When I went to steam the guy up last week, the paint soften up. This became apparent when I needed to tighten up one of the sight glass nuts as it started to leak under pressure. When I put my wrench on, it touch the silver paint and made a mess of it.
I basically didn't read the instructions of the Rust-Oleum High Heat Paint, which requires 450° @1 hour cure. I thought that curing temperature was for the paint to withstand 1,000°. The 450° @1 hour isn't possible with these engines, especially with the leaded parts (whistle, PV, elbows). So lightly re-painted and tried a 325° @2 hours. Actually the top silver got more like 4 hours as I did the baking for the top, then the bottom.
Next I am going to just leave it alone for a bit. I am off to Texas later this week and won't be back until after Thanksgiving. Then I'll try a steam test again. Hopefully I got the sight seals good. One thing about the silicone seals I have, I think they are a bit to long for these older style leaded fittings. So shaved a bit off of them. That way the seals aren't getting squashed before the first thread engages.
On the good news side of things, the tank sealer seems to be holding and I am not seeing anything going wrong when look into it from the PV square hole. Anyways, I know what to look for once it heats up. If the paint gets tacky (I'll test behind the wheel), I let it cool down and it will be a shelf item. Which as of now, it looks pretty good next to my TV :-)
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
Home
Search
Today's Posts
Login
Register