Engine Air Duct Paint

[Superman]

My fan, housing, strap and pulley parts are with Shaun at Tru6. The fan center, pulley and housing strap are being plated in yellow zinc, which is the stock finish. I am considering cerakote color choices now. When these parts return to me, they will be GORGEOUS. I am very excited.

The black sheet metal air duct pieces, such as the one which wraps around behind the distributor, look a little tired and will be remarkably ugly next to the new parts. So....I am taking them to a friend's shop today for sand blasting. Once the old paint is off, then I will paint them. I am looking for suggestions:

I am not set up for spraying auto paint....no negative air paint booth, no HVLP paint gun. I will need to use rattle-can paint. However, I suppose I could have the auto paint store make me some special rattle-can or bottled two-part paint which can be loaded into one of those propellant set-ups (I forget the name) where the propellant is in a can and the paint is in a bottle attached to the can. I would prefer the simplicity of using plain old rattle can paint, if that can work.

I have a can of the Worth satin black, which is a very Porsche-like finish.

I imagine I should start with a primer that will work on metal. Perhaps an etching primer. Will this work? Can I get metal-etching primer at Home Depot? Can I just use that, then color the parts with the Wurth paint?

What are your suggestions?

[86 911 Targa]

^^^^^
Here's what I used.

Best,

Gerry

[911tracker85]

Shaun has my fan/housing to refinish with cerakote, and a lot of stuff being replated.

had been wondering what to use to paint/refinish those fins for the alternator.

also what kind of primer/paint to use on the big plastic cover.

I'll be watching this for ideas and results.

[pkabush]

Personally, I wouldn’t use spray paint. I opted for a brush on paint because it goes on so much thicker. Obviously, cerakote or powder coat would be even more durable but this stuff goes on pretty thick, lays out pretty well and is an excellent match to the factory finish.

[pkabush]

Kinda hard to see in the pix but it’s Sherwin Williams Satin black enamel.

[OsoMoore]

I repainted the little plate that sits beside the fan (after making a hole for heater backdate). I spray painted it with high temp black paint made for charcoal grills. After 5 years it still looks fine.

Originally Posted by OsoMoore

I repainted the little plate that sits beside the fan (after making a hole for heater backdate). I spray painted it with high temp black paint made for charcoal grills. After 5 years it still looks fine.

I have had good luck with this paint too. I used a Rustoleum Bar-B-Que black on some early restorations, including my frame off 1966 Corvette restoration, where I used about 10 rattle cans of the stuff to paint freshly sandblasted frame and suspension pieces. My hands ached for months from using spray cans, but the paint held up well for years.

As an alternative, Supe, you might try some of this two-part stuff I got from Wesco Auto Body (there's one near you!). I just used in on various parts of my car, including the wheels. Goes on well and dries really, really hard. Wear a chem mask though--it has some nasty hardener in it.

I'll be excited to see how the parts turn out. I wish I had gone that route instead of powder-coating mine. They came out OK, but not as nice as Shaun's.

[Superman]

For purposes of clarity, here are the two sheet metal duct pieces I want to paint. As you can see, I sand blasted them. My plan is to hand sand a little, wipe clean with lacquer thinner, prime with a metal-etching primer, then spray with Wurth satin black. Does anyone see a weakness in my plan?

Nope. Go for it.