Weber 40 IDL die cast body finish

[miura]

Hi metal finishers, i am looking for help in restoring some 60's era Weber carbs. here is a photo of a 40 IDL 3C3 outboard throat, from the bottom, showing 2 items i would like to discuss.
#1 Weber cast body section metal finish - the web area appears pretty virgin on this 40 year old, minimal miles Weber 40IDL. The finish in the web area will of course show differently to everyones monitor, but the finish intensity certainly is visable. It appears to me to be a very slight beige finish. But not just plain alloy aluminum silver. The baked, olive oil story from Pierce Weber i am having trouble with altho certainly colorful and very Italian.
#2 Weber throttle shaft - black oxide finish, indicating steel
Not shown in this photo - some of the linkage bellcranks and all the square throttle pump body section and throttle pump cap appear to yellow zinc plated. The original cast body pieces finish appears to me to be a finish i have seen for the past 40 years on some new carb castings of any and all brands (altho i cant quote a one right now). also seems similar to some motorcycle engine case finshes, some hydraulic equipment, some aircraft pnuematic and hydraulic pieces,
anybody know anything about this beige, cast body finish?
i have read the past posts about alodine and yellow zinc plating and they dont answer this finish.
thanks
Craig

[miura]

how do you get the photos to show in a post?

[miura]

I am noticing inside the float bowls and accelerator pump area, there is a pale gold coating maybe even very slightly iridescent. So maybe this original finish is alodine. The cast body pieces are aluminum. Is there a practical way of accomplishng alodine in a small shop? How do i strip, refinsh, and reapply this finsh?

note - i find you must have pop ups allowed to view thumbnails and attached photos.

thanks

[miura]

I just got back from Hershey 2006 gigantic swap meet for old car parts! It is truly wonderful and a joy to experience.
I can report however, that i viewed the largest collection of vendors selling poorly finished carburators i have ever seen in my life. I used to think that all the bead blasted, unfinished rebuilt carbs were lacking some thought on the part of the rebuilder.
But..............now you see .......
1) gold metalflake paint.
2) ******** gold cad spray paint
3) barbeque silver spray paint
4) shiney zinc plate
5) yellow gold chromated shiney zinc

i found myself wincing every time i passed a rebuilt carb display, ouch!

evidently the Stromberg, Holley, Carter, and other carburator companies have taken their cast body finish secrets to their graves? I must be lacking in my research to find what actually existed from 1955 thru 1995. I thought i was paying attention. i dont recall any of these finishes on any period carb i ever saw. Anybody got advise on finding the actual finish specs or processes from any carb company?
thanks for any help

[jimcarry]

Well I know that stromberg is actually still manufacturing carbs out of England in fact I plated one of there brand new out of the box 97s and posted it on this site in my research of this company I have found that any coating put on these carbs has been by a rebuilder not the manufacturer

[miura]

After studying this for a while and looking at work performed by freinds on other projects, the finish i am speaking of - original finish on a 60's era Weber carb cast bodies - is an Alodine process. I see the Alodine available at aircraft suppliers, maybe Caswell offers the same. It is a simple dip process and rinse in water, no electrical plating. It seems there are several choices of Alodine, the Alodine i have seen that looks promising is called Clear. You dilute the concentrated Alodine with water to suit your needs and dip your parts in for 30 seconds to 5 minutes. Has anyone else had experience with this chemical? i will gather more details to share.

[jrow]

miura,

Try this web site. You can peruse their web site and send them an e-mail message and get your answer!
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/main.php
Get their catalog it also has some automotive things in it.

John

[1QuickS]

I've just tried an alodine finish on the cover plate for the accelerator pump from a Weber 40IDA. I bead blasted it clean, etched with "Alumiprep" (a phosphoric acid wash) and then used "Alodine 1201" (a chromic acid wash, MIL-C-5541 compliant). The result was a very slight blush of color, barely discernable. I also tried the same process on a piece of 6061 without any effect. The Alodine is fresh.

Did you find out how to refinish youe Weber bodies??

1QuickS