace, and are there any other heat-sensitive components in the joints that would be destroyed by the baking of the powder coat?
 
We have a few stickers, lots of lip balm, maybe a hat or two, and a crap load of Hello Kitty stickers for them that have yet learnt to be specific.
So what's a guy gotta do to get one of those hats? ;)
 
I've chosen matte OD green as the accent color on my khaki LJ, and I'm thinking of going with that on the steering parts. I received them yesterday, but just dropped them in my shop without a chance to look at them after a 14 hour day. Has anyone ever had their CurrectLync parts powder-coated a different color? If so, I'm wondering a few things. How easy are the rubber boots to remove and replace, and are there any other heat-sensitive components in the joints that would be destroyed by the baking of the powder coat?
The rubber boots are easy to remove after you remove the spring clip that holds them in place. I wouldn't recommend powder coating the tie rod ends though. There are threads on both ends of them that you'd need to mask plus the grease inside. I'd just remove the ends completely and only powder coat the tie rod. Keep in mind that the outer end on the draglink cannot be removed easily.

How well do you expect powder coating to hold up to the rocks/ general off road use?
 
Ahhhhhh, what color were you thinking?

Matte OD Green, as noted in my post you quoted ;)

…and before you answer… %cough%MallCrawler!!%cough%.

Yeah, yeah - I'm aware of the judgment y'all have about certain things. I don't care - all my life, I've made my own decisions, and I'm pretty immune to peer pressure. If you read my profile, you'll see that I put a light bar above the windshield, too! Judge away - I can take it. :)
 
The rubber boots are easy to remove after you remove the spring clip that holds them in place. I wouldn't recommend powder coating the tie rod ends though. There are threads on both ends of them that you'd need to mask plus the grease inside. I'd just remove the ends completely and only powder coat the tie rod. Keep in mind that the outer end on the draglink cannot be removed easily.

How well do you expect powder coating to hold up to the rocks/ general off road use?
Thanks, @SvtLdr! We have a great powder-coating company in my neck of the woods, so if they think they can do the tie-rod ends without issues, I'll trust them (I haven't talked to them, yet). Regarding the drag link joint, are you saying the rubber boot on that is not easy to remove? I was assuming it would be the same boot as the tie-rod ends.

Regarding your question - I expect the green powder coating to hold up about the same as the stock Currie black powder coating. At some point, I'll likely just spray it with a matching paint color, but I'm likely to leave it rashed-up for a long time (forever, maybe).

This LJ is a bucket-list project, and I want to be proud of the work I'm doing on it when it's done. However, once it's done, I don't care about how it looks after use - it's a Jeep, the tractor of the automotive world. My tractor functions great but looks like hell, and I'm proud of that!
 
Thanks, @SvtLdr! We have a great powder-coating company in my neck of the woods, so if they think they can do the tie-rod ends without issues, I'll trust them (I haven't talked to them, yet). Regarding the drag link joint, are you saying the rubber boot on that is not easy to remove? I was assuming it would be the same boot as the tie-rod ends.

Regarding your question - I expect the green powder coating to hold up about the same as the stock Currie black powder coating. At some point, I'll likely just spray it with a matching paint color, but I'm likely to leave it rashed-up for a long time (forever, maybe).

This LJ is a bucket-list project, and I want to be proud of the work I'm doing on it when it's done. However, once it's done, I don't care about how it looks after use - it's a Jeep, the tractor of the automotive world. My tractor functions great but looks like hell, and I'm proud of that!
I just want you to know that you are a rank amateur when it comes to accent color crap. I just spent the last two days bead blasting the paint off of 10 lbs. of OEM fasteners to send them out for Olive Drab Hexavalent Zinc coating so I don't have to deal with chipped powder coat or automotive paint on the heads when I reassemble. I also hunted down and sourced 50 pieces of 3/8-16 x 1.25" hex head captive free spinning washer body bolts to send along for all the cage attachment points.

Along with cowl screws, dash screws, door strikes, footman loops, and a few other odds and ends.
 
Regarding the drag link joint, are you saying the rubber boot on that is not easy to remove? I was assuming it would be the same boot as the tie-rod ends.
Nope. All the boots are the same, I'm referring to the TRE itself. The outer draglink end is not attached to the drag link via threads as the other 3 TRE's are. The tapered stud is pressed into the drag link itself and cannot be removed easily like the other 3 that are threaded. Same design as the factory steering. I was just pointing this out but it sounds like it won't be an issue for you if you're planning to powder coat all of the tie rod ends. Good luck with the grease...
 
Noted. I better up my game!
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I just want you to know that you are a rank amateur when it comes to accent color crap. I just spent the last two days bead blasting the paint off of 10 lbs. of OEM fasteners to send them out for Olive Drab Hexavalent Zinc coating so I don't have to deal with chipped powder coat or automotive paint on the heads when I reassemble.

Wait I just re-read this - hexavalent? You can actually get hexavalent plating done in California in 2022? That's been all but banned in most places, starting way back in '06 with RoHS in Europe. I was still working in the vehicle industry back then, and it was a mad rush to figure out how to comply with that...

Also, I've always had trouble finding good, not crazy-high-priced, small-batch platers. I'm jealous...
 
Wait I just re-read this - hexavalent? You can actually get hexavalent plating done in California in 2022? That's been all but banned in most places, starting way back in '06 with RoHS in Europe. I was still working in the vehicle industry back then, and it was a mad rush to figure out how to comply with that...

Also, I've always had trouble finding good, not crazy-high-priced, small-batch platers. I'm jealous...
Not in CA. This is what they told me to specify.
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https://www.gattoplaters.com/olive-drab-zinc-plating.html
 
Thanks, mrblaine - Looking at their website, they're an "old school" plating company. Not many of those left. That is a true hexavalent process, which is much more durable than trivalent, and it's OD green, to boot! The Europeans decided that the trace hex chrome washing off fasteners in cars needed to stop, and that decision changed the plating industry over a very short period of time. Since then, most platers converted to trivalent (or other processes altogether different), and the hex guys are few and far between. The movie, "Erin Brockovich", was partially responsible for this rapid abandonment of hex chrome. I'm putting that one in the "Rolodex!"

Also, you weren't kidding - I'm a rank amateur...