Painting brake drums

[Tom Getz]

I have a 1923 Buick touring car and want to refinish and paint the brake drums and shoes. Because of the heat sometimes generated by the braking; what kind of paint should I use?

[Bhigdog]

I've used both POR-15 and Rustoleum. Both are doing fine with no heat issues..........................Bob

[Rusty_OToole]

Use any kind of paint you want. They don't get that hot. When new they did not use any special paint, just whatever they used on the rest of the chassis.

You can paint a motor with ordinary paint and it won't burn or discolor except on the exhaust system.

In the interest of brake cooling 1 or 2 thin coats of black semi gloss would be best but, if rapid cooling is not an issue, use whatever you like.

[Guest Hudson33]

Glad to se the thread as I am about to finish rear end. The brake drums are 12 " internal and external so the drum is visible behind the wooden spokes and I had it painted yellow, but masked off the external side. Was not sure how much heat would get to the "yellow" Thanks for tip

F

[kings32]

If you drive your cars and use the brakes hard ,most paints will not stay on . I have use even engine paint . I am doing a 1930 Oakland I did the drums with ceramic , Talk to your local Powder coat company . They did my manifolds. Kings32

[Rusty_OToole]

You must be using those brakes hard.

[kings32]

Yes we use our cars .My 1932 chevy has been on 11 Glidden Tours. They where not built to set in the drive way.

[Beltfed]

I have a small firearm refinishing shop. Our market is mainly military weapons. These tend to get very hot with extended firing sessions. Heat dissipation is a major concern with these types of weapons plus durability of finish. Powder coating is not what you want to get heat out of your drums in MHO. We use a product called "Gun Koat". It comes in a number of different colors and finishes. If it will handle a Ma Duce (M2 Browning 50 cal. Machine gun) heat then your brake drums are not a problem.

[Curti]

Beltfed, would you recommend 'Gun Koat' for exhaust manifolds?

[Beltfed]

Curti, Yes and no. This coating was designed to disapate heat while being a very hard and durable finish. Unless you've done it, you wouldn't believe how much abuse a 'grunt' gives his weapon system. If used on the manifold it will not cut down on the engine bay temperature. There are other coatings designed to do that. As far a handling the heat no problem. Also great for radiators.

"Gun Kote (I misspelled Kote the first time) was developed for the Navy Seals weapons. Be aware, once applied only grit or sand blasting will take if off. I have yet to find any chemical that will bother it. If interested get on the web site and read up on it as some metal prep is required. This is a baked on finish so send your bride to visit her mother before using her oven. The curing smell is not unpleasant. If your parts are preheated to around 120 degrees it will dry on contact and parts are easily handled. Coating thickness is 0.0003".

No, I do not work for or have interest in this company other than using their products.

[Curti]

Thank you Beltfed. The coatings that claim to dissipate heat may well do so, but not to anything noticeable in my old cars. Baking manifolds and heating ring gears in the stove is done when I am alone in the house.

My wife is really understanding, she has a few antique cars of her own, however............................

Do you find the rattle can variety as good as the product designed for a spray gun?

What do you use for gun blue? A product I might use for distributor cap clips or spark plug bases.

[Beltfed]

I have never used the rattle can but would use it if it was a once and done thing. We buy in gallons for colors we use most often and air brush it on. Sometime 16 fl. oz. cans for custom colors. We once did a M-16 in pink for a guys wife. He wanted to make sure his wife knew which one was hers.

We do not blue firearms due to the polishing necessary to do it correctly, people just don't want to pay for it. I would use parkerizing to coat a sparkplug base to a charcoal color. As I understand it Henry Ford brought this finish back from England to use in his manufacturing of car and parts. The finish you see on original tools and such is parkerizing. We use iron phosphate and not zinc phosphate to get the darker color people prefer.

If you don't mind, a question for you. We have been thinking of starting to do tools, jacks, etc. with this dark parkerizing to make them look new, NOS if you will. Do you think there's much of a maket for such a thing? I have a car buddy who collects Ford marked wrenches. I have done several for him and he loves it. Thanks.

[Curti]

I think tools will sell IF you know what tools came with what car. Early Fords are easy. Chevrolet and probably other GM cars used Velchek in the 30's & 40's. I have been doing 34-36 Auburns for 20+ years and still don't know what was in the tool roll. That is a science all of it's own.

I parkerize fasteners with manganese phosphate for black and zinc for the light grey finishes. No electrolysis involved.