With my engine torn down I've cleaned and stripped the sheet metal and accessories so they can be blasted and powder coated.

But the cooling fan is staring at me and I'm vapidly staring right back at it.

Because beautifying my fan is of top concern on this cold and quiet Sunday, I wonder what others have done. Anyone care to enlighten me about process, coloring/verifying timing marks, powder coat scheme, etc?

-m.

i would offer you this advice.
Its a balanced unit.
If you take it apart to coat it properly, powder coat the black parts, you can just paint the silver part....
If you do, you will need to have the fan balanced again....because its hanging off the end of the crank, it will make a huge vibration....

Rich

Clean it 'in situ', I suppose. Carefully remove the debris and the stains with proper cleaning material.

Menno

I marked mine, took it apart bead blasted it and re painted the ring then re assembled and had it balanced.
So far its been fine.
A bunch of work for something you cant actually see though.

That's the key. I face the same conundrum every time I build a motor, and the reality is that it's just plain invisible when it's in the car. What I usually do when I give in and refinish it is to blast the whole thing, then mask the aluminum portion inside and out (PITA) and then spray black paint on the steel v-groove part.

Wow. I learned something new today. I had no idea that the fan was balanced but it makes perfect sense. The main reason for blasting and cleaning is that there are numerous timing marks aside from the ones that are supposed to be there left over by whomever. As a result there's paint smeared all over the damn thing. So now I think I should just coat the outer fan ring and blast the large inner part with the vanes.

I'll want to get it balanced regardless. Is it a neutral balance or is there some documentation someplace that will help me balance it correctly?

Thanks everyone!

-m.

Balanced only means one thing....its balanced

I'm sorry to disagree but balanced can mean different things. For example, one can either balance a rotating mass in reciprocation to another rotating mass (like an externally balanced crankshaft, flywheel, etc. or weights/counterweights opposite each end of the crankshaft) or just a centrifugal neutral balance (radius inertia balanced around the center point).

But I take it from your comment that the fan has a neutral balance. Thanks!

-m.

Kept it assembled, wire brushed, Scotchbright pad, acetone wipe down, and painted. Also painted timing marksClick to view attachment in yellow.

Granted it won't be seen, it will get grimy again, but I can't stand installing a dirty engine.

Click to view attachment

They're balanced as part of the crank assembly, but they should be done only after the crank itself is balanced alone. But balancing the fan by itself (if you can find someone who's machine can do it) wouldn't hurt anything.

they can be done as part of the crank assembly, but given all the fans I have seen and the lack of balance I have seen on stock cranks, it is my belief that during the assembly process the fans are balanced separately, then put in a bin to be put on whatever engine rolled on by.

If you are just working on the fan, I would suggest you make sure its balanced before you put it back on again....just because its hanging off the end of the crank and spins pretty fast.

I've said it before and I'll say it again---the best fan is one that has never been taken apart. Why bother to detail something nobody will ever see!