Moparts

restoring LCA's

Posted By: burdar

restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 04:16 AM

My LCA's looked very rusty and I was positive there would be heavy pitting that would need to be filled. I just got them back from being sand blasted and they look really good. You can still see the date codes on the rivets. I'm wondering if I should even paint them now or leave them bare metal and treat them with RPM.

Does anyone have any tips on restoring a set of LCA's? I know they aren't going to look exactly correct since they've been blasted but they really look too nice to paint with Seymour Stainless Steel paint.

Will rubbing them down with steel wool be enough to take away the blasted look or is there something better?(that won't leave scratch marks) Should the swaybar bracket welds be heated to get the coloring back before RPMing?
Thanks
Posted By: Cuda Cody

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 05:19 AM

This might be of some help....

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/show...&PHPSESSID=


You could wire wheel them if you want a nicer finish.

Good luck and post some photos once you get done.
Posted By: rayztoy

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 01:31 PM

Darren,
Maybe this pic will help... NOS, courtesy of a board member here, but can't remember who...

Ray

Attached picture 7002600-2678622-NOSlowercontrolarm.jpg
Posted By: MrNormsTA

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 02:38 PM

I used Krylon battery protectant in a shaker can. Looks pretty close to cosmoline, dries hard, and was good enough for my non OE perfect resto.

Rick.

Posted By: burdar

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 03:05 PM

I picked up a can of the battery protector awhile ago. It's either that or Resto Ricks cosmoline paint.

I guess unless someone says different, I'm going to rub the arms down with steel wool, darken the lower ball joint end, darken the torsion bar socket, darken the rivet heads, spray the cosmoline and finally RPM the thing.
Posted By: Cuda Cody

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 04:54 PM

There's several way to do it, just how perfect do you want them? I love what David does with his level of restorations, but my experience with RPM hasn't been that great. I thought I might have gotten a bad batch, but when I called they said that wasn't the case.

Do you plan on driving your car or just a show car for OE judging? Anyway, here's a few I did testing colors and techniques.

[image]http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=81034.0;attach=146718;image[/image]

[image]http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=81034.0;attach=146719;image[/image]

Attached picture 7002803-DSC00114.JPG
Posted By: burdar

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 05:04 PM

None of your links work.

I've had great success with RPM. My spindles, calipers, tie rods, adjuster, center link, strut rods and many other componants are all bare metal treated with RPM.

The car will get driven but not in bad weather. RPM's abrasive tests have shown it to hold up well to road debris.
Posted By: rayztoy

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 05:43 PM

Darren,
Could you post some pics of the suspension parts that you treated with RPM? Also, how were the parts prepared before the RPM, bead blast, sand blast, acid wash, etc? I'm looking to see if they are different shades/colors to each part as they came in different shades/colors from the factory. TIA
Ray
Posted By: Cuda Cody

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 06:53 PM

Hi Darren,

Sorry about the links, they were just photos. One photo is shown in the post above and the other is just a close up.

Please do not take my experience with RPM for anything other then what it is. Just my experience. I'm glad you've had good luck with it. I've heard soooo many great things about it and seen many others on here with nothing but glowing reviews of the product. That coupled with the work that Dave does led me to believe I had a bad batch and that's why I called. Based on what others have done with it and seeing what Dave does I would still recommend others that are doing OE Gold restorations try the product. For me, I went a different route. Since I will drive my cars in good weather, but still wanted a stock look I chose to blend 4 colors with air brush to achieve a similar look to cosmoline but with longer durability.

Based on the other work I've seen you do, I'm sure whatever product you choose it will look fantastic.

I look forward to seeing your car once it's all done. It should be one of the nicest!

Have a great day.

Quote:

None of your links work.

I've had great success with RPM. My spindles, calipers, tie rods, adjuster, center link, strut rods and many other componants are all bare metal treated with RPM.

The car will get driven but not in bad weather. RPM's abrasive tests have shown it to hold up well to road debris.

Posted By: burdar

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 06:54 PM

I can take some pictures. The calipers were reman units that were fairly dark right out of the box. The RPM didn't change their color at all. I sand blasted the spindles and caliper brackets. I darkened them by spraying them with black oxide solution. They turned a nice gray color but once RPM was applied, they got much darker...too dark...but still look better then paint IMO.

The center link and strut rods were put in a piece of PVC filled with muriatic acid. Once the rust was gone, I filled the pipe with baking soda water. They soaked in that over night. Then I rinced them with regular water, blew them dry and RPMed them right way.
Posted By: Troy

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 07:18 PM

Quote:

Darren,
Maybe this pic will help... NOS, courtesy of a board member here, but can't remember who...

Ray





.....but I dont remember where I got it from.
Posted By: rayztoy

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/05/12 07:25 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Darren,
Maybe this pic will help... NOS, courtesy of a board member here, but can't remember who...

Ray





.....but I dont remember where I got it from.



CRS Syndrome (can't remember sh_t)... very contagious...
Posted By: NV69B7RR

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/06/12 01:04 AM

You should be able to smooth out the metal with different grades of steel wool.

If you use the Krylon battery spray, do it before RPM...DAMHIK..
Posted By: burdar

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/06/12 03:53 AM

Here are a few pictures. This car was very rusty and a lot of the suspension parts do have some pitting.

This is a reman caliper I bought many years ago. It was pulled from the box, disassembled and RPMed. The hose ends were also RPMed.


Here is one of the spindles. It was sand blasted. I wanted to try and darken it a little so it wouldn't have that blasted color. Once it was RPMed, it did get too dark but I still like the look of it. All the parts were RPMed seperately, then assembled. The lower ball joint is the color it came...I didn't try to darken it at all.


Here are the tie rod ends, center link and strut rods. The tie rods are new, the other componants are original to the car. These parts(except the new tie rods) were acid dipped to remove the rust. I did lightly wire wheel and steel wool the tie rod sleeves and clamps. One side of the car had the 70-72 style clamp nuts with the nylon pellits. The other side had the 73-74 style lock nuts.
Posted By: Cuda Cody

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/06/12 06:47 PM

Great job on the parts Darren! They look really nice.
Posted By: rayztoy

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/06/12 06:50 PM

Darren,
Thanks for posting the pics and what was done to each part. LOOKS AWESOME!!!
Posted By: JohnRR

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/06/12 07:24 PM

Quote:



If you use the Krylon battery spray, do it before RPM...DAMHIK..



Isn't battery spray basically a paint ?? Is Rpm made to be put on painted parts ?

Why would you put RPM on a part you were going to paint ?
Posted By: Runnin74

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/06/12 07:59 PM

Quote:



Here is one of the spindles. It was sand blasted. I wanted to try and darken it a little so it wouldn't have that blasted color. Once it was RPMed, it did get too dark but I still like the look of it. All the parts were RPMed seperately, then assembled. The lower ball joint is the color it came...I didn't try to darken it at all.







Burdar, Are the nuts and bolts on that spindle assembly supposed to be black phosphate?
Posted By: burdar

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/06/12 09:10 PM

Yes, the bolts are supposed to be phosphate. I'll take another look at the fastener guide tonight but I'm possitive that's what it says. The caliper bracket bolts still had blue thread locker on them. I put more on the threads before assembly.

Probably 10 years ago, I painted all these parts with POR-15.(except the calipers) It has been a lot of work stripping that junk off to get them bare metal. POR-Strip works great at removing the POR-15 though. Regualar stripper doesn't touch it.
Posted By: 70runner

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/07/12 02:43 AM

Eastwood gold tint; also used the lower reinforcements.



Posted By: curbman68

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/08/12 01:00 AM

Quote:

Eastwood gold tint; also used the lower reinforcements.






Little off topic, but what year did the sway bar mount move from the end near the shock bolt to the middle near the rubber bumper?
Posted By: autoxcuda

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/08/12 02:50 AM

Quote:

Quote:

Eastwood gold tint; also used the lower reinforcements.






Little off topic, but what year did the sway bar mount move from the end near the shock bolt to the middle near the rubber bumper?



1970 B-bodies. All E-bodies.

And 73-76 A-bodies.
Posted By: curbman68

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/08/12 04:11 AM

Quote:



1970 B-bodies. All E-bodies.

And 73-76 A-bodies.



Thanks!
Posted By: autoxcuda

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/08/12 04:23 AM

Quote:

Quote:



1970 B-bodies. All E-bodies.

And 73-76 A-bodies.



Thanks!



Just FYI, the 73-76 A-body LCA do not enterchange with the 70-72 B and 70-74 E body LCA's.
Posted By: curbman68

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/08/12 02:17 PM

Quote:



Just FYI, the 73-76 A-body LCA do not enterchange with the 70-72 B and 70-74 E body LCA's.



I have a set here that I have had laying around probably close to 20 years, got them as spares and never used them. I knew they were B body, but was trying to figure out what years they covered. Never paid attention to the sway bar brackets before, kind of threw me off.
Posted By: THESHAKERPROJECT

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/08/12 11:09 PM

Quote:

Quote:



Here is one of the spindles. It was sand blasted. I wanted to try and darken it a little so it wouldn't have that blasted color. Once it was RPMed, it did get too dark but I still like the look of it. All the parts were RPMed seperately, then assembled. The lower ball joint is the color it came...I didn't try to darken it at all.








































Burdar, Are the nuts and bolts on that spindle assembly supposed to be black phosphate?

Yes...... the nut and bolts should be black phosphate and would be a bit darker greyish black color. All the ball joint and ti rod castle nuts are black phosphate . The reat strut nuts are black phosphate but I think the front ones are silver zink.
Posted By: burdar

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/15/12 04:00 AM

I sprayed the Battery Protectant today AND just figured out how to post a cell phone pic. I still need to RPM the lower ball joint end but I'm happy with the way it looks.

Posted By: rc68rr

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/15/12 04:29 AM

Is the upper & lower control arms on a 68 RR bare or how are they finished ? Thanks.
Posted By: THESHAKERPROJECT

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/15/12 06:03 PM

I used the stainless steel paint and then Eastwoods cosmoline type coating. You have to coat them a few times to get it this dark. The flash make em look lighter. A cast iron look post in the best of section (posted by Troy)has some great tips for the lowers as well as other cast parts. On cast iron parts , if you glass bead and just clear it (RPM/satin clear ect) it usually has a shined up look rather than a darker just cast look . Im workin on a few parts now to try to get that look without paint. Just my

Attached picture 7019859-IMG_1403.JPG
Posted By: ScottSmith_Harms

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/15/12 06:22 PM

The question you have to ask yourself is what results are you looking for, O.E. production line original or just something similar in color that looks attractive.
Posted By: autoxcuda

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/15/12 07:41 PM

Quote:

I used the stainless steel paint and then Eastwoods cosmoline type coating. You have to coat them a few times to get it this dark. The flash make em look lighter. A cast iron look post in the best of section (posted by Troy)has some great tips for the lowers as well as other cast parts. On cast iron parts , if you glass bead and just clear it (RPM/satin clear ect) it usually has a shined up look rather than a darker just cast look . Im workin on a few parts now to try to get that look without paint. Just my



Here's that thread: https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/show...&PHPSESSID=
Posted By: screamindriver

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/15/12 08:46 PM

Quote:

The question you have to ask yourself is what results are you looking for, O.E. production line original or just something similar in color that looks attractive.

Here's one before the RPM days...ALL PAINT...For a driver...Still looks this way after a few years...

Attached picture 7020154-73spindleassy.jpg
Posted By: autoxcuda

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/15/12 09:36 PM

Quote:

Quote:

The question you have to ask yourself is what results are you looking for, O.E. production line original or just something similar in color that looks attractive.

Here's one before the RPM days...ALL PAINT...For a driver...Still looks this way after a few years...



Nice work.

Also, RPM is just a clear protective coating. What's under the RPM will still show through.

So if someone just bead blasts all their spindle, bolts, hardware, calipers etc then RPM's it. It will still look like it is all one color. No matter if it was as casted iron, machined cast iron, a bolt, washer, stamped sheet steel, etc... And IMHO not any better or more correct looking than spray bombing everything.
Posted By: THESHAKERPROJECT

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/15/12 09:46 PM

That looks great !!! More of a true cast iron look instead of the blasted then clearcoat look. I just re-did some parts by cleaning/glassbead/ then soakin the parts in PPG DX520 metal conditioner . I got a nice greyish darkened look like the pic above. I got the DX520 tip from another member on Moparts. I will try to post some pics later.
Posted By: rayztoy

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/15/12 11:18 PM

Quote:

I sprayed the Battery Protectant today AND just figured out how to post a cell phone pic. I still need to RPM the lower ball joint end but I'm happy with the way it looks.

Very nice Darren...
Posted By: burdar

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/16/12 12:29 AM

Thanks Ray... I RPM'd both the arms today. I coated the entire arm...not just the one end. The RPM didn't affect the paint at all and it adds another layer of protection. You can't tell by that picture but I did darken the cast end that the lower ball joint attaches to. Once it was RPM'd, the color difference really showed up. I agree with Steve, just blasting a part and leaving everything the same color doesn't look the best.
Posted By: rayztoy

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/16/12 11:12 PM

Quote:

just blasting a part and leaving everything the same color doesn't look the best.



Posted By: astjp2

Re: restoring LCA's - 01/17/12 05:56 AM

Best cosmoline I ever found!

http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/product_cat.php/subid=10183/index.html
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