Henry Schmidt- help please

[herman maire]

Henry, I was trying to avoid bothering you but I am lost.....

A while ago you posted the best process on how to refinish the cooling fan+housing. I found the post and here is what you suggested-

BEAD BLAST WITH A/D GLASS BEAD.

THEN SPRAY WITH EAGLE ONE ETCHING MAG CLEANER.

DRY COMPLETELY, WIPE OFF WHITE RESIDUE WITH A CLEAN TOWEL.

LAST SPRAY WITH KRYLON SATIN CLEAR.


1- I got the A/D glass ( pretty expensive stuff, $60 55lbs bag!!??) . It looks like sugar right.

2- EAGLE ONE ETCHING MAG CLEANER- I tried looking everywhere for this stuff but nobody has a clue what I'm talking about. They have mag cleaner but never heard of "ETCHING" mag cleaner . I went to UAP...... What other option are there? would using thinner be OK then KRYLON SATIN CLEAR?

would really apreciate your info on this. for the others, here is a pic of one of Henrys awsome motors.



Thanks

[BURN-BROS]

Eagle One

Eagle One wesite



Any satin clear laquer and I am sure thinner is fine.

[herman maire]

Aaron,
thanks for the reply. I might have to end up buying it from your link... the problem with using thinner is that I think it will NOT have the shine that the rim cleaner will leave. I'm still waiting for Henry to chime in... hopefully soon.

Have you ever used thinner?

[squidmarks]

I also wanted to get the same look Henry shows. I found Eagle One Etching Mag Cleaner at Autozone. I have been bead-blasting my parts for quite awhile now. They look pretty nice after bead blasting, but I thought I'd try the Eagle One on them. Its rather nasty stuff (make sure you wear gloves) and I found it leaves a rather dull inconsistant finish. I ended up bead-blasting the part again (the fan) to restore it back to the nice finish bead blasting gives. After bead blasting, I've been using Dupli-Color Engine Enamel clear coat. It says its good up to 500F and has ceramic particles (presumably to increase its thermal conductivity). I am very happy with the finish it gives. Very smooth glossy finish. I put 2 coats of it on. You have to be careful, tho, as it runs easily as it is rather thin. It seems quite tough as well as parts that have been dried for a day appear to be very resistant to scratches.

I'm going to give the Mag cleaner another try tonight on a valve cover and let you know how it looks and maybe upload a few pics.

Geoff

[squidmarks]

Here's what happens when I try the Eagle One Etching Mag Cleaner.

Here's a valve cover that has been bead blasted, then the left side was treated with the mag cleaner. You can see that it has a tarnished, motled look to it whereas the non-treated right side looks better. Good news is that the tarnished look bead-blasts off again very easily.

I tried applying the mag cleaner a couple ways thinking I was doing it wrong. I tried spraying it on, leaving it sit for 5 min then washing it off with water. That gave the tarnished look, so I tried brushing it after spraying it on, but it gave no better results.

Henry, is it possible you reversed the steps? Do you use the mag cleaner to get the crap off the part, then bead blast it?

Geoff

[azasadny]

Is Henry still around?

[herman maire]

Originally posted by azasadny
Is Henry still around?

he was yesterday ..... where you at henry?

[herman maire]

Geoff,

Did you try spraying it on, then taking a dry rag and ragging it off right away? would that result in that milky look too?

I am pretty sure you dont want this stuff sitting on it very long . From what I hear there are some pretty aggressive acids in this stuff . You also dont want to rinse it with water either, that will contaminate the painting surface ( I think) .


what bead are you using? the same A/D glass bead?

Also, when you did your fan... did you just clear coat right after you blasted it? what exactly did you do to clean it? If that works maybe i will give that a shot.

thanks

[BURN-BROS]

Geoff, If that valve cover is aluminum then yes it may become inconsistent in finish...especially a die cast piece. It will show the inconsistency of the "pour" of aluminum. Try a sand cast piece(any piece) and post your findings. I think magnesium yields a better overall result if it is die cast.

Herman, I misunderstood I thought the thinner was for cleaning purposes only...as opposed to water.


edit; I got to see the fan up-close and it was very even and looked great.

[squidmarks]

Herman, I did wash it off with water. I didn't try to wipe it off dry. I don't think you'd want to leave a residue of that corrosive stuff.

I usually wash parts in soapy water after bead blasting to make sure I get all the beads off. After washing, I dry them thoroughly before clear-coating.

I've tried the mag cleaner on parts similar to those that Henry showed on the picture of the engine above (chain housings and covers), but got the same inconsistant finish. I gotta think I'm doing it wrong, or Henry cleans them with the mag cleaner and then bead blasts them.

Geoff

[Henry Schmidt]

Aaron was correct with his identification of the Eagle one product.

My guess is that some of you experiencing problems either aren't looking for an original finish or you're leaving the product on the long.

The purpose of the etching product is to bring out the grain in the metal. Aluminum or magnesium fresh out of the mold does not look bright and shiny. It has a texture. That texture is what I am trying to reproduce with the Eagle One.

The picture of the valve cover is very close to what a new cover looks like.

Originality does not mean "it looks as good as it can" it means it look like new.
The fan on the early engine in the picture was finished using my process.

If you are unable to produce the finish you are looking for with this process, perhaps you should try something else.
Good luck.

Add on :

[herman maire]

thanks for the reply Henry,

I am trying to get the same look in your pic above so I am not trying to make it shinny. When you spray on the eagle one product do you wipe it off right away with a dry rag then clear coat it? Or am I missing a few steps.

Thanks again

[Henry Schmidt]

Follow the directions on the bottle.
Spray on, wait 30 to 60 seconds (this is the tricky part, too long and it turns black) then rinse with water and dry. Then spray on the Krylon Matte Finish clear (1311).


This is not rocket science. If it doesn't come out perfect for you, perhaps you set the bar too high.

Good luck

[BReyes]

Question: I have a fan housing that I took apart and had the pully cad yellow anodized.

Is there a source for the bolts so I can bolt the pully half back on to the fan? Is there cad yellow or black?

Thanks.

[herman maire]

Originally posted by Henry Schmidt
Follow the directions on the bottle.
Spray on, wait 30 to 60 seconds (this is the tricky part, too long and it turns black) then rinse with water and dry. Then spray on the Krylon Matte Finish clear (1311).


This is not rocket science. If it doesn't come out perfect for you, perhaps you set the bar too high.

Good luck

Thanks Henry... I know its not "rocket science" but when you have never done it, I just want to get it right the first time.
Thanks again

[herman maire]

Originally posted by BReyes
Question: I have a fan housing that I took apart and had the pully cad yellow anodized.

Is there a source for the bolts so I can bolt the pully half back on to the fan? Is there cad yellow or black?

Thanks.

Pelican does not list this part so you going to have to call that one in.... I am sure they can get the pully bolts. Let me know what you find out.

[Henry Schmidt]

The original fan is held in place by rivets not bolts.
Through the years we have learned that we could replace the rivets with flat head allen bolts.
The pulley must be prepped for the bolt prior to plating. This prep consists of countersinking / tapering the holes so that the flat head bolts would be flush when the job is completed.
I believe the countersink is 82 degrees.
The bolts can be purchased from any hardware supply. We use 1/4 20 flat head allen bolts. We also back up the bolt with a prevailing torque lock nut.
I have never found these allen bolts in gold cad so we send out a box to be plated so they match the pulley.

[IXjamesXI]

I gave it a try.. I like the results. Does the fan need to be balanced now that I have futzed with it?

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by IXjamesXI

I gave it a try.. I like the results. Does the fan need to be balanced now that I have futzed with it?

No balancing should be required.

Our fan restoration has taken on a whole new process.
We now replace the rivets with custom made rivets.
We have a new colorizing process and we resurface the pulley for increased belt life.












We also offer an aluminum pulley assembly for racing applications.

[chris_seven]

We have had a tungsten carbide die made by a specialist Aerospace Rivet manufacturer and they have produced a batch of 2000 rivets on our behalf.

We sent them a fan and centre to produce the rivet from.

We then made a setting tool - this is version 2



The first version was slightly out in terms of the pitch of the rivets so we made better measurements using a CMM.



The fixture aligns the rivets and is fitted with hardened dowels to react the setting force.



We then bolt it up to prevent movement and set the rivets using a No6 Flypress.