natural finishes

[Tim Sargent]

What is the current practice of "restoring" the natural "as cast" or forged unpainted and unplated finishes? I know the Cast Blast approach is acceptable for judging. Also are GM made suspension parts parts still avavlable for ball joints and tie rod ends?
Thanks
Tim

[Joe L.]

Re: natural finishes

Tim------

I believe that the use of "Cast Blast" for "natural" finish cast or forged components will result in a significant judging penalty. For judging purposes, the only way that I know of to protect natural finish parts is to use a protectant like Pre-Lube 6. This product has to be re-applied periodically. Of course, one first has to restore the as-new appearance to the cast or forged parts. For many cast or forged components, this can be extremely difficult to achieve if "exact original appearance" is the goal.

As far as Corvette ball joints and tie-rod ends are concerned, the GM-sourced parts for all 63-82 Corvettes are discontinued. Unfortunately, the "reproduction" and replacement parts available on the market for these components are configured considerably different than the originals. There are several posts in the archives on the ball joint subject posted by myself and others. In the future, when I get a chance, I will post some information on tie rod ends.

[Joe L.]

Re: natural finishes

Tim------

I believe that the use of "Cast Blast" for "natural" finish cast or forged components will result in a significant judging penalty. For judging purposes, the only way that I know of to protect natural finish parts is to use a protectant like Pre-Lube 6. This product has to be re-applied periodically. Of course, one first has to restore the as-new appearance to the cast or forged parts. For many cast or forged components, this can be extremely difficult to achieve if "exact original appearance" is the goal.

As far as Corvette ball joints and tie-rod ends are concerned, the GM-sourced parts for all 63-82 Corvettes are discontinued. Unfortunately, the "reproduction" and replacement parts available on the market for these components are configured considerably different than the originals. There are several posts in the archives on the ball joint subject posted by myself and others. In the future, when I get a chance, I will post some information on tie rod ends.