[alfa] Re: Engine cleaning (and detailing)

[George Graves <gmgraves@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tuesday, October 14, 2003, at 04:10 PM, alfacybersite wrote:

> George Graves has certainly done his homework regarding red wrinkle
> paint. As mentioned the wrinkle sample I viewed at the powder coating
> shop just didn't look 'real' to me. Real, in this case, being 
> comparable
> to a good wrinkle (regular) paint finish. It was very glossy (possibly 
> a
> dulling agent could be mixed in (though don't know how one would go
> about mixing it in to powder). Possibly just spraying a dull clear coat
> over the finished powder coating would work. Unfortunately the benefits
> George points out to having a powder coated finish would be lost.
>
> Or George, did your powder coating guy have it in a semi-gloss to dull
> finish like the real deal?
The red powder coat that the shop I used employed was NOT glossy, but 
rather was flat - like any good wrinkle paint should be. Same for the 
black wrinkle that my air intake plenum on top of the motor was 
finished with. Like I said, my only real complaint was that the wrinkle 
paint that Ferrari and Maserati uses (used) on their engines had a very 
coarse wrinkle. This applies to the re wrinkle on the air-intake 
plenums on the current 360 Modena as well as the sand-colored wrinkle 
paint on the intake plenum of the current Maserati. The powder coat 
that this shop used was very fine and sand-like, but it is very even 
and very consistent. It looks good.



> Not trying to nitpick good information but wonder if any of the 
> original
> red wrinkle paint on Ferrari cam covers still exists.
Certainly Ferrari still has access to the proper kind of wrinkle coat 
as they still use it on the Modena, Maranello and Enzo (red) and on the 
Maserati coupe and spider (sand-colored). I suspect these too are 
powder coats. But they probably have it made for them. After all, when 
you're Ferrari....



>  Has to be tough
> not taking any Ferrari to the 'ultimate'. Regular wrinkle paint gets
> dirty, is very hard to clean, chips, and soaks up oil in the valleys.
> That said, so what are the Ferrari guys using for a match as to the
> 'correct' finish on their (perhaps supposedly) Testa Rosa cam covers?
Like I said, the local Ferrari service manager told me that when they 
have to touch-up a Ferrari valve cover or cast intake plenum, they 
paint it with Eastwood (or equivalent) black wrinkle and then spray a 
light coat of the proper red enamel over it when the "base" coat is 
properly cured (they use an oven at 200 degrees F.). He also told me 
that he gets call all the time from restorers both pro and amateur 
asking about this. So we Alfisiti aren't the only ones.


> I personally like a very tight wrinkle finish as opposed to a coarse
> finish. I've mentioned this before, but a number of years ago there was
> a yellow Zagato bodied Fiat 8V at Pebble Beach. It looked Marvelous,
> except (in my opinion and I'm repeating myself) if an ant started
> walking across the top of the dash and headed toward the other side, it
> is doubtful he would make it in his lifetime. It had a rather coarse
> black wrinkle finish.
On dashes I agree. On valve covers and other engine parts, a coarser 
coat looks more traditional. If you like, I'll send you some pictures 
of my engine and you can see the effect of the powder coat for yourself.

> I very much like to hear how individuals have detailed various aspects
> of their cars - especially engine bays.
>
> Biba
> Irwindale, CA USA
>
> George, I'll show you my red head if you show me yours:
Biba, I'll take some shots tomorrow and e-mail them to you.

> http://www.alfacybersite.com/BR67AlfaSpd.html
> ( those of you have visited before, I've just re-scanned and enlarged
> the engine bay shot).
George Graves
'86 GTV-6 3.0'S'
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