Painting control arms

[Peregrine]

What's the best paint to use, and how?

[rodnok1]

Hard part is getting them clean. I sandblast if rusty, clean them real good, heat them up in an oven to get rid of all residues then hit them with some rattle can Gloss black engine paint. They get nicked up during assembly but easily touched up, good enough for driver. I thought about trying the high heat paint for rotors and calipers that you bake on next time.

[COBALT]

Take them to a machine shop and have them dipped and fired in a furnace. Then coat them with POR15, or take them to a coater.

I cleaned them with brushes I had on my power drill, and used brake cleaner, brushes, and a biodegradable detergent bath I could leave them in over night.

I tried rustoleum and hammerite. Rustoleum for the control arms, and other front-end parts, and hammerite on the sway bar.

The hammerite held up well on the sway bar, but the rustoleum was a disaster. If I did it over again I would have them professionally cleaned and coated.

One thing to remember is making sure that whoever presses in your lower ball joints does it in such a way to not tear up your coating or paint job.