CAD Plating Protection??

[slikside]

I just had my original Delco Morraine brake booster, brackets, master cylinder cap and bails replated. I was wondering if there was a way to protect these finishes for the long term, or are these finishes in themselves the best protection?......I don't know. Was wondering about a clear coat or something? Your thoughts appreciated.

Thanks guys.

[jocko]

I think it is the latter - leave them alone. Any coating would probably flake, especailly exposed to the occasional brake fluid dowsing. As they are now, if you get something on them, you can wipe em off.

[slikside]

Yeah, it occurs to me that I'm asking about protection for a protective coating, but just wondering.....

[slikside]

Any other opinions?

[custom1970]

I clear coated mine on my firebird several years ago and it still looks new. I painted the one on my truck with cast blast paint which looks pretty good, but not as good as a new. Sorry for the blurry pic, only one i had

[davepl]

They will last for years on plating alone. A clear coat might extend that. If I had my druthers I'd have a clear powder coat baked on, that'd probably be indestructible and continue to look like new for a long time.

[jocko]

never thought of that approach, that's a good idea (pc'ing it)
one consideration is cost... a booster isn't a fortune, so if it goes bad down the road, you'd have wasted almost enough money to buy half a new one on powder to protect one that might need to be replaced. Voo Doo economics...

[davepl]

Originally Posted by jocko

never thought of that approach, that's a good idea (pc'ing it)
one consideration is cost... a booster isn't a fortune, so if it goes bad down the road, you'd have wasted almost enough money to buy half a new one on powder to protect one that might need to be replaced. Voo Doo economics...

Unfortunately most replacement boosters I've seen are just painted black, to save replating the core I guess.

[slikside]

Originally Posted by custom1970

I clear coated mine on my firebird several years ago and it still looks new. I painted the one on my truck with cast blast paint which looks pretty good, but not as good as a new. Sorry for the blurry pic, only one i had

It is kind of hard to tell, but from I can see, that booster looks bright as heck....nice! My only concern w/ the clear coat is what will it look like when the clear coat starts to break down, and how long will that be? I can imagine a booster looking like a pealed clear coat on an old car (I have 2 of those!) after some time, and I don't want that either.

Originally Posted by davepl

They will last for years on plating alone. A clear coat might extend that. If I had my druthers I'd have a clear powder coat baked on, that'd probably be indestructible and continue to look like new for a long time.

Yeah, that does sound tough as nails. But gotta draw the line somewhere. For me, just deciding to keep my original components, and having them rebuilt and replated cost more than I was planning to spend. And I already had the the two other braces for the booster plus the prop valve bracket p/c'd in a satin black. My brake components under the hood will FAR outshine anything else under there!

Originally Posted by jocko

never thought of that approach, that's a good idea (pc'ing it)
one consideration is cost... a booster isn't a fortune, so if it goes bad down the road, you'd have wasted almost enough money to buy half a new one on powder to protect one that might need to be replaced. Voo Doo economics...

I won't be p/cing mine, but you could always have it rebuilt if you did. But I get your point. Voo Doo economics.....that's a good one!

Originally Posted by davepl

Unfortunately most replacement boosters I've seen are just painted black, to save replating the core I guess.

Yep. Unless you take/ship it to a rebuild shop as I did, all the boosters that I found were painted too. And that's fine. But I've had my truck for 30 years, and all the major brake components were original. I just couldn't turn them in as cores. And I didn't want them laying around for years if I kept them. So I bit the bullet and had them all done...