Can the gear be powder coated?

[201guy]

Is there any restriction from powder coating the gear legs?  Changing the donuts, so going to refinish the gear legs as well.

[Kwixdraw]

I have been told there is no problem with the powdercoat process. The company I used to do my engine mount says they do quite a few pieces of aircraft landing gear parts without a problem. Their process only requires 375 F for about 30 minutes. It might be a good idea to ask whoever you are thinking of using how their process works. Another thing you might consider is having the parts inspected after they are blasted. I had mine run through again as their glass beads were much finer than I use in my blaster and it didn't seem to get some of the light corrosion off of the tubes after one go around.

 

[DaV8or]

Quote: 201guy

Is there any restriction from powder coating the gear legs?  Changing the donuts, so going to refinish the gear legs as well.

[aviatoreb]

Quote: DaV8or

None that I know of. I believe it's done all the time.

[jezzie]

Quote: aviatoreb

None that I know of. I believe it's done all the time.

[aviatoreb]

Quote: jezzie

What is involved?  Do you take the gear off entirely and send it to a powder coat shop?

[jezzie]

Quote: JimR

[jezzie]

Quote: aviatoreb

What is involved?  Do you take the gear off entirely and send it to a powder coat shop?

[aviatoreb]

That's BEAUTIFUL!

[DaV8or]

Here's an idea I've never seen before; how about chrome plate the gear? That would be wild.

[Bill_Pyles]

Quote: DaV8or

Here's an idea I've never seen before; how about chrome plate the gear? That would be wild.

[steelerp]

You can see my pics of the gear on my 77 model 201.  I had this done last year by Midwest Mooney in Flora.  They had the airplane for 3 weeks.  Except for a small amount of overspray on the tail (don't know how that happened) it was an exceptional job.  Not only the gear was done but any and all broken/cracked pieces were replaced.  The gearwells were stripped and alodine etched, primed and repainted. 

Rick

[N601RX]

Quote: Bill_Pyles

I would speak to someone who really knows metalurgy before chrome plating any load-bearing component of an airplane, such as the landing gear.  The chrome plating process can result in less fatigue strength of the component due to the brittleness of the chrome.  On the other hand, bead-blasting and polishing steel can actually improve the strength of the component.  Just be careful.

[N9937c]

Only embrittlement I know of during chrome plating is HYDROGEN. It is released during the plating process and WILL permeate steel. The higher strengths are more vulnerable.

After plating, The parts would need to be BAKED at 190 C to 200 C for 3-4 hours.

larry

[Clarence]

We powdercoat small parts in the shop almost daily. Way faster than a rattle can and tougher as well.  I bought a small DIY system from Eastwood Co. They have a nice variety of colours as well.  I pickedup an old oven from a used appliance store and for a few hundred dollars am completely set up.

Clarence

 

[kevinpt6]

All the responses are nice but where is the approval from the FAA or Manufacturer?

What about the guy who wont sign my next annual off because there is no approval done IAW tecnical data? Whay about when I go to sell my palne & guy wont sign off on gear cause no paperwork for an approved process. Who calls out the process & deems it airworthy & approved for my plane? Id like to see paperwork. Is there really any

[jetdriven]

I'd be careful powder coating 4130 steel. The baking process might change the properties of the metal. Another thing, powdercoat may hide cracks. We painted the engine mount with urethane white paint and a year later it still looks great.

[N601RX]

All the responses are nice but where is the approval from the FAA or Manufacturer?

What about the guy who wont sign my next annual off because there is no approval done IAW tecnical data? Whay about when I go to sell my palne & guy wont sign off on gear cause no paperwork for an approved process. Who calls out the process & deems it airworthy & approved for my plane? Id like to see paperwork. Is there really any

I had some parts plated last year by a FAA repair station.  They returned them to me with a 8130, so that was the approved data.  All their processes were approved by the FAA.  I've also saw repair stations that advertise powder coating.  There are also also  certified  aircraft manufactures that are currently powdercoating steel parts.

[1964-M20E]

I'd be more concerned with chrome plating than powder coating.

 

Powder coating is just another way to paint is does require the part to be heated 20 to 30 minutes at 380deg F.  IMHO no different than if you removed it bead blasted and painted with a spray gun.  The only approval needed is the mechanic signing off the installation.

 

Chrome plating there are several solutions that the part is immersed in from a metallurgical prospective I’m not sure what this would do to the steel. Some said it needs to be baked afterwards but I do not know.

 

Chrome plating  the gear would look cool though and add to that a polished aluminum skin and we would look like something from Star Wars.

[Marauder]

All the responses are nice but where is the approval from the FAA or Manufacturer? What about the guy who wont sign my next annual off because there is no approval done IAW tecnical data? Whay about when I go to sell my palne & guy wont sign off on gear cause no paperwork for an approved process. Who calls out the process & deems it airworthy & approved for my plane? Id like to see paperwork. Is there really any I had some parts plated last year by a FAA repair station. They returned them to me with a 8130, so that was the approved data. All their processes were approved by the FAA. I've also saw repair stations that advertise powder coating. There are also also certified aircraft manufactures that are currently powdercoating steel parts.

I think the guy you are responding to is a troll, new user, first post on a two year old thread using a username suggesting he flies behind a PT6 and slamming the process that obviously follows FAA approval and has the required documentation as you point out.

[Brett]

Actually, he's my mechanic and was posting on my behalf. I'm a low-time pilot and new to aircraft ownership: this 201 is my first airplane. I'm having work done anyway and asked him to remove the gear so I could get it powder-coated (I plan to have the whole thing repainted early next year). He raised what I thought was a valid concern: is powder coating of the gear on my Mooney safe & legal, and if so, what are the paperwork requirements? He and I are both trying to answer those questions (I left voicemail & email messages with Mooney; don't have a response yet), and that's why he posted the question. Neither of is slamming the process; quite the contrary... I WANT to get the powder coating done. We're just trying to understand if it can be done legally and how to do it right.

 

By the way, the PT6 is because he does work on turbines...

[BigTex]

Almost all of the aircraft available that has a tube airframe offers powder coating as an upgradable option. So I assume its an acceptable painting option for 4130 tubing.

[Brett]

I have a partial answer: according the a rep from the Orland FSDO, if the manufacturer approves the process, the FAA is fine with it (no surprise there...). I did talk to a quality control guy from Mooney who said the process was fine and shouldn't even require recalculating W&B or anything.

 

What he couldn't tell me was exactly what to put in the log. I assume something along the line of, "Gear removed and powder coated in accordance with xxx", but I don't know what xxx is yet. He transferred me to someone in tech support who supposedly could answer that, but again I got a machine. When I get a final answer I'll post an update.

 

Of course, if someone who's already done it can answer that, I'd really appreciate it!

[Hank]

Why would you not write "gear removed and powder coated" instead of writing "gear removed and painted." Or do you have a reference for "gear removed and painted in accordance with zzzz" to record if you don't powder coat?

 

Once it's done, how do you look and tell the difference anyway?

[Marauder]

Actually, he's my mechanic and was posting on my behalf. I'm a low-time pilot and new to aircraft ownership: this 201 is my first airplane. I'm having work done anyway and asked him to remove the gear so I could get it powder-coated (I plan to have the whole thing repainted early next year). He raised what I thought was a valid concern: is powder coating of the gear on my Mooney safe & legal, and if so, what are the paperwork requirements? He and I are both trying to answer those questions (I left voicemail & email messages with Mooney; don't have a response yet), and that's why he posted the question. Neither of is slamming the process; quite the contrary... I WANT to get the powder coating done. We're just trying to understand if it can be done legally and how to do it right.

 

By the way, the PT6 is because he does work on turbines...

 

 

Well, he didn't make a good first impression with me! He is not the plane owner but comes like he is with comments like "What about the guy who wont sign my next annual off because there is no approval done IAW tecnical data?" -- He's the mechanic!  Or "Whay about when I go to sell my palne & guy wont sign off on gear cause no paperwork for an approved process". His plane? I thought it was your's.

 

He should have just come on the site, saying he is a mechanic looking for input on powder coating. There are a number of people here who would be willing to help both from an mechanic's perspective (we have IAs & APs who contribute) and/or from an owner's experience. Many of us have been around Mooneys quite a while.