Re-chroming and Crinkle Finish Paint - Rocker Cover

[alexm]

Morning all,

I've just acquired a lovely Oselli rocker cover. The chrome oil filler cap has seen better days and I wondered roughly what i'm looking at cost-wise to have it re-chromed? Can anybody recommend somewhere, i'm on the Hampshire/Surrey border in Blackwater.

I've just ordered a can of Hammerites hammered finish paint in black, but have also been recommended VHT Black wrinkle finish paint - but this requires heating prior to and post spraying which I can't do at home. I want to get the right finish so I don't have paint flaking off. I can't find what the Hammerite is temperature rated to.

Any hints and tips would be appreciated! This will be the cherry on the top of my 998 cooper engine!

Thanks,

Alex

[Smiffy]

Get the girlfriend/wife to dry the wrinkle finish paint with a her hairdryer, works a treat then. Used it on lots of stuff that can't be pre-heated in this way.

[Tim]

VHT doesn't need much heat. I did a wiper motor with it recently. I warmed it very slightly with an electric heat gun to start with, applied the paint the way they suggest then let it dry. A couple of days later I warmed it with the heat gun again and the wrinkles formed. You don't need to heat it very hot to get it to wrinkle. A heat gun is more than enough.

Tim

[alexm]

OK, thanks for that. I can borrow a heat gun from work and do it as you suggest Tim. Thanks for your help.

[alexm]

With regards to the oil filler cap, I thought it might be easier to buy a new or used (for patina!) one.

Am I right in thinking that most oil filler caps will fit assuming the Oselli rocker cover doesn't have a funny machined neck on it? The filler cap I have has two indents equally spaced apart with a spring loaded mechanism inside and a cork ring to seal it. Sound pretty common? I can post pics if needs be.

[Pandora]

Here's a late update to a long dead thread.

I've never had any joy with wrinkle finish paint in the past, but wanting a 'Lotus-esque' finish on the dash of the special, I thought I'd give it another go. I bought the paint off ebay (it's the same as the stuff Frost sell, VHT wrinkle) in red as a package with VHT grey primer

When it arrived I read the instructions - no mention of primer, and it sounded like it should be applied direct to bare metal. Hmmmmm? a quick google search showed up a guy's online tutorial painting a rocker cover and he didn't use primer, but got good results. So why was it sold as a package???

Anyway, I decided that paint that is meant to have sufficiently poor grip that it wrinkles would probably fall off without a primer, so I scuffed the bare alloy with a fairly course wet and dry block and set too.

I started with a coat of the primer, then once that had dried (I gave it 1/2 an hour) I followed the instructions on the wrinkle finish paint to the letter.

1 heavy coat along the dash. Wait 5 minutes. 1 heavy coat at right angles to the first. Wait 5 minutes. a third heavy coat at 45 degrees to the last.

No mention was made of heat in the instructions, but everything I'd read talked of it, so I used the heat gun and just slowly moved it across the panel at a height of about 18" for 5 minutes or so and then all of a sudden, just as I was thinking "it's too bright a red, and nothing's happening", it started to wrinkle.

End result is, the dash now looks like this



Rather than the gather garish bright red it came out the can as, it has exactly the deep red matt finish I was hoping for.

Because you have to put on a heavy coat each time, it does tend to sag / run on the vertical panels, so I think if I was doing a rocker cover I would take my time and do it one face at a time, just doing the flat upper surface each time - the wrinles should disguise the 'joins' quite well.

So, from being far from convinced, I'm a convert! I think I'll get some in black for the rocker cover and timing chain case when the time comes.

Al

[dklawson]

While VHT paints are available here I have not used them. I have used several other brands of wrinkle finish paints. I have not seen any that suggested using primers and none of the brands I have used mention adding heat. I have had success by following the rattle can instructions to the letter which often specify exact drying times between coats and at what ambient temperature range to apply the paint.

While I am glad you had success with the VHT paint, I will stick with the brands I have been using so I don't have to bake the parts.

[rich@minispares.com]

its a bit out of date

but should anyone have a period oselli or hrg cover that uses the 1960's chrome cap that goes onto the metal neck that's missing its cap (or has a rusty cap) I can supply a brand new c&s cap to suit.

c&s made the caps in period, so they are a direct replacement.

not cheap though!!!

[tjw89]

I know its slightly off topic, but the caps Rich can get are brilliant, had four of five now. Worth the money.

[timmy201]

Here is a good guide to it, using the VHT paint too.

http://www.build-threads.com/general-ca ... ure-paint/

[Pandora]

That's the guide I used.

Glad I used a primer though, which he didn't. I think it would have flaked off otherwise.

Al