For the last few years, I have been rebuilding my own carburetors. Although they run well, they don't look very good. I have experimented with different methods of refinishing the bodies; "Alodyne", zinc washes, etc., I have not found anything that worked very well. The last carburetor I did was a 2GC that I had around that was missing a few parts. I have been doing a few of these, and found that between extra parts from other carbs and kits, I was going to be able to redo this one. I decided to take a flyer and try to refinish this one with "paint". I had been looking into this sort of thing and had seen that Eastwood Corp. has a product called "Carb renew". I have ignored this, because first, it was a paint, and second, like all Eastwood products, it was over-priced. I bit the bullet, and bought some of it from Eastwood. I cleaned the carb bodies and sprayed them with the "Carb Renew". Initially, I was kind of disappointed, because the finish looked kind of "fakey". However, after I assembled the carburetor, I found I liked the overall effect. The best thing about this stuff is it's durability. After I got the carb back together, I found out that I didn't have all of the linkages were not installed correctly. In the end, I must have taken the unit apart 5 or 6 times trying to get the linkages correct. After all of this it came through looking good without any nicks or scratches. I made sure that the carb bodies were squeaky clean; after using carb cleaner, I ran them through the dishwasher (don't tell the lady of the house), and then bead blasted them. After two coats of the carb renew, I sprayed them with some of Eastwood's "Satin Clear". While the end result may not be up to 100 point restoration standards, I like it fine for my purposes. Look and judge for yourselves.
Samba.com, search homemade soda blaster. Compressor, blow gun, tubing, box of baking soda. Mini media blaster.
A cheap hand held soda blaster and Cerakote is what I use. Not cheap but the epoxy is super strong and minimal mil thickness. It is used extensively on firearms. Available is many colors and clear. A little goes a long ways.
Looks great , that zinc finish is super hard to repo , I have sent parts to Holley to replate . It was very expensive . I was always in more fear of the parts not returning . Some of them were DZ and correct 427 Ford stuff . All returned looking as new . Just a thought to recoloring your carbs .
The carb does look nice and fresh. Good job. A little tip given to me by a company that does actual zinc-di plating. Never blast. Best to smooth the surface, even glass beading will cause the plating to end up blotchy and looking sprayed vs plated. I've found that this holds water even when paint is used on select items. Scotchbrite, fine wire brush like brass, even minor abrasives and a toothbrush, the goal is to remove the pitted surface that blasting can create. Again, looks great...
I've looked at this, but was unsure of color. Which Cerakote color have you used to get close to a natural carb color?
A few comments (you did ask for comments) First - if the finish pleases you, then mission accomplished; it matters not what anyone else thinks! Now your comment about di-zinc confuses me. "di" implies electroplate. The zinc alloy bodies were NOT electroplated. The greenish-goldish color was obtained as a result of a chemical etching using a mixture of chromic acid, hydrochloric acid, and sulfuric acid. The finish is called zinc chromate (no "di"). The reason blasting is not necessarily recommended is that too much pressure will cause the pores of the metal to partially close, retaining petroleum residue. The petroleum residue taints the etching process. Chemical cleaning of the casting in hot sodium hydroxide will normally remove the petroleum residue from the pores. The steel items were electroplated. Rochester for the most part electroplated steel with white zinc, which was then treated with a yellow "conversion" coat, causing the finish to be yellow. Blasting with aluminum oxide was often used to remove slag from the processing of the steel. However, the modern finish is a yellow di-chromate rather than the original yellow zinc electroplate (the original finish varies, yellow zinc was original for this carburetor). The color of the zinc alloy castings depends on: the percentage of lead in the zinc alloy mix, the skill of the operator, and how meticulous is the operator in replenishing the chromic acid (which becomes depleted) in the cold dip. The above refers to procedures of yesteryear. I do not do plating (I tried with an expensive "home plating system" before I found out how hazardous it can be to ones health, but was NOT able to produce results I considered acceptable for my business). I have no idea of current procedures followed today by the plating community. If the original zinc castings have not been previously subjected to an overnight dip in the old harsh two-layer chemical cleaners, and the original finish is still present; cleaning in an ultrasonic cleaner with a mild detergent such as Dawn dishwater soap will do a decent job of cleaning WITHOUT harming the finish. Jon.
"carbking" - I started this thread, but I don't think your comments are directed at me, are they? I don't think I asked for comments (though they are always welcome), and I don't seem to remember mentioning "chromate", "di-" or otherwise. All of the carburetors I do have usually been "around the block" several times, so preserving the original finish is not an option. Again, this is not a way to get your carburetors looking like they came from the factory; just a way that will make them look presentable (in a "Hot Rod" sort of way). You have supplied a lot of good information, however. And finally, Eastwood's "Carb Renew" is also available in a "silverish" tone; I think I'll try it on an old Holley 94 I have. I'll post the results when I get done.
Those air cleaner stud supports sure took a beating through the years. How tight does one think that wingnut needs to be?
Tubman - most of my comments were in response to others posting in the thread. No offense was meant. My only agenda in posting is to attempt to convey information. If one doesn't mind paint, a good epoxy paint (used to get a brand called VHT), and then bake the painted castings for an hour at 125 degrees F. forms a finish that is almost bulletproof. We have often used this, and then chrome-plated the steel items. This gives a splash of chrome against a glossy black background: http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/X2-side.jpg Bought an electric toaster oven to bake the castings. DO NOT USE A GAS OVEN! Jon.
Never gave Cerakote a thought! One of my boys buddy's does that to firearms, gotta explore that option.
The Jalopy Journal
