Fan blade powder coating

[jturco]

I am looking to take the alternator / fan blade off to get it powder coated in another color. Anyone know of good sources to coat this?

I have a '71 with 3.2 and the fan blade is red, my car is arena red so it sticks out. I am thinking of making the fan black.

Thanks for any help.
Jeff

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

I'll be interested to see the answers you get, also being in NY.

[smessing]

I used a place in Frenchtown NJ called Metal Masters to powdercoat the fan and housing on my 80SC. Jim the owner, is a great guy to deal with, and did an excellent job.

Here is their website... Metal Masters

Scott

[RSTarga]

be careful on the clearance to the housing

[turbobrat930]

I do powdercoating as well, and have done several fans. Powdercoating will work fine, and will be the only process that will last on a fan. You have to tape off the ends of the blades so you do not change the clearances between the fan blades and the fan housing. Also, do not get any powder in the center, where the fan fits over the alternator shaft.

I would do it for you, but I can not advertise on here. I am sure that there are numerous places close to where you live that could do this, as any reputable powdercoater can complete the job. Good luck!!

Also, the easiest way to get the fan to come off of the alt shaft is to thread two opposing holes in the fan ( the 12 or so small holes around the pulley portion of the fan). Then run 2" bolts though the holes and screw them in equally, which will "pull" the fan off of the shaft. Do it that way, and there will be no chance of screwing up the fan!

[onboost]

Try Sumax over in Oriskany. 315.768.1046

They've done Harley parts for me in the past before there was anyone in my area doing Powder Coating.

[Monza_dh]

Why not go "au naturale?" A light polish by hand, after strippinng paint, will give you a nice look without being too bling bling

[Mysterytrain]

VCI - Vehiclecraft.com in dover. NJ also does powder coating. although, I've been happy with a lite polish and Gibbs finish on my fan for the 'natchel' look.

[kidrock]

+1 on the light polish, I believe it looks better "au natural" and the way Ferry intended. But if you insist on powdercoat, +1 on Sumax...a recognized leader in the industry.

[deshetlr]

Light polish is a nice choice. I would still like to know how to replicate the OEM appearance however.

[kidrock]

Originally Posted by deshetlr

Light polish is a nice choice. I would still like to know how to replicate the OEM appearance however.

I think Mysterytrain's suggestion is about as close to OEM as you can get. Use Gibb's after cleaning the blades.

[TC911e]

Monza,
How did you achieve the "au natural" look? Did you follow up the polish with Gibbs or something else? After I did the clean and polish routine on mine, mostly light scrubbing with Scotbrite, it's got the white oxidation specks. I need to follow up with something, but you've got the look I'm after.
Thanks,
Tim
69 911e
01 Z3

[Monza_dh]

Originally Posted by timandsu

Monza,
How did you achieve the "au natural" look? Did you follow up the polish with Gibbs or something else? After I did the clean and polish routine on mine, mostly light scrubbing with Scotbrite, it's got the white oxidation specks. I need to follow up with something, but you've got the look I'm after.
Thanks,
Tim
69 911e
01 Z3

Tim, I started with fine grit wet sand (with WD40)then used 1000 steel wool and finished up with Gibbs as mentioned above. Mine started out pretty bad:

[jlex]

Originally Posted by turbobrat930

Also, the easiest way to get the fan to come off of the alt shaft is to thread two opposing holes in the fan ( the 12 or so small holes around the pulley portion of the fan). Then run 2" bolts though the holes and screw them in equally, which will "pull" the fan off of the shaft. Do it that way, and there will be no chance of screwing up the fan!

Damn, that's a brilliant idea... So you're saying to drill out two holes, then use a tap to thread them to accept the bolts? Never heard of that but sounds like a great idea

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by jlex

Damn, that's a brilliant idea... So you're saying to drill out two holes, then use a tap to thread them to accept the bolts? Never heard of that but sounds like a great idea

jlex

The holes are already there "inside" the pulley, just tap 2 opposite ones (see Monza finish picture, I had to look twice).

J.J.

[jlex]

Yeah... I was looking at the outer rim, not the inner pulley holes.
It sure would be nice to know from the poster what size & pitch bolts are the ones to use.... seems like a terrific solution. Learn something new every day

[turbobrat930]

Originally Posted by jlex

Yeah... I was looking at the outer rim, not the inner pulley holes.
It sure would be nice to know from the poster what size & pitch bolts are the ones to use.... seems like a terrific solution. Learn something new every day

I cant remember what size or pitch.... It will be determined by what tap you use. I think it was either a 6mm or an 8mm tap... probably a 1.25 pitch. Since the hole is already there, the goal is not to drill the hole or to make it any bigger, but to tap the hole just like it is. And yes, they are the very small holes that are already there.... right next to the pulley part of the fan. Just tap at 12 and 6 o' clock, then get two bolts that match the tap.. about 2 to 3 inches long, and start to tighten. As the bolt goes through the holes and gets deeper, they will bottom out on the alt case. then just tighten each one a little at a time, alternating between the two, and the fan will come right off.

[Porsche2217]

I polished mine it looks great!

[jlex]

Originally Posted by turbobrat930

I cant remember what size or pitch.... It will be determined by what tap you use. I think it was either a 6mm or an 8mm tap... probably a 1.25 pitch. Since the hole is already there, the goal is not to drill the hole or to make it any bigger, but to tap the hole just like it is. And yes, they are the very small holes that are already there.... right next to the pulley part of the fan. Just tap at 12 and 6 o' clock, then get two bolts that match the tap.. about 2 to 3 inches long, and start to tighten. As the bolt goes through the holes and gets deeper, they will bottom out on the alt case. then just tighten each one a little at a time, alternating between the two, and the fan will come right off.

They ought to give you an award for repair innovation... I don't hang as much as I used to on this forum (since buying a '70 VW bug for my daughter and reading Samba to get up to speed on the VW), but I've never run into that approach to removing the fan before. All I've ever read was agony stories about not being able to get it off when doing an alternator repair and heavy-handed removal solutions.
I haven't had to work on my '85's alternator before, but I've always wondered if it would give me fits when I eventually need to...
Again, thanks for the brilliant tip. I know it'll come in handy one of these days.

[jlex]

BTW: I see you're in Macon...
I went to Mercer from '70 thru '77. Lots of good memories (especially those Southern women).