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Posted by: chris914 Oct 24 2007, 07:50 PM

What have people you done to their fan housing to make it look good?

Can you put engine paint on it?

I think that I have seen it power coated?

If it’s polished how do you do it and how long does it last?

Are there other options?

Posted by: scotty b Oct 24 2007, 07:54 PM

Powder


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Posted by: Dan (Almaden Valley) Oct 24 2007, 08:00 PM

paint


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Posted by: sendjonathanmail Oct 24 2007, 08:06 PM

chris, how is everything over there btw? have you lost anything to the fire? praying for everyone over there..... -JON

Posted by: lotus_65 Oct 24 2007, 08:20 PM

i clear-coated mine.

i understand that the fan housing is an active part of the electrical circuit and provides ground points for the alternator among other things.

given that, i sanded off the clear and cleaned all the contacts. it would have been pretty fugly if it was paint or powder...

paul

Posted by: Pat Garvey Oct 24 2007, 08:23 PM

And then again, you could leave it in it's natural finish. Clean it up a bit with proper compounds & forget about it. Paint chips. Powder coating chips. And, neither are original.

Take a look at this one (not mine).

Belongs to Scott Detro. THIS is as it should be (of course that's the opinion of a CW).

BTW, about 25 years ago, I spent 3 days polishing mine with Simichrome & a Dremel - it was gorgeous & looked like chrome. Two weeks later it was back to its former self & it still looks like it should.

But......I wonder. Has anyone ever plated one?
Pat


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Posted by: thomasotten Oct 24 2007, 09:10 PM

Paint: Base coat / Clear coat


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Posted by: chris914 Oct 24 2007, 09:20 PM

We have not lost anything.

Most of San Diego was let back into their homes today. The air quality where we live is much better. The winds are going inland now. Which is bad for the people on the other side of the fires now. The last report that I heard had the fires10% contained.

San Diego does well during stressful times. People try to help each other and make the best of bad things. We are very fortunate here. It is very helpful to know that we have the support of everyone across the country coming to our aid. Thanks!

Posted by: Demick Oct 24 2007, 09:49 PM

High temp ceramic engine paint (rattle can) on tin and fan housing.


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Posted by: 9146986 Oct 25 2007, 08:01 AM

I blast it with walnut shells and then clear coat with low gloss clear. Gives the look of an original finish, but holds up a little better.

Powder coating is probably the most durable, so if you aren't worried about originality, that'd be my choice.

Posted by: E-Man Oct 25 2007, 08:51 AM

I cleaned it up and used a rattle can silver Hammerite paint. Gives the look of hammered metal and is not too bright like the silver in the photo above. Very nice.
I know, worthless without photo. Will re-post with photo when I get home tonight.

-Mike

Posted by: Ferg Oct 25 2007, 09:16 AM

Previous owner did this, it's a darker grey, and pretty sure it's powder. Goes well with the carbs

This is a old pic... lot's has been cleaned and latch has been de-oversprayed...


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Posted by: shelby/914 Oct 25 2007, 09:20 AM

Used a rattle can of a product called Cast Blast. It's head and intake manifold paint. Sort of a natural silver grey. Has held up well for two years. All my engine install pix were taken a a very hi res so won't post. Will try to downsize.

Posted by: jasons Oct 25 2007, 09:22 AM

Powder. The Powdercoater I use has special powder for cast pieces. But there are only like 2 colors, a semigloss black and the gray which I chose. He felt the cast shroud would create bubbles during the curing process.

I did the intake runners the same color.

Posted by: geniusanthony Oct 25 2007, 09:40 AM

Ya I know , This thread is worthless w/out pics but I used a Mouse sander and dremel in finer and finer grit cause I was waiting for parts from machine shop and got bored. Came out great, better than the top of the crankcase even. Oxidation is the only flaw in this, as Pat said a few weeks and it looks old again. I know there has to be something out there for keeping polished Mg polished but I haven't been around alot lately to play.

If anyone knows what software to use to pull pics from a Motorola s7vr (Sliver(sp)) phone via USB I can post a bunch of pics.

It will polish but keeping it that way via clearcoat or polish/wax is the challenge. With polished case and shroud though it sure looks nice.

Posted by: Joe Ricard Oct 25 2007, 10:12 AM

Painted it yellow of course. Pretty hostile enviroment in my engine compartment. Lasted 3 years and will probably last longer as I will probably stick it back in there with the new engine after a bath of soap and water.

What I want to know is what have people done to the insides to increase velocity and or increase flow.

Posted by: Cap'n Krusty Oct 25 2007, 10:58 AM

Only polished one I've seen lasted hours, or maybe a couple of days, before it began returning to it's old state, only it looked a lot worse afterwards. The Cap'n

Posted by: chris914 Oct 25 2007, 11:13 AM

Wow, there are some nice looking engines out there! I thought I was doing well to keep the motor clean of oil.

I hadn’t put much thought into a color choice yet. All of the pictures have given me a lot to consider. Thanks!

Posted by: Headrage Oct 25 2007, 12:00 PM

Media blast and paint.



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Posted by: jhadler Oct 25 2007, 12:39 PM

Dipped, blasted, and painted with high temp engine paint.

My powder coater was too paranoid about putting Magnesium in his oven, and refused to do it. So I just had him clean it as much as possible, and I used high temp rattle can paint. A couple coats. The engine tin and manifolds were powdercoated though.

Here's the pic of the engine tin and shroud...

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?automodule=blog&req=attach&id=3692

-Josh2

Posted by: scotty b Oct 25 2007, 07:35 PM

Powder coating the shroud has no ill effects whatsoever. I actually coated my dads tranny case as an experiment. The only thin gto watch for is outgassing. Anyone experienced with coating will know to nake the part in advance to outgas it. Simple

Posted by: geniusanthony Oct 26 2007, 06:16 AM

at finishing.com there is a product mentioned called Gibbs' protectant, claim is that the product is a penetrating oil without the sticky film of say WD40...Artuicle at same site mentions preservation of antique magnesium parts. Might be worth a look,i.e., no coatings to chip off or etc...

http://www.finishing.com/faqs/magnesium.html
http://www.finishing.com/faqs/magnesium2.html

Posted by: geniusanthony Oct 28 2007, 07:38 AM

found one of my polished case / shroud


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Posted by: burton73 Oct 28 2007, 05:42 PM

We went over this with my pickle trans case. I bought a case of Gibbs Product and tried to sand my polish my case a little. It removed the 60 grit like sand pickle from the case in a small area that I tested and then I sprayed the Gibbs over it. That was 4 months ago. It still looks very good. There clams that the product will keep the metal from tarnishing I believe works, but some like Pat would need to spray it on every so often to keep it covered. Sorry no pictures as I am at home.

They do show Mag. wheels polished then sprayed with the stuff. I am going to spend the time finishing the case so why not spray the stuff on to try and keep the look good for some time.

Bob

Posted by: tracks914 Oct 28 2007, 08:50 PM

Cleaned with a wire wheel on a mini grinder and painted the tin. 5 years later it still looks as good.


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Posted by: geniusanthony Oct 29 2007, 07:05 AM

Doug, that is a good looking engine. Do you use a wax or just regularly polish the exposed metal as I do?

Bob said that he did use the gibbbs products on your shroud and trans and the oxidation did stop. What effect does the product have on polished sections?

Thats good to know as I will not be home to try new things for 6 months or so.

I do have one last question. When these cars were new, did the factory have any sort of protection over the metal? What did these parts look like fresh off the transporter in 197_ ? E.g., Whiteish grey dull, oiled waxed etc....

Posted by: solex Oct 29 2007, 08:12 AM

I just want to clean mine, anyone have suggestions? I tried simple green but it was not very effective.

Thanks,
Dan

Posted by: Joe Ricard Oct 29 2007, 08:32 AM

Purple power Pressure washer. Brake cleaner.

Posted by: tracks914 Oct 29 2007, 04:25 PM

I just wire wheeled it shiny clean after pressure washing it. The Black is rattle can automotive Tremclad rust paint. About 4 or 5 coats after bead blasting the parts and it still looks as good as this 5 years later with the exception of a little road dust in between cleanings.

Posted by: ScooterD Oct 29 2007, 05:31 PM

Chris,
If you want it to look original without having to use a lot of elbow grease, you can have it hydrohoned. It is like dry bead blasting which uses glass beads and high pressure air as the carrier, but instead of air, water is used as the vehicle to transport the abrasive. The end result is a much more uniform softer smoother finish that is much easier to clean than a dry blasted surface. One definite advantage is there is no paint that will peel or fade and you can clean it without doing any damage to the finish. I have received many compliments on the results.
Scott