85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"

[rustytruck50]

Very slick looking piece.....wish those had been around when I was working on my '82.

[N2TRUX]

Chris and I worked on multiple projects today. I finally won my battle with the bugger welded headers. It took several tries fill the holes and smooth the welds.
I applied several light coatswitch of air dry Cerakote glacier silver. I'm pleased with the results but I think the color may be to bright.

[moregrip]

two thumbs up!

[UKNOWME]

Curious why you didn't just buy new headers?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by moregrip

two thumbs up!

Thanks

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

Curious why you didn't just buy new headers?

Why? There's nothing wrong with the headers that would warrant replacing them. They are well made, just modified by the original installer to better clear components. The concept was good but the execution was poor. We corrected that by adding collectors. Unfortunately we could not access all of the poorly done welds with the headers in place, so we agreed to repair the welds once removed.
While repairing the old welds we encountered holes in the union. If my welder was working I could have repaired them as I ground the welds. Instead I had to make multiple trips to the muffler shop.
In hindsight I should have taken the time to find replacement parts for my welder.

[N2TRUX]

Chris and I worked on multiple projects yesterday. He masked and prepped the inner fenders and core support while I worked on the headers.

We cleaned and bead blasted, then sanded, prepped and painted more small parts and brackets. The parts are small but still consume time to prepare properly.

[N2TRUX]

After my dinner break I focused on the leaky power steering pump. I couldn't tell if my leak was from the pump, hoses, or steering box.

I inspected the pump and decided it was cheap insurance to replace it and eliminate one possible source. I bought a fresh unit and started the tear down process.

With a puller/press tool rented from Auto Zone the greasy pulley and brackets was stripped from the old pump. It took lots of scrubbing and blasting but the parts were eventually cleaned up. I verified that the old parts would fit the new pump then painted them all with cast iron.

[superdav]

Have you used the air dry Cerakote before? Durable?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by superdav

Have you used the air dry Cerakote before? Durable?

This is my first experience with Cerakote. I have read great reviews on their products or I thought I would try it. It lays on very nicely and takes minimal material to cover. Once cured it has a nice satin sheen that seems durable. I will know soon enough how will it works.

[N2TRUX]

Sunday was productive on this project. I hit the shop early while Chris went to Church with the family. I put the power steering pump parts together so its a working unit now. When Chris arrived, he started cleaning up hard and soft lines. We decided to spray them with Dupli-color stainless steel rather than polishing.

I analyzed the condition of the plug wires to determine if they should be replaced. They are 8MM silicone wires and are actually in good condition. Besides being oily and having having ugly yellow lettering they were very usable. I cleaned the oil and removed the letters. The cap was new, so I gave it a coat of paint. Thats money in the bank right there.

[superdav]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

This is my first experience with Cerakote. I have read great reviews on their products or I thought I would try it. It lays on very nicely and takes minimal material to cover. Once cured it has a nice satin sheen that seems durable. I will know soon enough how will it works.

Ill find out how the bake on is soon, I have a Glock i'm going to Cerakote pink

[N2TRUX]

Last week my buddy Jared came over and was looking at the progress. We talked about the satin black under the hood and decided it needed to go. The decision was made to paint the inner fenders, back and top of core support body color.

Jared works at a body shop with his Dad and said he had some materials left over from a job that would be a match. To prepare we sprayed a good covering of epoxy primer to seal things up and let it cure. Chris scuffed everything down and prepped it for the top coat.

On Sunday Jared brought the materials needed to spray under the hood and we added some color. Note that my flash makes the color look too orange. This match is much closer than the pics show.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by superdav

Ill find out how the bake on is soon, I have a Glock i'm going to Cerakote pink

The bake on is a fantastic product and has become the standard of the firearms industry. From what I know you will be very pleased.
In the past I have successfully used VHT ceramic exhaust paints. I used the last I had spraying the exhaust and it appears to be no longer available. I decided to research an alternative and discovered Cerakote air dry. The reviews were good enough to encourage me to try it out. It's not cheap, but the results so far make me feel it was a good decision.

[N2TRUX]

One more piece of the puzzle finished last night. The red paint I sprayed is taking forever to cure so I left it alone.
Instead, I worked on getting the radiator ready to go back in.

As I worked on stripping the old paint off the tanks and straightening the fins I made a discovery. As you can see this radiator is the real deal.

You don't find brass tanks and a copper core too often. Usually the tanks are plastic with aluminum cores. I was pleased to see old school technology at work.

[mcbassin]

Looks great Ken! All your hard work is paying off....

[aggie91]

Looking good.

Wonder why that paint is taking so long to cure. Did you use the correct hardener and reducer for the temps you are working in? If it’s a catalyzed paint, then is should cure in 24 hours I would think.

[83GMCK2500]

Some more excellent progress and good looking work. Did one of the radiator tanks happen to have Harrison stamped in it? I've seen that on those older ones from time to time.

[moregrip]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Last week my buddy Jared came over and was looking at the progress. We talked about the satin black under the hood and decided it needed to go. The decision was made to paint the inner fenders, back and top of core support body color.

Jared works at a body shop with his Dad and said he had some materials left over from a job that would be a match. To prepare we sprayed a good covering of epoxy primer to seal things up and let it cure. Chris scuffed everything down and prepped it for the top coat.

On Sunday Jared brought the materials needed to spray under the hood and we added some color. Note that my flash makes the color look too orange. This match is much closer than the pics show.

I haven't seen that too often, interested to see how she comes together, nice choices!

[daddyjeep]

It's kind of a shame you painted that radiator. A coat of clear would have showed off that brass.

[moregrip]

did you already cover this maybe....what do you use to straighten the fins?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looks great Ken! All your hard work is paying off....

Thank you sir.

Originally Posted by aggie91

Looking good.
Wonder why that paint is taking so long to cure. Did you use the correct hardener and reducer for the temps you are working in? If it’s a catalyzed paint, then is should cure in 24 hours I would think.

Long story, but the short version is this. I told that adding the clear coat hardner would give me a softer sheen by the painter at my buddies shop. I took it upon myself the double the reducer so I could apply multiple thin coats because of poor access to apply.
The more coats I added the more shine I got, so I started adding more catalyst. We aren't sure if it was too much reducer or catalyst that caused it.
The end result is a self inflicted shiny mess that we aren't sure what to do with. I can either top coat it or strip it. I'm going to wait one more day to decide.

[87max]

maybe I missed it but its a single stage you used that glossed high?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

Some more excellent progress and good looking work. Did one of the radiator tanks happen to have Harrison stamped in it? I've seen that on those older ones from time to time.

I am familiar with the Harrison brand, but I didn't see and logo or name stamped.

Originally Posted by moregrip

I haven't seen that too often, interested to see how she comes together, nice choices!

Thank you

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

It's kind of a shame you painted that radiator. A coat of clear would have showed off that brass.

I considered that for about a minute. It wouldn't match my colors and would have required a lot more polishing to make me happy.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by 87max

maybe I missed it but its a single stage you used that glossed high?

That part of the long story I left out. This is actually a bc/cc or two stage paint. The painter said by using the clear hardener in the base color it would give it a,satin sheen and wouldn't require a top coat. After talking to a PPG expert I discovered where I went wrong. He said you can fudge the system like that but it's discouraged. Of the many things I did wrong was make the assumption that more is better. By adding more of the clear hardener than suggested I was creating more shine and extending the cure time. I juiced the heck out of the last few coats so I really shot myself in the foot

Originally Posted by moregrip

did you already cover this maybe....what do you use to straighten the fins?

I use a small flat blade screw driver and a brass wire brush combined with a lot of patience.

[LDO]

Is that cast iron paint on the fan and P/S pump? If so, what brand did you use VHT? Sorry if this is covered already. Your thread is an amazing reference of info for me. Thanks for taking the time to post it and answer all my questions.