I believe the factory color is semi-gloss black.
There may be better media than sand to prep your suspension parts prior to paint. Sand works great, but other media, such as crushed walnut shells and baking soda do very well removing rust without adding the tiny pits sand blasting sometimes leaves behind.
Rattle can works for many and yes, it's not as durable as other painting methods, but works well painting one part at a time.
However, if you're taking the bulk of the suspension apart and you could have all the parts power coated in one go, I would look really hard at the option as it will produce a better longer-lasting result.