The Ford Barn

Bruce/CT · 10-23-2011, 04:13 PM

Hi,

Spent the afternoon stripping black paint off my brass upper radiator tank. It has a bunch of dings. Will not use Bondo to fill them and I can't get at the back to tap them out. Is lead the way to go? Plan to paint the upper tank in Gloss Black and the fins in Heat Resistant Black (Barbeque paint)? Does this sound correct for 36 Ford?
Thanks,
Bruce

rotorwrench · 10-23-2011, 05:26 PM

Brass was used on radiators for a number of reasons and one was how well tin/lead solder sticks to it. If you can't easily get the tank de-soldered for removal then soldering would likely be your best fix. The drawback is smoothing lead requires filing or sanding the surface down. The brass is pretty thin so you don't want to damage it any further during the process but it can be done. If you get too close to one of the OEM solder joints with the heat, you can do some damage there too if not careful.

Kerby

ford38v8 · 10-23-2011, 07:19 PM

Bruce, Find an old fashioned radiator shop in your vicinity, and get the job done right the first time. Have the radiator boiled out, which will remove the old paint and clean the core. Have the shop remove the tanks so you can work the dings out of the top tank, while the shop does a rod-out on your core, assuring free flow through all tubes. They will reassemble, solder, and pressure test for you.

They would normally repaint, but be sure to decline, as you will want a better paint job than a radiator shop is used to providing. Do not use the paint you described. Use Eastwood Radiator gloss Black, or equivalent. Spray the core lightly, as the more paint you use on it the less efficient it will be in cooling the water.

Lawson Cox · 10-23-2011, 08:07 PM

Good advice there Alan.

DavidG · 10-23-2011, 08:24 PM

Ford did not use gloss paint for radiators, at least not in the early part of the V-8 era, including the 1936 models.

Bruce/CT · 10-23-2011, 09:26 PM

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Thanks for the replies.

The radiator shop came highly recommended by several diffent car guys. Hopefully they did a good cleaning. They put it back together even though I told them I wanted the top first. They did a real SHITTY job painting. The top is all alligatored. I don't know what they did in the painting. I didn't realize how many dings it had until they painted it glossy.
I stripped all their paint today. I'll carefully lead the dings on it and then repaint with Eastwood product.
Thanks,
Bruce

ford38v8 · 10-24-2011, 01:03 AM

DavidG, Good catch. My booboo, I really did mean satin. I don't know about the early models, but on the late 30's, the side baffles were gloss & the radiator itself was flat. Eastwood seems to be the only supplier these days, and they don't carry the flat anymore. It's either gloss or satin, 300º thin acrylic enamel.

Bruce, if you specified your needs and they disregarded your instructions, sorry to say you shouldn't have accepted the radiator. The same thing happened to me and I had them put it through the hot tank again to remove the crummy paint they put on.

If by some chance you are able to get them to honor your request and remove the top tank (worth a try), so you can bump out the dings, go a step further and fabricate an inner brace to solder onto the large flat plane of that top tank. This is important if you ever plan to put a pressure cap on that tank, as the pressure will oilcan the unusually flat panel on the '36 Ford, stressing the seams to the point of failure.

10-23-2011, 04:13 PM	#1
Bruce/CT Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Middlebury, CT Posts: 780	Ford brass radiator upper tank dings Hi, Spent the afternoon stripping black paint off my brass upper radiator tank. It has a bunch of dings. Will not use Bondo to fill them and I can't get at the back to tap them out. Is lead the way to go? Plan to paint the upper tank in Gloss Black and the fins in Heat Resistant Black (Barbeque paint)? Does this sound correct for 36 Ford? Thanks, Bruce

10-23-2011, 05:26 PM	#2
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,436	Re: Ford brass radiator upper tank dings Brass was used on radiators for a number of reasons and one was how well tin/lead solder sticks to it. If you can't easily get the tank de-soldered for removal then soldering would likely be your best fix. The drawback is smoothing lead requires filing or sanding the surface down. The brass is pretty thin so you don't want to damage it any further during the process but it can be done. If you get too close to one of the OEM solder joints with the heat, you can do some damage there too if not careful. Kerby

10-23-2011, 07:19 PM	#3
ford38v8 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 6,646	Re: Ford brass radiator upper tank dings Bruce, Find an old fashioned radiator shop in your vicinity, and get the job done right the first time. Have the radiator boiled out, which will remove the old paint and clean the core. Have the shop remove the tanks so you can work the dings out of the top tank, while the shop does a rod-out on your core, assuring free flow through all tubes. They will reassemble, solder, and pressure test for you. They would normally repaint, but be sure to decline, as you will want a better paint job than a radiator shop is used to providing. Do not use the paint you described. Use Eastwood Radiator gloss Black, or equivalent. Spray the core lightly, as the more paint you use on it the less efficient it will be in cooling the water. __________________ Alan

10-23-2011, 08:07 PM	#4
Lawson Cox Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Above the gnat line in Georgia Posts: 7,009	Re: Ford brass radiator upper tank dings Good advice there Alan.

10-23-2011, 08:24 PM	#5
DavidG Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: southeastern Michigan Posts: 10,101	Re: Ford brass radiator upper tank dings Ford did not use gloss paint for radiators, at least not in the early part of the V-8 era, including the 1936 models.

10-23-2011, 09:26 PM	#6
Bruce/CT Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Middlebury, CT Posts: 780	Radiator was already boiled and rodded Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Thanks for the replies. The radiator shop came highly recommended by several diffent car guys. Hopefully they did a good cleaning. They put it back together even though I told them I wanted the top first. They did a real SHITTY job painting. The top is all alligatored. I don't know what they did in the painting. I didn't realize how many dings it had until they painted it glossy. I stripped all their paint today. I'll carefully lead the dings on it and then repaint with Eastwood product. Thanks, Bruce

10-24-2011, 01:03 AM	#7
ford38v8 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 6,646	Re: Ford brass radiator upper tank dings DavidG, Good catch. My booboo, I really did mean satin. I don't know about the early models, but on the late 30's, the side baffles were gloss & the radiator itself was flat. Eastwood seems to be the only supplier these days, and they don't carry the flat anymore. It's either gloss or satin, 300º thin acrylic enamel. Bruce, if you specified your needs and they disregarded your instructions, sorry to say you shouldn't have accepted the radiator. The same thing happened to me and I had them put it through the hot tank again to remove the crummy paint they put on. If by some chance you are able to get them to honor your request and remove the top tank (worth a try), so you can bump out the dings, go a step further and fabricate an inner brace to solder onto the large flat plane of that top tank. This is important if you ever plan to put a pressure cap on that tank, as the pressure will oilcan the unusually flat panel on the '36 Ford, stressing the seams to the point of failure. __________________ Alan