['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by necdb3

On the first pic the oil cap looks like the correct color. By the photo, that looks like the right amount of green.

You know, you should not have posted what was what! I would have posted the colors to see what everyone thought with only you having the color key.

Dave

Given enough heat cycles, the color on the valve cover will become the color on the valve cover cap. Starting with the color of the valve cover cap, one will eventually end up with an ever greener color result.

[70RAlll]

Originally Posted by 'ol Pinion head

Given enough heat cycles, the color on the valve cover will become the color on the valve cover cap. Starting with the color of the valve cover cap, one will eventually end up with an ever greener color result.

pinion.. I'm a little lost with your comment about heat cycles. Granted heat cycles will change the appearance of painted metal, but it will ..or should.. have an equal effect on both the valve covers and the oil fill cap.. those two colors will always be the shame shade apart, either freshly painted or 2 years an 20,000 miles later. maybe I am reading your post incorrectly, sounds like you were saying the heat cycles would make the two separate colors eventually look the same/\??

[Bentwheelbob]

Well the pressure is getting to me. Too many decisions, too many choices. I've struggled all day thinking about what I should do tomorrow. How do I make the right selection. After much contemplation today, I've decided that I am going to smoke both ribs and brisket, and at the package store I bought both Knob Creek and Sam Adams Octoberfest....

.....and that gave me an idea. Once I get the test samples sprayed, I am going to take the OEM sample to my paint guy and get him to do a paint match and mix me a pint. Then I am going to combine equal ratios of the tieman and the oem mix and do a test sample of that combined color which I will call Who The F_ck Knows For Sure. Ultimately, I will post paint formulations for all three paint colors (Tieman, OEM and WTFKFS) so that any of you can have it mixed locally.

Regarding the test, I have switched from using melamine to MDF. The melamine was too slick and too flexible. Hopefully I'll have something to post tomorrow evening. Wish me luck on the brisket. They can be tricky.

[Mezzo]

I'm going to slow cook three racks of baby back ribs while this unfolds.

[Brewster]

Bob, Thanks ahead of time for posting the paint results. Will be in need of the correct mix come this spring.
Also try Paulaner Octoberfest and Woodford Reserve to help with the cooking process

[RamAir]

X2 on the paint needs when the final determination is established. Thanks in advance for doing this!

[transam1972]

has anyone ever used Plasti-Kote #208 Pontiac engine blue in a rattle can?..that is what I used and I was quite pleased...I had used the Ames 72 blue rattle can but I did not like it..i felt it was too dark compared to some of the parts left with original paint..my engine was not removed so its a combination of the intake and the front of the engine and I left the lower half original, separated by chrome valve covers, believe it or not it works..i am curious as to what color wins but again any opinions on Plasti-Kote? thanks!

[Bentwheelbob]

Don't thank me - it's my pleasure. The last 16 months at work have been more stressful than I care to think about. My sanity has been maintained in no small part courtesy of the Hot Rod Garage and my "e-Friends" here on PY. Both have provided me an escape and an opportunity to focus on better things. Thanks.

Also, 70RAII deserves an honorable mention here. He contacted me about one of my engine paint posts and offered to send me a partial can of OEM paint. It was that contact which initiated this entire insanity.

We are making progress at the Hot Rod Garage. The brisket went on at 10:00 and the ribs joined in at 1:00. Also, I broke my 12:00 rule and popped the top on an Octoberfest at around 11:30. The paint sample project is also underway. I am using the paint booth which has taken over my cabinet/woodshop. I got the MDF primed, wet sanded and a coat of white paint applied as a base coat. I am not sure if I will start spraying engine paint today or not. I am going to tape the MDF off in sections to divide the different paints - that was the reason for the white base coat. I am a little bit afraid that if the base coat does not dry overnight that the dividing tape will peel it up when it is removed. I'm still thinking about it, but my inclination is to not rush the process. Sort of like cooking a brisket. Here's a few pictures.



The smoker - File photo



The paint booth - File Photo



MDF



Primer



White base coat

[RamAir]

O my, that's quite a production. Enjoy!

[Bentwheelbob]

Originally Posted by transam1972

has anyone ever used Plasti-Kote #208 Pontiac engine blue in a rattle can?..that is what I used and I was quite pleased...I had used the Ames 72 blue rattle can but I did not like it..i felt it was too dark compared to some of the parts left with original paint..my engine was not removed so its a combination of the intake and the front of the engine and I left the lower half original, separated by chrome valve covers, believe it or not it works..i am curious as to what color wins but again any opinions on Plasti-Kote? thanks!

You mean like this one? Got it covered....

[transam1972]

cool!..that be the one

[rexs73gto]

The p-k 208 is the correct color for the engines in your 75-76 cars but not a 72 or 73. The 208 is about the same color as the OLDS blue that Pontiac uses for the 75-76 cars.

[Mezzo]

Thanks BWB. I'm enjoying a nice Jack Daniels and Coke preparing for rib Fest tomorrow.

[transam1972]

I will decide after the test, that Scott paint looked pretty darn good..but I really need a rattle can for ease of application ( if I am that wrong, I will consider other application methods)..how come the Plasti Kote matches more engines that I have seen posted photos of? also I have some of my original hardware (intake bolts and spacers, oil pan) and the Plasti Kote matched way closer than Ames, that's why I re painted it..I am looking for close enough, but if my engine color turns out to be in left field I will re paint it once again, its not that difficult..I feverishly await the acid test..let the games begin!!!.....JD and coke sounds good right about now

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by transam1972

also I have some of my original hardware (intake bolts and spacers, oil pan) and the Plasti Kote matched way closer than Ames, that's why I re painted it..I am looking for close enough, but if my engine color turns out to be in left field I will re paint it once again, its not that difficult..

I'm not sure what rexs73gto is talking about, but I've used that color on 2 '72 engines and it is much closer to the factory color than anything else I was easily able to obtain at the time. It was similar to paint on 3 different engines (a '71, '72, and '73). It's not even close to the Olds blue from 1975-1976. I can't answer you whether it is the correct shade for a high dollar resto though, the experts will have to chime in. All I know is it's "good enough" for my low dollar 350 & 400 cars. I will say that after 7 years and 50k miles it did turn a faded slight green color similar to an original '73 engine I had.

[transam1972]

RICKS GTO I was reading some earlier posts, are you saying OEM engine paint is super close? if I knew about it I would have used it, maybe that's what I need..is the contest really between Scotts and OEM?

[transam1972]

I think i am confusing these GTO guys, thanks BEN M..it sounds as though if you pop my hood and look in, that at first glance I have an OLDSMOBILE engine and I am telling you that's just not the case...and I did say close enough in a rattle can for probably under $10 at the time

[PB]

I too have used the Plasti Kote 208 in years past. I still have a couple of old cans. Do we need to add this to the test mix? That Paint is pretty darn close, and super cheap too...easily applied.

[Bentwheelbob]

Like the classic Clint Eastwood movie, this morning I have The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly....,but we're having fun.

The Good - I forgot to set my clock back so I was out of bed at 4:30 and got an early start on things. The test boards all got taped off in sections (5 sections in all), and the spraying has begun. There will be 5 paints used including: Ames, OEM, PlastiKote 208, Tieman, and a mix from the formula provided on the PontiacPower page that is frequently referenced on this site. I am not going to disclose which paint is which. I am not sure what I am going to do once I have all the samples sprayed since I really don't have a "datum point" to which to compare them. OPH indicated he had some very nice old valve covers stashed away in a hermitically sealed vault, so maybe I can suck him into this folly. Anyone else have something with original engine paint that has not been subjected to 41 years of heat cycling, grease, oil et cetera?

The brisket was pretty good as well.

The Bad - The first engine paint I sprayed has reacted with the base coat paint and is checking somewhat. Nothing I can do about that, but I am enacting plans B and C. This means I should have even more samples to distribute. I assume all the paints will have a similar reaction.

The Ugly - The picture which shows the checking. It's not that bad, but after all this work it is disappointing. Here's a few pictures.

[The Boss]

I'm not sure if this thread belongs on Velocity any more....more likely the food network.

Keep us posted Bob, hold off on the Knob!