Powdercoating springs?

[RCWells]

I just bought a "new" 90 325is with what are supposed to be H&R springs. They are a light blueish faded color with some surface rust here and there. First, does anyone know what springs these might be? I thought that H&Rs were red.?

I want to remove, clean, sand, and prep them for refinishing. Does anyone know if springs can be powdercoated without affecting the temper of the steel? The oven temps range from 350-425 degrees F. The same issue/question applies for the swaybars. They are supposedly TMS sways, and they need refinishing as well. Powdercoating is by far a superior finish to what I could do myself, but I don't want to damage the components.

Anyone know?

[KenC]

My tokicos are light blue.

[ViEtNaMeeH]

i think BMPD HR springs are blue

[Bill 84 318i]

I've seen H&R Springs in light blue, dark blue, grey, and red.

Look for logos and/or numbers.

I didn't think TMS made sways. Probably ST?

[Nick325is]

My H&R springs are black.
TMS doesn't even list sways for the e30 anymore. However, they do appear to make a TMS sway bar kit for other bmws so perhaps they used to make one for the e30.

Nick

[Dirtsquirt]

No idea on which brands and such are blue but I wouldn't worry about affecting the temper any, as most metals have to be atleast somewhat close to a melting point to lose the desired temper

-Dan

[RCWells]

No idea on which brands and such are blue but I wouldn't worry about affecting the temper any, as most metals have to be atleast somewhat close to a melting point to lose the desired temper

-Dan

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure. That helps tho.

[RCWells]

I found the receipt for the sways, and they ARE Turner Motorsport sways. Still not sure about the springs. I will look them over a bit more once I get them off the car.

[EtaSport]

Right, powdercoating is probably a good thing. Springs come (or at least should) powdercoated from the manufacturer. When they rust, thats not good, the powdercoating is supposed to be prevent that, but we all know that they get scraped and what not.

btw, nice score on your new car. I wish I could find something like that to replace my tired 87.

[EverWiser]

I wouldn't worry about the temps that come with powder coating. In order to temper steel you'd have to get over 1000deg F. We made our own centerpunch in a shop class (MANY moons ago) and in order to temper it we had to heat it cherry red and then quench it at the appropriate color to get the hardness we needed. You'll never get close to those temps powder coating.

[AndrewBird]

Couldn't the compressing/flexing of the springs cause the powder coating to crack? Powder coating is pretty hard stuff and does not flex very well.