Battery tray paint suggestions
- Thread starter metro1
- Start date
55blacktie
BANNED
Year, make, and model? Maybe it's being reproduced. My 55 Tbird's battery tray is etched/pitted pretty badly, but still in one piece. I considered having it powder-coated, but no paint is going to hide the damage. Of course, the battery will hide it. However, I'll probably buy a reproduction battery tray and be done with it.
This is for a '59 Galaxie. I have replaced all the metal under the tray area and bought a generic battery tray which I will weld to the front bracket . I'm just looking to protect it with some paint which would be better for an area that will be exposed to corrosive runoff from the battery. Even though the battery is sealed there sometimes seems to be corrosion in a battery area. This is not going to be a show car, just something to drive around .I'm looking to save money where I can.
dmsfrr
Well-known member
I've got a small truck that left the factory with a plastic tray under the battery. The sides of it are about 1/4 inch high. You could likely find one to protect the metal tray.
A rattle can ceramic paint used on engines could make a good coating on the repaired metal parts.
A rattle can ceramic paint used on engines could make a good coating on the repaired metal parts.
Daves55Sedan
Well-known member
In my '55, the original battery tray was still good, but I decided to make my own tray out of angle-iron, mitre cut and welded. I primered it with rust-olem red-oxide metal primer then used two coats of epoxy spray paint for home appliances. That was many decades ago and it still looks like I just finished it yesterday.
Have someone check your voltage regulator output to see if the charging rate is too high. If so, excessive acid bubbles will emerge from the battery fill caps and prematurely corrode surrounding metal parts. There's always going to be some emergence of acid, but as properly set regulator can minimize the damage.
Use of felt washers on the battery terminal posts is also helpful. These are sold at most chain auto parts stores (one red for positive terminal and one green for negative terminal), sold in a set.
Initial removal of corrosion from lead battery cable terminals can be accomplished by soaking the terminal in a plastic container of hot water mixed with baking soda. This neutralizes the acid and annihilates the white puffy corrosion. Afterwards, you just buff the cable terminal with a wire brush to shine it up to get good contact.
Have someone check your voltage regulator output to see if the charging rate is too high. If so, excessive acid bubbles will emerge from the battery fill caps and prematurely corrode surrounding metal parts. There's always going to be some emergence of acid, but as properly set regulator can minimize the damage.
Use of felt washers on the battery terminal posts is also helpful. These are sold at most chain auto parts stores (one red for positive terminal and one green for negative terminal), sold in a set.
Initial removal of corrosion from lead battery cable terminals can be accomplished by soaking the terminal in a plastic container of hot water mixed with baking soda. This neutralizes the acid and annihilates the white puffy corrosion. Afterwards, you just buff the cable terminal with a wire brush to shine it up to get good contact.
Daves55Sedan
Well-known member
BTW, some of the repro parts suppliers are offering some type of acid neutralizer pad that you can trim and place inside your finished battery tray. I cannot testify as to the effectiveness as I never had one, but intend to get one someday. Maybe others on this forum can shed more light on this.
Good advice. I just recently bought this car and have not driven it yet. I just finished replacing all brake components . Once I get the battery remounted I'll drive it around the neighborhood. I'll check out the charging system to see if that might have caused the problem. It looks like most of the paint in that whole area is gone and is getting rusty. Something must have happened to get acid all over that area.
Daves55Sedan
Well-known member
Not necessarily. The car is many decades old and most people neglect their batteries until they go bad, then just replace them, often not even cleaning up the lead battery cable terminals.
If the voltage regulator had been previously serviced at some point or a new one put on, the output may be a little high. For example, my '55 Ford has 6-volt electrical system and generator. The VR output is set to 7.4 volts DC. It doesn't hurt anything in the charging system to have it set this way. When the battery if fully charged, the cutout contacts in the VR disengage until needed.
Most old cars have rusty front sheet metal (unless someone has sandblasted the doghouse structure and refinished everything).
Mine was redone in 1992 and the cheap black Rust-Oleum paint is still good on the inside, but on the exterior front behind the grille, it had been sandblasted by decades of highway driving and getting rusty again.
50fordcoupeman
Well-known member
You could fiberglass your existing tray, spray it flat black and be fine since its a driver.
bobss396
Well-known member
The tray on my '59 was gone, looks like someone had removed it at some point. Underneath the metal was good, with minor surface rust. I wire wheeled it and painted it with VHT matte black.
I bought a Afco stock car battery tray from Speedway. I milled off the mounting lip and secured it to the inner fender with galvanized carriage bolts. I cut up an old floor mat to act as a pad under the battery. So far after 6 years it has held up.
I bought a Afco stock car battery tray from Speedway. I milled off the mounting lip and secured it to the inner fender with galvanized carriage bolts. I cut up an old floor mat to act as a pad under the battery. So far after 6 years it has held up.
56sedandelivery
Well-known member
https://www.aerotouchups.com/randolph-acid-proof-battery-box-black-paint-34534516.html
I used this. It is brush on so not the cleanest looking but most is covered up with a mat.
I used this. It is brush on so not the cleanest looking but most is covered up with a mat.
rotorwrench
Well-known member
The best paint in the world won't deter battery acid spillage. There is no telling why yours has acid damage other than sloppy maintenance service or a leaky battery case. I'd just use some good epoxy primer and then replicate the original finish in what ever paint you choose. I use single stage poly urethane for most finish work but for plane jane under the hood finishes where some form a black is used I just use a good quality black semi gloss enamel and lay on a few coats.
Folks cared less and less about what was going on under the hood as the old cars aged. A seepy battery terminal or a loose cap with an overfilled battery would likely have been ignored by a previous owner.
That battery box paint by Randolph is likely a bituminous type paint. It goes on relatively thick and especially if applied with a brush. It is resistant to acid spillage but it has a tendency to crack with age and then the corrosion starts underneath the paint coating. It lasts a long time though. Nothing is acid proof if bathed in the stuff long enough.
Folks cared less and less about what was going on under the hood as the old cars aged. A seepy battery terminal or a loose cap with an overfilled battery would likely have been ignored by a previous owner.
That battery box paint by Randolph is likely a bituminous type paint. It goes on relatively thick and especially if applied with a brush. It is resistant to acid spillage but it has a tendency to crack with age and then the corrosion starts underneath the paint coating. It lasts a long time though. Nothing is acid proof if bathed in the stuff long enough.
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