I thought I was special, but it looks like I need injectors.... - Page 4 - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

bowtiguy · 06-16-2019

Now onto what I hope is the single thing I can contribute to refinishing the top end on our LT5's.....painting in the letters/numbers in the Plenum cam covers.

PAINTING BY CAPILLARY ACTION!!

I thought about masking things off, but I've read mixed results. After attempting to hand paint with the smallest brushs I could find, I ended up just making a mess. The high temp gloss paint I was using was interacting with the paint from Jerrys and creating a wrinkle finish.

Knowing that I would have to sand down the plenum somewhat prior to doing a couple more top coats I started to experiment. The parts had been curing for over two weeks so I knew that wasn't the issue.

What I ended up settling on was hand scrapping Jerrys paint out of the bottom of each letter/number in the castings to expose either primer or the aluminum casting. I work on it for 30 minuted at a time, once my fingers got fatigued.... I'd take a break.

At one point I slipped pretty bad. (Remember that earlier reference to being VERY happy with the paint later?) That slip ended up requiring a light sanding of the plenum and 3 more coats of Jerrys paint. I'm glad I did. It smoothed out the roughness in the plenum casting to better match the factory surface of the cam covers.

Once the final coats had cured I started back into it again. I lightly masked off up to the letters/numbers with blue tape and paper. Cleaned the grooves. Then I used nothing more than a red plastic extension tip off a can of brake clean.

1) sprayed high temp rattle can paint into a small clear glass bowl
2) placed the end of the plastic straw into the paint
3) it would suck up about 12-3/4 of an inch.
4) carefully place the wet tip of the straw into the letters and pull ( NOT push) the tip away until the paint stopping filling in the groove...thats it, it was the perfect paint applicator!!!

Turned out so...

bowtiguy · 06-16-2019

Lessons I learned...

1) Marcs quote for refinishing the LT5 top end is Reasonable
2) Marcs quote for R&R AND refinishing the top end is a FREAKING bargain!
3) crushed glass a a media works, I think a true bead media would be faster
4) Masking tape is your friend!!
5) Painting by "The Capillary Method" is the ONLY way to go on painted top ends. Those who have powder coat done can get away with the paint/wipe method.
6) if you decide to use paint. I did SEVERAL ( 7+) heat cycles where I started the car and brought it up to operating temp for 10 minutes then let it cool back down. There was plenty of degassing going on. it smelled less and less with each heat cycle.

All in all, I think I have about $500 in materials( paint NOT gaskets). Labor...I lost count. I learned A LOT about the LT5 in the process and was able to clean every surface I could reach along with replace every gasket/o-ring from the long block up!

--> I ended up using (4) cans of Jerrys paint and applying an average of 5 coats. The hazmat shipping is $$$ so buy them all at once.

I'm currently going through the NCRS manual to check all the boxs. My plan is to get the car judged in August, then finally roll that odometer into 5 digits!

billschroeder5842 · 06-16-2019

Great job- you attention to detail will pay off in the end!

WARP TEN · 06-17-2019

Marc's painter has recently been able to produce an exact duplicate of the original factory finish. When I had mine done, wanting to look close to stock, the best he could do was called "Fine Silver" that is beautiful but a little more silvery than stock. The finish he showed me in the shop the other day looked absolutely stock. --Bob

rush91 · 06-17-2019

Looking great!!

bowtiguy · 06-19-2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by billschroeder5842

Great job- you attention to detail will pay off in the end!

Thanks, I spent so much time cleaning it I dont want to drive it until after it gets judged.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WARP TEN

Marc's painter has recently been able to produce an exact duplicate of the original factory finish. When I had mine done, wanting to look close to stock, the best he could do was called "Fine Silver" that is beautiful but a little more silvery than stock. The finish he showed me in the shop the other day looked absolutely stock. --Bob

Its good to hear he has a factory finish option now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rush91

Looking great!!

Thank you. I grew up in a household of blue corvettes but this Dark Red metallic is growing on me!

A26B · 06-19-2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowtiguy

......I grew up in a household of blue corvettes but this Dark Red metallic is growing on me!

The dark red metallic is actually my favorite color of all the unique ones, aqua, steel blue, polo green, yellow, etc.

Your engine paint work looks outstanding!!

As far as the original LT5 engine color(s), there is not just 1 color for all year models. I've seen original color ranging from a silvery gray to a darker, drab gray and different shades in between.

bowtiguy · 06-21-2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by A26B

The dark red metallic is actually my favorite color of all the unique ones, aqua, steel blue, polo green, yellow, etc.

Your engine paint work looks outstanding!! .

Thanks Jerry! high praise coming from you. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for doing what you do to keep these awesome engines/cars on the road. I cant imagine how many of these beasts would just sit and rot without your great products! Every time I see someone bash reliability or question parts availability, they get links to your site and Marcs.

BTW, my late fathers ( now my younger brothers) 91' Quasar Blue ZR-1 is next. Just 19K on the clock but all the same problems suffered by 91's. Thats two more you've helped save!

chadmcghee · 01-02-2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowtiguy

I drained both brake fluid rez's right after taking this pic!

After dropping the knee bolster, steering column and pulling the brake booster, I managed to get the cam covers pulled.....not a single stuck bolt on the entire car at 9,600 miles!

Then I spent 8 hrs blasting the top end parts down to metal.( very fine crushed glass media). Today is clean parts/wash & prep for primer /paint day on friday.

THEN, I can do what I set out to do, swap the injectors & O-rings and get this thing back together.

I'm preparing to do this job to my recently acquired one-owner 1992. Was removing the the brake booster necessary to remove the cam cover?

Z51JEFF · 01-03-2020

The paint came out very nice,I honestly don’t see how the NCRS can focus on only one shade/sheen of the engine paint when there are several different factory shades. I’m not a fan of red but I do like that red metallic, score I bought my 91 I was looking at a 90 in this color.

06-16-2019	#31
bowtiguy Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Cali-rodo Posts: 270	Re: I thought I was special, but it looks like I need injectors.... Now onto what I hope is the single thing I can contribute to refinishing the top end on our LT5's.....painting in the letters/numbers in the Plenum cam covers. PAINTING BY CAPILLARY ACTION!! I thought about masking things off, but I've read mixed results. After attempting to hand paint with the smallest brushs I could find, I ended up just making a mess. The high temp gloss paint I was using was interacting with the paint from Jerrys and creating a wrinkle finish. Knowing that I would have to sand down the plenum somewhat prior to doing a couple more top coats I started to experiment. The parts had been curing for over two weeks so I knew that wasn't the issue. What I ended up settling on was hand scrapping Jerrys paint out of the bottom of each letter/number in the castings to expose either primer or the aluminum casting. I work on it for 30 minuted at a time, once my fingers got fatigued.... I'd take a break. At one point I slipped pretty bad. (Remember that earlier reference to being VERY happy with the paint later?) That slip ended up requiring a light sanding of the plenum and 3 more coats of Jerrys paint. I'm glad I did. It smoothed out the roughness in the plenum casting to better match the factory surface of the cam covers. Once the final coats had cured I started back into it again. I lightly masked off up to the letters/numbers with blue tape and paper. Cleaned the grooves. Then I used nothing more than a red plastic extension tip off a can of brake clean. 1) sprayed high temp rattle can paint into a small clear glass bowl 2) placed the end of the plastic straw into the paint 3) it would suck up about 12-3/4 of an inch. 4) carefully place the wet tip of the straw into the letters and pull ( NOT push) the tip away until the paint stopping filling in the groove...thats it, it was the perfect paint applicator!!! Turned out so... Last edited by bowtiguy; 01-20-2024 at 10:46 AM.

06-16-2019	#32
bowtiguy Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Cali-rodo Posts: 270	Re: I thought I was special, but it looks like I need injectors.... Lessons I learned... 1) Marcs quote for refinishing the LT5 top end is Reasonable 2) Marcs quote for R&R AND refinishing the top end is a FREAKING bargain! 3) crushed glass a a media works, I think a true bead media would be faster 4) Masking tape is your friend!! 5) Painting by "The Capillary Method" is the ONLY way to go on painted top ends. Those who have powder coat done can get away with the paint/wipe method. 6) if you decide to use paint. I did SEVERAL ( 7+) heat cycles where I started the car and brought it up to operating temp for 10 minutes then let it cool back down. There was plenty of degassing going on. it smelled less and less with each heat cycle. All in all, I think I have about $500 in materials( paint NOT gaskets). Labor...I lost count. I learned A LOT about the LT5 in the process and was able to clean every surface I could reach along with replace every gasket/o-ring from the long block up! --> I ended up using (4) cans of Jerrys paint and applying an average of 5 coats. The hazmat shipping is $$$ so buy them all at once. I'm currently going through the NCRS manual to check all the boxs. My plan is to get the car judged in August, then finally roll that odometer into 5 digits! Last edited by bowtiguy; 01-20-2024 at 10:46 AM.

06-16-2019	#33
billschroeder5842 Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Southlake, TX Posts: 586	Re: I thought I was special, but it looks like I need injectors.... Great job- you attention to detail will pay off in the end! __________________ Bill Schroeder Texas Proud! 1991 Corvette ZR1 #1388 2015 Challenger Scat Pack Shaker

06-17-2019	#34
WARP TEN Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Lake Bluff, IL Posts: 2,060	Re: I thought I was special, but it looks like I need injectors.... Marc's painter has recently been able to produce an exact duplicate of the original factory finish. When I had mine done, wanting to look close to stock, the best he could do was called "Fine Silver" that is beautiful but a little more silvery than stock. The finish he showed me in the shop the other day looked absolutely stock. --Bob __________________ 2016 Long Beach Red Z06 #10281 "POPS Z" 1995 Polo Green #409 "WARP TEN"--Haibeck 350/510 package, 4.10s, Hurst, Stock Exhaust with QTP Cutouts --Sold but still running strong 1993 Quasar Blue #161 "HIL KING" --Sold but still running strong, now with more than 120,000 miles 1967 Marlboro Maroon/Saddle Corvette Coupe 300 hp/4-spd --Sold a long time ago ZR-1 Net Registry Founding Member #95 NCM Lifetime Member Favorite Quote--Attributed to Mickey Thompson: "Too Much Horsepower is Almost Enough"

06-17-2019	#35
rush91 Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Carterville Illinois Posts: 846	Re: I thought I was special, but it looks like I need injectors.... Looking great!!

01-03-2020	#40
Z51JEFF Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Fremont,Ca Posts: 3,057	Re: I thought I was special, but it looks like I need injectors.... The paint came out very nice,I honestly don’t see how the NCRS can focus on only one shade/sheen of the engine paint when there are several different factory shades. I’m not a fan of red but I do like that red metallic, score I bought my 91 I was looking at a 90 in this color.