The skill of performing Car Restoration takes time and money to understand. Detailing small parts for authenticity, longevity and matching original shades is essential. Shaking aerosol paint is very important. Some brands settle out more than others and some paints mix up quicker than others. Cast Iron silvers are especially stubborn due to the heavy pigments which allow heat tolerance. Additionally a cold can doesn’t spray well and may clog up the nozzle leading to poor performance. We will often have no problems spraying in the summer months of Texas when it is 90-100 degrees. Winters in San Antonio TX range 30-60 which is not that cold compared to northern states where it can really modify the spray quality. So warm-up a can to room temp for best results.

The Tornado by Blair may be the only shaker I know of having a hole to put an aerosol can in to. If you want adhesion between aluminum or steel before you pay any of the Silvers excluding high temperature items like surefire then Zinc Phosphate by Tempo is the best choice. Aviation sources like Falcon Crest have it and many other suppliers. Apples to apples comparisons would be the only true test so we use BASF spray cards to test colors for coverage or coat quantity needed. Additionally they give you a consistent smooth panel to determine if the metallic separation is what you are looking for and overall shade is satisfactory. You can purchase this along with other styles like DuPonts checker board spray out for the most part local auto paint stores. Make sure to test spray out twice and spray the part once! An exhaust fan for adequate ventilation is important when spraying any kind of paints. In addition utilizing an infrared heater gets warm the parts and the cans before spraying which supplies consistent results. If your parts are cold the paint can run and or take too much time to get protected properly so be familiar with the surface temp and seek the absolute minimum 70 degree parts surface temp if at all possible.

The following are a few paints that are used in our shop, East Woods 1283Z Reflective Alum is a great candidate for reflection paints. These kinds of silvers are generally employed for dash odometer parts which were originally plastic chromed and tail lights or bulb reflection. This brand has a excellent spray having a super fine mist so they cover well in about 2-3 coats. Reflective paints are not probably the most durable and if clear coated a dulling effect will take place so make sure to test if you opt for clear protection.

Rustoleum 7718 This is actually the most reflective paint I have seen out of an aerosol can. It’s pretty much a mirror. It has a very narrow spray pattern, approx 1 inch wide. You have to be careful spraying odd shapes with this stuff as you can get runs if not patient. Covers good with a smooth spray. 3 coats usually gets it done on most surfaces.

DAP 873 This paint flashes in a slow/dry time also. We make use of this to copy original Cyanide Cadmium found on lots of classic vehicles as it is the nearest thing I have ever seen that appears like real cad plating. Durability like most reflective paints is on the low side as seen in the finger nail scratch test over the test panel. Be cautious during assembly to prevent marking it. It does harden up somewhat after it sits for a couple of days. A substantial amount of reflection as seen.

Rustoleum 1915 This paint is recognized as within the Reflective zone also but a little more dull then the three previous paints. In the shade they darken a little, the way most under hood parts will often be seen. It’s super fine particles and a decent spray. Covers in 3-4 coats. Tempo 1140 heat range is 250 F This paint mottles a great deal during spray out and it has a sluggish flash/dry time. The adhesion is excellent out of the box all Tempo aircraft aerosols. It has a certain look that can be used for any number of parts if you’re able to overcome the spray out problems. East Wood.

Ti-coat 34127Z is a Fast dry paint with good coverage fuel and solvent resistant and a 300 F heat tolerance. It’s a cool looking paint formulated to appear like titanium. We’ve not thought it was to match anything we generally build in our shop. However, you never know what we should may need to match later on. Keep the options open!

EastWood Argent Silver 1291Z A good spray and ideal flash/dry time, covers quick. This is near to many muscle car wheels, G.M. especially. A nice shade that could be used on many different areas of your ride.

EastWood Detail Silver 1285Z Excellent spray covers extremely swift 1-2 coats. Nice shade for many parts. It’s used by us some for interior Krylon Dull Aluminum 1403 This is the standby for aluminum intakes, alternators etc. Looks good, covers great and cheap to buy. Must final mist because it will tend to mottle a little. As seen only a moderate reflection.

Krylon Dull Aluminum 1403 This is actually the standby for aluminum intakes, alternators etc. Looks good, covers great and cheap to buy. Must final mist as it will often mottle a bit. As seen only a moderate reflection.

EastWood Aluma Blast 1254Z Sprays excellent and flashes off quick. This can be a close match to Krylons 1403 You may want to obtain a can of each and compare to your parts. Keep in mind that brand new intakes from different MFG’s will have different shades. A restored intake that’s been either glass beaded, aluminum oxide blasted, pecan or walnut shell tumbled, acid washed etc changes the way an aluminum shade looks so you’ve to achieve the arsenal to obtain things dead.

East Wood Carb renew 1329Z These items comes in small baby cans and sprays very light. Aside from that it is almost a dead on match to most carburetor bodies. We rarely utilize it because we rebuild and refinish all of the natural metal on our carbs once we do not want any streaking from gas during use. For somebody on a budget or maybe you have an older or rare group of carbs that you like the look of and they’re beyond using the natural finish perfectly then consider it. It’s NO metallic turn to it whatsoever.

Since they all have its very own basic advantages and disadvantages we fully understand how difficult it is to come to your final decision when it comes to coilovers vs lowering springs.

Despite the fact that lowering springs have been in existence longer, coil over springs have slowly and steadily gained increasingly more popularity.

Before delving in to the differences you have to realize that there’s two fundamental techniques to lower your vehicle. The first of which would be to put in a good group of lowering springs that are much stiffer compared to OEM. The second technique is to set up a coilover suspension including the shock as well.

Lowering Springs:

These particular suspension pieces would be the most familiar way of lowering any kind of vehicle whether it is an activity compact car or pick-up truck. They are available in a variety of varying stiffness and lengths for ride height which range anywhere from 1-3 inches. It’s very simple to install this type since all you have to do is take away the old ones and replace it with the brand new ones. Because springs themselves are incredibly durable, and rarely ever need to be replaced, it can save you your little bit of money and buy a good group of used OEM or aftermarket springs for the vehicle.

However, if you do decide to purchase a new set you will find that they are quite inexpensive too and usually still have a warranty. It all depends on the make and model of the vehicle obviously as various kinds could cost you anywhere from $ 100 to a couple hundred dollars. Because springs are produced to a set height, this doesn’t allow any flexibility to adjust the peak or stiffness to meet your preference. The only method to obtain these custom settings would be to put in a completely different set.

While you may be saving a bit of profit just getting springs, it is strongly advised that you simply also invest into some good performance shocks to complement them. A stock shock is made to handle the vehicles performance and ride stability at the preset height from the stock springs. If you mess with that it could mess with the general handling of your vehicle. Also, never go the super cheap route and merely cut the springs as that may result in compromising the security of your vehicle since original springs are designed and tested to deal with a particular load.

Coilovers:

The actual name of this suspension component means that the coil spring is actually installed around the shock itself. They were originally intended for high performance racing cars to permit easy adjustments of the height of the suspension as well as the dampening settings. Being that they are manufactured as one combined component you don’t need to buy 2 separate pieces, the spring and shock, and then set them up together. While you could imagine, the design of this piece is certainly much more complicated and technologically advanced than a regular group of independent springs.

The springs present in this component are either single progressive spring or multi-spring with a primary spring in addition to a helper spring. The helper spring is much less weight and activates only if driver decides to create a hard corner putting more pressure on the suspension. This can help the main spring to remain stable under such stressful conditions and so the name “helper”.

Probably the most obvious advantages of coilovers is the array of different settings that are offered. If you wish to adjust the peak you don’t have to get out there and buy a new set, you just adjust it right on the top perches that are threaded to the body of the shock. The shocks can be adjusted based on preference and driving conditions which include both compression and rebound settings. Some models allow a good variety of multiple point settings between 5-15. Each one of these fancy options will cost you so you can count on paying between a thousand to a couple thousand dollars to find the best quality aftermarket brands.