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What is some good methods to use to restore the natural cast iron components to their original appearance? I was thinking of a manifold dressing that Eastwood supplies. It's dark grey and if it looks good on manifolds maybe it will also work on the diff and and other cast parts. Any thoughs on this are appreciated. Thanks.
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Re: Cast iron finish
I like to bead blast the cast iron parts, then let them "age" naturally to get rid of the fresh beaded look, followed by a dusting of Krylon semi flat finish, whick is close to invisible but will stop the rust......Craig -
Re: Cast iron finish
Eastwood sells another product called Cast Blast which is intented to simulate cast iron (w/o the rust!). I have a can but haven't used it yet. Others swear by it!
brianComment
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and some swear at it *NM*
TerryComment
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Re: Is The Krylon A Clear?
Is this a clear Krylon that you dust with or is it a 'cast' color paint?
RogerComment
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Yes...A Clear, Not A Color Paint
Craig's right, this is an excellent way to have genuine "as-cast" appearance with corrosion resistance.
Krylon clear is available in gloss ("crystal clear, 1301") or a semi-flat ("satin finish, 1313"). The difference is if you spray the gloss clear on clear glass, it's optically clear; if you spray the satin finish on clear glass, you will have a frosted, matte appearance. The lack of optical clarity is immaterial on a cast part, and the low gloss makes it appear like natural cast iron or steel.
This presumes, of course, that the part has the appearance of natural cast iron BEFORE you apply the clear...it provides the corrosion protection, not the appearance. If you want something to cover up discoloration or rust, clears are not going to not work. In that case, you will need a color paint, and it WILL BE detectable in judging.Comment
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Re: Cast iron finish
I have had great results using lube 6 over cast iron parts. Even holds up to frequent visits to the local car wash without washing off.
Best regards, JonComment
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Re: Yes...A Clear, Not A Color Paint
Yep - to me this is the best way to go. I HATE any and all Cast Blast finishes...... CraigComment
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Re: Cast iron finish
Thanks Guys. How exactly did you go about getting the old and rusty cast parts to look like a fresh casting prior to spraying the semi-gloss clear or applying the lube 6? I've seen sandblasted parts and they have this light unnatural texture so I assume that sandblasting is not the right way to go with this.Comment
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Re: Cast iron finish
Greg, a lot of people use the term sand-blasting when they actually mean bead-blasting.
The difference is that bead-blasting is typically done in an enclosed cabinet using finer media, where sand-blasting is done in an open area with coarse media or ordinary sand. Sand-blasting can be done in a bead-blast cabinet if you use sand as the media. I have also bead-blasted large parts using a small sand-blaster with glass beads, but recovery of the media for reuse is a pain.
Bead-blasting leaves a soft matte finish on parts, where sand-blasting is more likely to leave deep surface faceting or pitting that can be hard to paint or plate satisfactorily. On plated sheet metal parts, even the matte bead-blast finish can change the appearance of the plated part; i.e the shine is softened, brightness and reflectivity is reduced making the part look non-original in some cases. If the part was originally plated a bright, shiny zinc, the better cleaning method is acid cleaning. On painted parts, bead-blasting is not a problem, and in fact, provides excellent "tooth" for paint adhesion.
In the case of cast or forged parts, bead blasting causes no problems because of the rough part surface. I have found that freshly bead-blasted cast or forged parts take on a natural appearance if simply left to oxidize for a while before applying clear. This oxidation period may take months, or even longer (years??) depending on the ambient humidity, but the way I work on my Corvette, this isn't usually a problem.Comment
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