Cleaning up torsion bars.

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swifty

swifty

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What is the best way to prep torsion bars for paint? I was planning on sand blasting them but after some checking that does not seem like a good idea. Is media blasting ok with plastic beads? A wire wheel too aggressive? Or just wipe down with degreaser and paint. Hoping to get suspension in car this week.
 
swifty said:
What is the best way to prep torsion bars for paint? I was planning on sand blasting them but after some checking that does not seem like a good idea. Is media blasting ok with plastic beads? A wire wheel too aggressive? Or just wipe down with degreaser and paint. Hoping to get suspension in car this week.
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No sir ! Do not media blast them ... It certainly can alter their composition and spring rate can be affected . Do not ever pound on them either or use a grinder as this also can damage . Manually and gently strip them for epoxy or por15 or equivalent .. Remember they are left and right specific also .
 
I cleaned them up with some degreaser. One of them had some nicks on it. Not bad but I think I will check into some new ones. They will be good enough to get some wheels under it to make it mobile.
 
Caliscamp72 said:
Remember they are left and right specific also .
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I was thinking about this a few weeks ago....why are they left and right sided? They are just steel bars that weather twisted left or right would act the same way......
 
Blast them with industrial baking soda. It will remove all the rust and paint without changing the surface of the metal.
 
BB-Dave said:
I was thinking about this a few weeks ago....why are they left and right sided? They are just steel bars that weather twisted left or right would act the same way......
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They have a twist in them for ride height. That's why there is a left and right.
 
Look at the end of the bar, there is a number, odd left, even right.


Alan
 
I have been blasting them for years with glass beads and never had any problem. I never figured my small blaster would affect the metal. Have I been wrong?
 
grimreaper said:
I have been blasting them for years with glass beads and never had any problem. I never figured my small blaster would affect the metal. Have I been wrong?
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In a word, yes.

Blasting is abrasive, so, it removes metal. It also tends to harden the remaining metal. Both of those actions can effect the spring rate and integrity of the bar.

Now, that’s the theory. In practice, if you don’t blast the everloving crap out of the bars, you probably won’t notice a difference. And the longevity of the bars shouldn’t be dramatically reduced. Doesn’t mean you haven’t effected the bars, just that the difference is likely to be pretty small unless you really get carried away. Still not the recommended way to do it.
 
72bluNblu said:
In a word, yes.

Blasting is abrasive, so, it removes metal. It also tends to harden the remaining metal. Both of those actions can effect the spring rate and integrity of the bar.

Now, that’s the theory. In practice, if you don’t blast the everloving crap out of the bars, you probably won’t notice a difference. And the longevity of the bars shouldn’t be dramatically reduced. Doesn’t mean you haven’t effected the bars, just that the difference is likely to be pretty small unless you really get carried away. Still not the recommended way to do it.
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It's the everloving crap always bites you in the ***.
 
I spoke with our M&PT engineer today at work about this. If you are cleaning them up with no significant dwell time, no issues. I blasted mine and I am not worried about it at all. Sounds like another mind fuc / best practice. You would have to seriously blast the crap out of them to impact the steel. Shot peen, yes, compression layer, sand and soda? Meh, to each their own. I’d be more worried about nicks and stress risers and possibly fatigue over the years. Just my 2 c. Andrew
 
I just use Eastwood Rust Dissolver 12096 ( Or any rust dissolver) in a home made trough made from plastic ease trough glued together. (Make the trough big enough to fit a car door bottom as a bonus). Let it set for a few hours or over night... Then just poor it back in the jug to reuse it again. If it starts to not dissolve rust any more I just buy more. And to get rid of surface rust around paint I just mix Rust Dissolver with CLR about 50/50 and scrub it with a plastic bristle brush. Then hit it with a liquid etcher.

I really only abrasive blast large really crusty parts, or to smooth out pitted surface. Blasting is too messy and can screw up the surface.

I've attached some pics of shock plates that were soaked for an hour...

Brackets Rusty.JPG

Bracket in Pan.JPG


Brackets clean.JPG
Brackets Stamping.JPG
 
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oi81b4uu812b4 said:
I just use Eastwood Rust Dissolver 12096 ( Or any rust dissolver) in a home made trough made from plastic ease trough glued together. (Make the trough big enough to fit a car door bottom as a bonus). Let it set for a few hours or over night... Then just poor it back in the jug to reuse it again. If it starts to not dissolve rust any more I just buy more. And to get rid of surface rust around paint I just mix Rust Dissolver with CLR about 50/50 and scrub it with a plastic bristle brush. Then hit it with a liquid etcher.

I really only abrasive blast large really crusty parts, or to smooth out pitted surface. Blasting is too messy and can screw up the surface.

I've attached some pics of shock plates that were soaked for an hour...

View attachment 1715171996
View attachment 1715171994

View attachment 1715171995 View attachment 1715171997
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I use the Eastwood product too... It is fairly amazing and like you said , reuse it until it becomes weak . Goes a long way . I dig it
 
Glass bead blasting should be just fine. Remember that the base metal won't be affected at all until the paint is gone. So stop blasting once you are through the paint. Mopar used pretty tough stuff (5160?) for torsion bars. Could you work harden the surface through media blasting? perhaps, but it would take a really dedicated effort to do so.
 
I don't have any pics right now, but cleaned up with degreaser and scotch pad. Sprayed with a single stage paint. Turned out really good. Only time will tell if it sticks. Not too worried. Will probably upgrade to thicker bars down the road.
 
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