Lightbar and other items paint color

jdupay

jdupay

Member
I am painting my headlight bar, fender braces and my horn. Does anyone know what type of finish those get? The car is black but I don't know if those pieces get the same as the body color or a flat black. This is not a points car, strictly a driver, but I don't want to be totally wrong....
 
Headlight bar and fender braces were dipped gloss black enamel just like the fenders.

Horns would have come prepainted some type of gloss black from the vender.

Not that is really matters, but it turns out there are lots of different blacks. The reflectivity depends on the type of paint and color depends on the whats in the paint. Today you can find blacks with a yellow under tone, blue undertone and red undertone and I guess a bunch of others. They all look good and black till you know what to look for then you can see a difference.

A great read is the paint Handbook by the clubs. Even if you are not going for points it is just interesting to read how the paint sequence was done on the car.
 
I had mine powder coated and it sure looks great Gloss Black and no chips and wipes off like new. Wheels also if you can find the right color.
DRC
 
dnkcurtis said:
I had mine powder coated and it sure looks great Gloss Black and no chips and wipes off like new. Wheels also if you can find the right color.
DRC
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That's a great idea. I did have the wheels powder coated. If I can get the powder coat black to match the body black, that would be great. I'll have to talk to my powder coat guy.
 
I had my headlight bar powder coated also. (when I finally got the correct bar for a '31)
 
Powder coating is not always the way to go. Too thick too hard.

Remember to mask off the ball sockets for the lights and the bumps at the ends so you have ground paths.

Also keep in mind the light bar should allow a business card to go under it all around.
 
Kevin in NJ said:
Remember to mask off the ball sockets for the lights and the bumps at the ends so you have ground paths.

Also keep in mind the light bar should allow a business card to go under it all around.
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Kevin,

What are "bumps at the ends"? I don't understand the card statement - the ends of headlamp bar are bolted to the fender bracket (with fenders between the two parts)?
 
Neil Wilson said:
Kevin,

What are "bumps at the ends"? I don't understand the card statement - the ends of headlamp bar are bolted to the fender bracket (with fenders between the two parts)?
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Same question about the bumps and the card statement. Also, if you put rubber pads under the light bar, where is the ground path - the bolts, I guess?
 
The bars never came with rubber pads on the ends.

If you look at the ends you will find raised areas where the bolt holes are. These raised areas go into the dimples on the fender (you do have the dimples on fenders? They should be there but are sometimes lost in repairs). So the contact area is only just the spot where the dimples are. If the contact area were wider then the fenders would deform around the bar contact areas and eventually tear with normal flex.

Go to my website below and I talk about how I got mine to fit correct.
 
Kevin in NJ said:
The bars never came with rubber pads on the ends.

If you look at the ends you will find raised areas where the bolt holes are. These raised areas go into the dimples on the fender (you do have the dimples on fenders? They should be there but are sometimes lost in repairs). So the contact area is only just the spot where the dimples are. If the contact area were wider then the fenders would deform around the bar contact areas and eventually tear with normal flex.

Go to my website below and I talk about how I got mine to fit correct.
Click to expand...

Thanks! That site was very helpful.
 
For a "driver" I would recommend using the rubber pads on the light bar. Eliminates the heartburn of chipped paint on the fender and the end of the light bar. I like the lipped ones from Bert's.

If you do decide to use the pads, ensure you have a good ground for the lights and horn.
 
Kevin in NJ said:
Powder coating is not always the way to go. Too thick too hard.
Click to expand...

Personally I do not understand the appeal of Power Coating.

I find once it starts lifting at the edges and moisture gets underneath games over. Then the metal starts corroding and lifting off.
 
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