Axle Housing Painting - What To Use?

So, I'm gonna be rebuilding my front axle soon (stripping it completely down, welding stuff, grinding stuff, repainting), and just wanted to know what people are using that works well for painting them up all pretty.

I want something that will be fairly "smooth" (glossy?) to aid in washing off mud and dirt if possible. Anything porous like a matte or flat I can imagine would allow dirt and crap to stick easier. I want something semi "tough" but also easy to touch up if I have to. Id like something I can walk into a hardware store and grab too, so no POR-15 or anything like that since Id have to find that stuff special usually.

If you have pictures of the housings painted with said paint too, that would be even better! Thanks in advance!

~T.J.

EDIT: How do you all prepare it for paint too? I plan to pressure wash mine like crazy before I pull it, then try and scrape and clean more after I pull it, then degreaser and/or oven cleaner, maybe even go so far as to sandblast the bare housing and knuckles. What do you think?

Rustoleum semigloss black and their primer, no issues with peeling and only minor chipping. Satin finish works well too, not too flashy and dirt washes off pretty easy. I strip mine to bare metal, via wire wheel and chemical stripping agents.

if you sand blast, I wouldn't nesessarily do the knuckle balls(end of axle housing). You may be better off with some really fine sand paper to get rid of the pitting. You'd like to try and keep that surface smooth.

Toyotanut said:

if you sand blast, I wouldn't nesessarily do the knuckle balls(end of axle housing). You may be better off with some really fine sand paper to get rid of the pitting. You'd like to try and keep that surface smooth.

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I've found there's little reason to mask them off too. Just cover the knuckle bearing area, the rest can take paint just fine. It'll wear/dissolve off over time and doesn't hurt anything. Plus it'll help protect the area of the balls that the knuckle wipers never hit.

Well, I planned on just blasting the main areas that are factory "painted". I was going to protect the balls (haha) and just do the actual knuckles themselves.

Are you guys just using aircraft remover or whatever that crap is to strip them chemically? I was thinking I would use a combination of 3M discs, wire wheels, chemicals, and possibly abrasive blasting.

~T.J.

84Toyota4x4 said:

Are you guys just using aircraft remover or whatever that crap is to strip them chemically?

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Talstrip? I've used that stuff, works pretty good. Eats concrete despite some guys saying it couldn't possibly, I had proof.

skrause said:

I've found there's little reason to mask them off too. Just cover the knuckle bearing area, the rest can take paint just fine. It'll wear/dissolve off over time and doesn't hurt anything. Plus it'll help protect the area of the balls that the knuckle wipers never hit.

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Interesting.. Although, I would think that the wipers on top of the paint and primer might wear in at that "thickness", and then as the paint wears, the wipers might be "stretched" too much and potentially leak earlier/sooner? Maybe not though, who knows. I plan to just mask mine off, I prefer that look anyway.

~T.J.

skrause said:

Talstrip? I've used that stuff, works pretty good. Eats concrete despite some guys saying it couldn't possibly, I had proof.

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Ive never used any chemical strippers (or the regular female kind), but I remember hearing something called aircraft something being tossed around a while back for stripping wheels on other forums, thought maybe it was the same stuff.

What do you guys recommend?

~T.J.

If you want housings blasted, I can get them done. (You should be able to also, on the base hobby shop.)

If that isn't an option, just clean (wire brush, sand in the nasty spots) clean, (Prepsall, brake parts cleaner or other solvent), prime (el cheap-o primer from autozone, home depot or whatever) then paint (duh)

This method is tried and true, been working for years.

84Toyota4x4 said:

Interesting.. Although, I would think that the wipers on top of the paint and primer might wear in at that "thickness", and then as the paint wears, the wipers might be "stretched" too much and potentially leak earlier/sooner? Maybe not though, who knows. I plan to just mask mine off, I prefer that look anyway.

~T.J.

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Dude, you're talking less than 5 mils of paint which will be gone very quick. Don't worry about it.

84Toyota4x4 said:

Ive never used any chemical strippers (or the regular female kind), but I remember hearing something called aircraft something being tossed around a while back for stripping wheels on other forums, thought maybe it was the same stuff.

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Talstrip, shitty pic but look at the red letters. THAT is the product name. Not "aircraft remover". :haha:

best rattle can ever comes from tacoma screw. MRO is the name....the tacoma screw brand is also relabeled MRO. it literally is the bomb digity everything else is just pitty poop:redneck:

skrause said:

Talstrip, shitty pic but look at the red letters. THAT is the product name. Not "aircraft remover". :haha:

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Well, like I said, Ive never used it. Thats the stuff though I assume. In the peoples defense who used "aircraft remover" as the name of the product, technically thats what it is from what I can tell, however its manufactured by Talstrip. That would be like calling ALL paint Krylon without being specific as to while KIND of paint. Or calling all cars of a certain make the same manufacturers name, like Chevy, no one knows what KIND of Chevy if you just call it a Chevy :flipoff:

Anyway, is that just a spray it on let it sit kinda deal? Good stuff?

~T.J.

84Toyota4x4 said:

its manufactured by MarHyde.

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Fixed it for ya. :;


You can get it in a spray can or brush on style.




er, actually, it's manufactured by Bondo Corporation. Learn something new every day. :haha:

http://www.bondo.com/fileshare/product_msds/English/3711.pdf

Well crap. I lose :booo:

~T.J.

84Toyota4x4 said:

Well crap. I lose :booo:

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:haha: Don't feel bad, I was wrong too. Sorta. I'm going to go back to huffing some tal-strip fumes now, wheeeeeeeeee...



One other tip if you go for that aerosol stuff, flip the can over and clear out the nozzle when you stop. It will plug up hard if you don't. And I don't mean just the nozzle, I've had the siphon tube get plugged and turn a nearly full can into garbage.

Yeah, I usually do that with any aerosol cans anyway when Im done, but good tip, thanks.

~T.J.

Cheaper the better

I figure that most stuff you could use will not be scratch resistant and will not hold its shine, so.... the stuff I use I get at my local hardware store or walmart. Both places it is &1.29 a can. looks just as good as any other high dollar black gloss. Here is how I would do it: Put a few coats on to start with, go out wheelin and get it dirty, then spray it off, then take 30 seconds to put a new coat on to cover scratches and shine it up again and make it brand new again. Repeat that and you will always have a brand new shinny loking housing.
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A wire brush and hammerite hammered black--first 2 coats brushed on and the last coat rattle can. But I always just use rattle can or rostoleum semi gloss black--not into glossy diffs anymore

Just wire wheel the housing and used Semi-flat Krylon.

There is no need for primer or stripping chemicals, sandblasting etc...it's not a show truck and no matter ho much work you put into to try and keep it "easy to clean" it will always collect dirt, get drug across rocks, chipped and scratched...just make it simply so it's easier to "touch it up" later.