rear end restoration

[Richard M.]

Re: rear end restoration

Here are some shots of the paints mentioned.

Seymour They also make a lower temperature grade. e.g. HERE
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VHT
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Rich

[Thomas N.]

Re: rear end restoration

Francais
The two part Eastwood stuff you are talking about was Exo Armor. I didn't have good results with that either. Enclosed is a picture of my chassis, where the housing was shot blasted, and then using the RPM. As you can see, you have lots of options! Hopefully these help, and not confuse you.

rear end housing.jpg

[Richard M.]

Re: rear end restoration

Francais you mentioned half shafts too. Examples using a somewhat different approach to give them some contrast. After media blasting(glass bead), I'd cast blast the end yokes but dusted the tubes with a touch of satin clear after dressing the welds to look blue-ish and untouched. Not the so called perfect fresh from the factory look, but better than a complete cast blast look on the whole tube assembly.

P1100020.jpg P1110029.jpg P1110030.jpg P1110031.jpg

[Gary R.]

Re: rear end restoration

I think 63 was the only year they were painted black. When I build a diff it depends on what the owner wants. Most don't want rust on a rebuilt diff so if it is going to be bare iron I blast with glass bead that doesn't change the surface and use RPM to protect it while maintaining the original iron look.

If it's going to be painted then after blasting I acid etch, rinse, flame dry, POR15 base, and Seymour's cast blast topcoat. This will provide a strong durable finish that looks as those above. It's easy to touch up if needed.

If the diff is original, you need to carefully check the posi case for cracks. All 63-82 diffs had issues, some more so than others. 65-68 Eaton posi's are very prone to cracking, more then 75% of the ones I see are cracked. I just opened up a vendor rebuilt diff that had a 65-68 square window posi and sure enough it was cracked. It was installed in a 79 housing so to me the builder clearly knew it was cracked and used it anyway- since by the time the posi cracked enough to implode the case it would have been long out of any warranty claim. Cracked posi's are junk and should not be reused or attempted to be welded.

[Francais D.]

Re: rear end restoration

again thanks , lot of stuff to consider. I am sold on high temp cast for differential ,[any primers or clear coat involved? i did see POR15 ] As far as half shafts go i like the satin clear ,that is how mine once looked , Do not know if i am fighting a losing battle up here in New York . Has anyone used Detail Grey from Eastwood

[Gary R.]

Re: rear end restoration

All the topcoat paints are going to be close to the same. I like Seymour's the best, goes on smooth and dries uniform. It's not as common to find in a local parts store, I have to order online to get them.

As I mentioned before I always etch the metal first and use POR15 for base coat but you have to follow the instructions to the letter, or it won't work. Don't use it without etching or on bare rust as described as it will peel. It is a time-consuming process and why rebuilders won't use it as much, plus the additional cost. You have to be aware of the Rh when using it, as high Rh will cause it to setup fast, dry Rh will take much more time to setup. You topcoat it when the surface it tacky but won't come off on your finger. If you let it harden it will have to be scuffed or primed to topcoat it. A lot of guys don't like it because of all the time involved. However, done correctly it lasts a long time The diff in my 72 I bluepriinted 15 years ago and still looks the same today.

Some will blast, others will bake the old paint off then shot paint on it. It will stick and look good but it won't last as long. If you are going to drive the car then over time you see surface rust where the paint is light or chipped.