Paints

[Ray C.]

When painting bumper brackets, alternator brackets and pulleys on a 1965 Corvette, what would be the correct type of paint, lacquer or enamel?
Would any special primer or preperation have been used on the engine before the Chevrolet Orange was sprayed?

Thanks! Ray

[Duke W.]

Re: Paints

Most of those metal brackets were dipped in a flat to semigloss paint, but I don't know whether it was lacquer or enamel. If you have any of that paint left on the parts wipe it with lacquer thinner. If the color easily comes off it's probably lacquer. My suspicion is that those paints are lacquer based since they would dry faster.

Depends on what you want as an outcome, but I'd suggest thoroughly cleaning the parts, priming them, and then painting with a semi gloss black paint. If you want to duplicate the runs from the dip process, you can usually do that with a spray can. The alternator bracket was probably not as glossy as the bumper brackets.

The engine was not primed, but it started out as fresh casings. I think the transfer lines must have had a facility to clean the machining oils off the surface so the paint would stick. Maybe John H. can comment on this.

Duke

[John H.]

Re: Paints

All the brackets were dip-primed or fow-coated black - don't remember the composition of the primer. Krylon #1613 "Semi-Flat" is about as close as you can get to the original appearance. The engine block went through a high-temperature/high-pressure washer after machining, and wasn't cleaned again; after assembly and test (with lots of oily hands all over it) it was run through a crude spray booth and was sprayed with the cheapest orange enamel they could buy, with no surface preparation of any kind. Not a concours paint job

[John C.]

Re: Paints

Doh!! John!! That's too much info there!! The next thing you know is there will be a points deduction for the paint being high quality vs. low quality or the paint job being "too neat." LOL

[John H.]

Re: Paints

John -

Yeah, I know - I like mine "neat" with a good-quality paint, because I drive it, show it, and I'm proud of it; wasn't going to make it "factory-crummy" just for one day on the judging field, then tear it down and do it all over again. Too many years of building street rods, Cobras, etc. - call me a "neat-freak"