Minnesota Focus Owners Club

Allright, so i got some SVT springs to put on my ST, but I want to paint them red first.

Can I scrape the rust off of them, spray them with a "Rust-o-lium" primer and paint them red with my left-over caliper paint?

I wouldn't use the caliper paint, just a good enamel like rustoleum is fine. Clean the loose rust off of them, degrease, prime, then paint. I used rustoleum products on my rear drums and they have survived two winters and are just now showing some small breakthrough rust where the paint has been chipped from road debris.

Brian

Hmm. drums are alittle different then springs. The springs are always moving and compressing. Paint is not going to stick like powdercoat does from the factory. You can probably paint them, but I would'nt guarantee it will last. Your better off getting them powdercoated before you install them. It would'nt cost much.

o2designs wrote:Hmm. drums are alittle different then springs. The springs are always moving and compressing. Paint is not going to stick like powdercoat does from the factory. You can probably paint them, but I would'nt guarantee it will last. Your better off getting them powdercoated before you install them. It would'nt cost much.

x2

Even powder coating will only last a couple winters here before it starts cracking.

Can you get colored undercoating? I swear I've seen it before, that is what I'd use I guess for a DIY.

iminhell wrote:Can you get colored undercoating? I swear I've seen it before, that is what I'd use I guess for a DIY.

you might be thinking of colored spray in bed liners. that might work because some liners are soft and can flex. If you are not going to powder coat them, i think a colored spray in bed liner would work better than just paint

The bed liner material is a good idea is you can find a guy who is spraying a colored bed liner already. If he has to mix a custom color just for you it will probably cost you a fortune. I just talked to my buddy Keegan at Rhino Linings Midwest in Ham Lake. He said he's got some red left over from a job, if red's your color. Give him a call and talk to him about price. 763.434.8001 You'd probably have to sand blast them to get them clean enough though if they're not new.

whoa!!!!! before you go any further, steve what is the part number for the ST's springs and what is the number for the SVT's spring. im pretty sure they use the same spring.

focinite wrote:whoa!!!!! before you go any further, steve what is the part number for the ST's springs and what is the number for the SVT's spring. im pretty sure they use the same spring.

Allright, I haven't painted them yet. If I do, I will prob. just use a rustoleum primer and rustoleum paint, layered. I have both anyways. Plus, it would probably help the springs last a bit longer avoiding rust. I'll prob. just paint them black, to give em' a fresh appearence. Steve, I re-titled the post b/c focinite asked you a question that you might not have seen, above. I am not sure what the concern was in the question, but, there you go. Thanks for all the awesome responses. This forum has been very helpful in making my ST the best I can afford to make it.

I'm 99% sure the ST uses different springs.

I know for a fact that a stock ST sits a fair amount higher than a stock SVT. I'll check the numbers tomorrow at work.

Just checked and they are absolutely different springs from the SVT to the ST.

Thanks for looking into that Steve....much appreciated as usual.

The SVT springs are about .5" drop from the ST springs, I think.

i remember from my online training that said the all new st uses the same____________ and the same _____________ as the svt. it was a while back.

I'll take a guess at the two things that SVT and the ST use. Sway Bars and Front Brake Packages.

the sways maybe. but the ST has the same brakes as the regular foci. but they are still the SVT set up on a smaller rotor