Painting a Master Cylinder

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512Stroker

512Stroker

We are all here because we are not all there.
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Of the years I have painted master cylinders with a limited degree of success.
Now I need to paint one that has already been painted dingy orange.
I need to go semi gloss black over the orange, I have no idea what paint the orange is but it is nasty.
Anyone have any tips? I think getting it clean will be important, but with what?
Thanks in advance
 
I would look at Eastwood products, They may have something that would tolerate the brake fluid some.
 
Use a paint stripper to clean off old paint & then prep. I have used a Eastwood cast iron gray coating for cast iron that is looking good.
 
The problem is, regular brake fluid is an excellent paint stripper, plus it has contaminated the cast iron. Good luck getting any paint to stay on it even after a good stripping. There is a reason they were not painted originally. Plating or powdercoating will stand up to brake fluid. Or switch over to silicone fluid which will not harm paint.
 
Can the M/C be removed for bead blasting? I prefer paint w/ an occasional touch-up. There are other coatings that you should explore, powder coating is only one of them.
 
512Stroker said:
Of the years I have painted master cylinders with a limited degree of success.
Now I need to paint one that has already been painted dingy orange.
I need to go semi gloss black over the orange, I have no idea what paint the orange is but it is nasty.
Anyone have any tips? I think getting it clean will be important, but with what?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Just the other day I told my Wife I was going to use a disassembled core master cylinder and do what they do with a cast iron skillet and see what happens.
(Coat it with cooking oil and bake the crap out of it) multiple times probably.
 
TrailBeast said:
Just the other day I told my Wife I was going to use a disassembled core master cylinder and do what they do with a cast iron skillet and see what happens.
(Coat it with cooking oil and bake the crap out of it) multiple times probably.
Click to expand...
Yes, definitely bacon grease the heck out of the MC!
 
POR-15 it. Good results even with brake fluid splashes. One poster said soaking in it did lift POR-15 but splashes survived. Id clean exterior with soapy water and maybe dry it with a torch flame to make sure all the old petroleum based crap is burned off, then apply the POR-15 in gloss black. And then you could convert to DOT-5 or some other paint friendly fluid.
 
Just sand it and clean it real well. Then shoot it with some satin black engine paint. It holds up well
 
I've done several, with, Rustoleum, satin black. Clean the area, real well, first. -- If the, cylinder, lid is sealed, properly, and You are careful, when You put brake fluid in, then brake fluid, on the surface, should not be a problem.
 
I did my new MC with RPM about 2 years ago - still looks like new.
20200313_181627.jpg
 
I started with a bare new rebuild and throughly cleaned with multiple products. Sprayed with Eastwood stainless steel epoxy. It is holding up well!
 
If I want something super clean before painting, after it is already pretty clean, I apply naval jelly for 10-15 minutes. Then rinse, dry (blow and/or heat gun). Then I final rinse with wax & grease remover. Works for me anyway.
 
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POR 15 makes a manifold grey brush on paint. I use it on all my exhaust manifolds, you brush it on and when it gets hot it 'melts' into the cast iron. The best part is that when it needs some touch up, you just take a brush, touch up the paint and start the motor. It blends into the rest like new. So I used it on my master cylinder and the engine heat was enough that it worked there, so now when it needs touch up its a snap.
 
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