Brake component finish

[Vin-tin]

Do the e-brake and service cross shafts, brake rods, and flat return springs all get painted semi-gloss?
Or are they painted a matte black like the chassis?
How did Ford do it. I didn't see this anywhere in the judging standards.

[Kevin in NJ]

Generally small parts are dip painted so they would be a gloss black enamel.

[Vin-tin]

Thanks Kevin. According to the JS not all small chassis parts were gloss. Many more were semi-gloss. That's why I ask.

[Bob Bidonde]

Ford and its suppliers used a Japan process for black paint applications on mechanical parts. That is, they were just dipped in black enamel paint. I doubt that gloss was a Ford specification, and it's likely that different suppliers of parts used different brands of paint. So in my opinion, the JS have no basis of differentiating gloss black and semi-gloss black unless there is a Ford drawing specifying so.

Some will argue they see semi-gloss black on NOS parts. Over time, the gloss dies so a NOS or original part is not a good indicator of gloss. About the best can be said, it is black enamel and that likely had a gloss back in the Model A production era.

[Bob Bidonde]

Ford and its suppliers used a Japan process for black paint applications on mechanical parts. That is, they were just dipped in black enamel paint. I doubt that gloss was a Ford specification, and it's likely that different suppliers of parts used different brands of paint. So in my opinion, the JS have no basis of differentiating gloss black and semi-gloss black unless there is a Ford drawing specifying so.

Some will argue they see semi-gloss black on NOS parts. Over time, the gloss dies, so a NOS or original part is not a good indicator of gloss. About the best can be said, it is black enamel and that likely had a gloss back in the Model A

[Gary Karr]

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The brake cross shafts were dipped and had a gloss finish. The ends, also dipped, were installed after painting. They were also dipped. The brake rod return springs were dipped. I have several NOS ones with sizable puddles of paint dried on the bottom edges. The brake rods were dipped but the threads were covered with a sheath so they would not be filled with paint.

[Larry Jenkins]

Japan Black was/is either a lacquer or a varnish. (Wikipedia)

Larry

[ian Simpson]

From Wikipedia, not the best and most trusted resource, but perhaps sufficient for our purposes:

Automobile use[edit]

Japan black's popularity was due in part to its durability as an automotive finish. However, it was the ability of japan black to dry quickly that made it a favorite of early mass-produced automobiles such as Henry Ford's Model T. The Ford company's reliance on japan black led Henry Ford to quip "Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black".[3]

While other colors were available for automotive finishes, early colored variants of automotive lacquers could take up to 14 days to cure, whereas japan black would cure in 48 hours or less. Thus variously colored pre-1925 car bodies were usually consigned to special orders, or custom bodied luxury automobiles.

The development of quick-drying nitrocellulose lacquers (pyroxylins) which could be colored to suit the needs of the buying public in the 1920s led to the disuse of japan black by the end of the 1920s. In 1924, General Motors introduced "True Blue" Duco (a product of DuPont) nitrocellulose lacquer on its 1925 model Oakland automobile marque products.

Ford's formulations[edit]

Ford used two formulations of japan black, F-101 and F-102 (renamed M-101 and M-102 after March 15, 1922). F-101, the "First Coat Black Elastic Japan", was used as the basic coat applied directly to the metal, while F-102, "Finish Coat Elastic Black Japan", was applied over the first layer. Their compositions were similar: 25–35% asphalt and 10% linseed oil with lead and iron-based dryers, dissolved in 55% thinners (mineral spirits, turpentine substitute or naphtha). The F-101 also had 1–3% of carbon black added as a pigment. The asphalt used in the Ford formulations was specified to be Gilsonite. This has long been used in formulations of paint for use on ironware[4] as it increases the elasticity of the paint layer, allowing it to adhere to steel subjected to vibration, deformation and thermal expansion without cracking or peeling. It is also cheap, yields a glossy dark surface, and acts as a curing agent for the oil.

It would bode us well if we used evidence based research before broadcasting our opinions.

[ian Simpson]

Further to my #9 above, when I worked in British Railways Wolverton Works that built and still refurbishes railway coaches, Japan Black was used to coat all iron and steel below the body sides. The underframes and trucks (bogies) were liberally coated as a rust preventative that appears to have worked well. According to a colleague who finished his apprenticeship before WW1, the process had been used since before his time in the works.

Mr. Ford appears to have used the best practices of the day.

[Larry Jenkins]

I think I read a long time ago that Ford dipped the Model A front (rear too?) fenders in Japan Black.

I wonder if that was true.. Maybe it was the enamel (varnish) type?

Larry

[Vin-tin]

Originally Posted by Gary Karr

The brake cross shafts were dipped and had a gloss finish. The ends, also dipped, were installed after painting. They were also dipped. The brake rod return springs were dipped. I have several NOS ones with sizable puddles of paint dried on the bottom edges. The brake rods were dipped but the threads were covered with a sheath so they would not be filled with paint.

Thanks Gary. That's the kind of detail I was looking for. Thanks to everyone else also. Good info here.
I'm planning on doing some painting this weekend.

[Tinbasher]

I love the info that comes out of this group. Amazing stuff.

John Poole

[Kevin in NJ]

I recommend that anyone interested in how things were painted that they read the Paint Handbook put out by the clubs. It is a summary of the research on how Ford painted and what the paints were like.

FWIW, the dip tanks were an enamel paint floated on heated water. The process essentially gave the parts 2 coats of enamel.