Color of Original 67 9-Leaf Spring - Gray?

[Patrick H.]

Re: Color of Original 67 9-Leaf Spring - Gray?

The name is owned by United Paint & Chemical in Southfield, MI.

http://www.unitedpaintonline.com/

Anyone want to call them and see what info we could find out about the paint?

Patrick

[Brian M.]

Re: Color of Original 67 9-Leaf Spring - Gray?

My partial can of paint has been located, let me know if you'd like it.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Color of Original 67 9-Leaf Spring - Gray?

...Franz describes Ionoklad as about the consistency of oatmeal, containing heavy concentrations/globules of zinc...

Very interesting info, John.

That description sounds like this material was actually an industrial zinc rich primer for prevention of corrosion in extreme environments. That may explain why I thought commercially available zinc primer in aerosol cans was a better match to the original color on my spring than the product I received from vendors.

At that time, I don't know if the product being sold was actually Ionoklad. Once my spring was thoroughly cleaned, I observed the original paint as a flat gray, slighter darker than the vendor supplied paint, with a very slight greenish hue. The vendor supplied paint was noticeably lighter gray in color and had higher gloss than the original paint, but there is the question of age. The zinc rich primers I had observed during my career were typically flat gray with a tinge of green.

Wayne's pictures, without the oil stains, is also close to what I observed regarding coverage...bottoms full coverage, tops with some transfer remnants, and edges partially covered ( ). I could never understand how the top surfaces weren't painted, and finally decided that the arch of the spring working with the relative movement of the the spring leaves and liners must have somehow preferentially worn the finish off the top surfaces but not the bottoms. (I was never quite satisfied with that answer).

[Joe L.]

Re: Color of Original 67 9-Leaf Spring - Gray?

Very interesting info, John.

That description sounds like this material was actually an industrial zinc rich primer for prevention of corrosion in extreme environments. That may explain why I thought commercially available zinc primer in aerosol cans was a better match to the original color on my spring than the product I received from vendors.

At that time, I don't know if the product being sold was actually Ionoklad. Once my spring was thoroughly cleaned, I observed the original paint as a flat gray, slighter darker than the vendor supplied paint, with a very slight greenish hue. The vendor supplied paint was noticeably lighter gray in color and had higher gloss than the original paint, but there is the question of age. The zinc rich primers I had observed during my career were typically flat gray with a tinge of green.

Wayne's pictures, without the oil stains, is also close to what I observed regarding coverage...bottoms full coverage, tops with some transfer remnants, and edges partially covered ( ). I could never understand how the top surfaces weren't painted, and finally decided that the arch of the spring working with the relative movement of the the spring leaves and liners must have somehow preferentially worn the finish off the top surfaces but not the bottoms. (I was never quite satisfied with that answer).

Chuck-----


There's absolutely no doubt that the Ionoklad is a zinc-rich coating. In fact, it's a VERY zinc-rich coating. I expect that the reason it was used is for the "lubricity" and "high pressure resistance" that the zinc provided. In fact, the spring liners (GM #462589) used on 78-82 C3 steel springs were actually entirely fabricated from sheets of zinc.