Anyone paint their rear axle/pumpkin?

[anarchyx914]

I was wondering if anyone has painted their rear axle/pumpkin cover?

The last few times I have been under my car its been quite embarrassing and looking like a rust bucket under there. I am looking to possibly paint it while on the car, or do something to eliminate all of that nasty rust making my car look like a POS while under it lol.

So I have two questions:

1. What did you use to paint your rear axle, and how has it held up?
2. Did you need to remove the rear axle, and if so, how difficult was it to do? (seems like a daunting task)

 

[6-Speed]

Painting the bare steel axle was one of my first mods. I used Master Series products and applied with a brush with the axle in place. It was a pain with all the prep work and then applying the paint but well worth the effort. It has held up well since I applied over 5 years ago. The Master Series silver primer is a good product, but the AG111 two part paint was a pain to apply ... very sticky stuff and the finish didn't come out as smooth as I liked.

 

[anarchyx914]

That looks awesome to me!! If you dont mind, what prep work did you do? I am just unsure of what different parts I would need to mask/tape off on the axle/pumpkin.

I bought a rust remover wheel from 3m for my drill, and I plan to hit it with that before I paint anything.

If you dont mind, could you link me to the kit or setup you did yours with? I really love the way it turned out.

 

[Tob]

I too the ea$y way out and picked up a 3.73 assembly from FRPP and prepped/painted it in the shop...

 

[zporta]

I bought a complete swap with the gears I wanted from a
Member here. So I prepped and painted the rear on saw horses

I sanded it by hand and tough areas with a wire wheel. I rattle canned primer and satin blk paint

And follows Tob's write up on the diff cover as well

 

[anarchyx914]

How hard is it to remove the rear axle? Is it just disconnecting the Lower control arms upper and driveshaft?

Is there anything I would need to worry about as far as removing it messing with anything such as the driveshaft?

 

[zporta]

Brakes, sway bar, shocks, UCA, LCA's and driveshaft and panhard bar.

Not hard at all, just take your time

 

[anarchyx914]

I have to replace my shocks springs LCa and phb maybe ill take it off then. What is the best paint/primer to use on these for durability

 

[6-Speed]

That looks awesome to me!! If you dont mind, what prep work did you do? I am just unsure of what different parts I would need to mask/tape off on the axle/pumpkin.

I bought a rust remover wheel from 3m for my drill, and I plan to hit it with that before I paint anything.

If you don't mind, could you link me to the kit or setup you did yours with? I really love the way it turned out.

My car was just a few months old when I painted the axle so the rust wasn't widespread. Prep work included cleaning with POR15 Marine Clean, followed by an application of POR15 Metal Ready (I believe Prep & Ready is the same product), which is a light acid etch. Then I masked everything that I didn't want painted, applied a few coats of Master Series MCU silver primer/sealer and then the Master Series A111 (Satin) top coat.

I prefer the method that Tob took. You get better coverage, especially in the hard to reach areas.

Here are the links to the products I used:

POR15, Inc. - Stop Rust Permanently - Repair Gas & Fuel Tanks

Mastercoat Rust Sealer

 

[SCMOKN]

My car was just a few months old when I painted the axle so the rust wasn't widespread. Prep work included cleaning with POR15 Marine Clean, followed by an application of POR15 Metal Ready (I believe Prep & Ready is the same product), which is a light acid etch. Then I masked everything that I didn't want painted, applied a few coats of Master Series MCU silver primer/sealer and then the Master Series A111 (Satin) top coat.

I prefer the method that Tob took. You get better coverage, especially in the hard to reach areas.

Here are the links to the products I used:

POR15, Inc. - Stop Rust Permanently - Repair Gas & Fuel Tanks

Mastercoat Rust Sealer

What container size did you use.I will be doing this soon.

 

[Robert M]

I was wondering if anyone has painted their rear axle/pumpkin cover?

The last few times I have been under my car its been quite embarrassing and looking like a rust bucket under there. I am looking to possibly paint it while on the car, or do something to eliminate all of that nasty rust making my car look like a POS while under it lol.

So I have two questions:

1. What did you use to paint your rear axle, and how has it held up?
2. Did you need to remove the rear axle, and if so, how difficult was it to do? (seems like a daunting task)

I restored mine to the correct natural/bare metal finish including replicating all assy. line markings..........

Removal of the axle assy. is required to get rid of "all" rust. The rust on this axle was not covered with paint, it was completely removed and then a satin bare metal clear applied.........very time consuming, but when you look at it under the car, it looks "assy. line correct". If the rust starts to pit the metal surface, the option to use a clear becomes more limited because the metal surface will always appear pitted.

While de-rusting........Before

After with clear applied and correct assy. line markings replicated........

Mine was rusty, but I have seen worse........

After........

This assy. line marking......also shown in the two pictures above.....

This was the half way point in the axle restoration...........I was "burned-out" at this point, but I final got through this project.......and I was happy to be done!!

More Before............

After.........

R

 

[Tob]

Interesting markings Robert. I'll have to take a look at my original assembly. When I pulled it I think I only had a couple hundred miles on it. It has been sitting quietly in my shop for almost four years now. I'd like to see if mine are similar to yours.

 

[6-Speed]

What container size did you use.I will be doing this soon.

I don't recall, but I believe it was the smallest size offered (pint?).

 

[Robert M]

Interesting markings Robert. I'll have to take a look at my original assembly. When I pulled it I think I only had a couple hundred miles on it. It has been sitting quietly in my shop for almost four years now. I'd like to see if mine are similar to yours.

The markings I showed in my pictures above were only a few of what I found on my axle.........there were/are many.

Below is a picture of the welds which hold the axle tubes in place. Of course they were rusty too, as well as the machined surface around the weld material. This also had to be restored, to look correct. The weld material itself had pink paint daubs as shown/replicated in the picture below. Maybe these were some sort of inspection mark?

and then the orange "X" shown above (below the right axle tube weld), that was original, I just had to touch it up with the correct Markal paint marker.


Once the axle assy. is covered, either with paint, or rust neutralizer and then paint, there is very little chance any of these assy. line markings will ever be recovered if not documented.

In the picture above, thre is also a view of the Tru-Trac spacer installed before the snap ring.


Below, the bottom side.......Someone at some point spilled yellow paint on my pumpkin, probably when it was being assembled before it got loaded on a pallet for the assy. line, I could have covered the yellow spill with black, but no, it came from Ford with the "spilled yellow", the yellow stays in place. Also note the two purple lines, they also mean something.......There were two paint daubs on the pinion yoke, yellow and gold........the gold one is shown below. The more rust there is on an axle, the more these paint markings get lost in the rust. They can still be found, but it takes some time to get down to them without distroying or removing them.

Some of the identification stickers ink was smudged/smeared on my axle. I had them replicated also........It had to look "right".

Unlike the "old days" when the VIN, or a portion of the VIN (sequence number etc.) was stamped into the axle tube and possibly on the axle tag, now all of this "correct matching number" info. is on labels, once the labels are gone, so are the matching axle VIN numbers......






R

 

[2010KB]

I restored mine to the correct natural/bare metal finish including replicating all assy. line markings..........

Removal of the axle assy. is required to get rid of "all" rust. The rust on this axle was not covered with paint, it was completely removed and then a satin bare metal clear applied.........very time consuming, but when you look at it under the car, it looks "assy. line correct". If the rust starts to pit the metal surface, the option to use a clear becomes more limited because the metal surface will always appear pitted.

While de-rusting........Before

After with clear applied and correct assy. line markings replicated........

Mine was rusty, but I have seen worse........

After........

This assy. line marking......also shown in the two pictures above.....

This was the half way point in the axle restoration...........I was "burned-out" at this point, but I final got through this project.......and I was happy to be done!!

More Before............

After.........

R

What means did you employ for rust removal - chemical, chemical/mechanical, mechanical? If chemical or a combination of, what products did you use? What brand of clear did you use? Great job. Your attention to detail shows! Thanks

 

[Robert M]

What means did you employ for rust removal - chemical, chemical/mechanical, mechanical? If chemical or a combination of, what products did you use? What brand of clear did you use? Great job. Your attention to detail shows! Thanks

^^^Thanks.......yes, it is all about the details.

All chemical for the rust removal. Using a grinder/wire brush would have scratched the metal, using a bead/sand blaster would have etched the metal. <<<All which would have ruined the ability to get back to the satin shiney look of the original metal.

I used the rust remover shown below......

^^^This leaves a dull finish on the metal, but the rust is removed. It takes several applications as you work though each area, axle tubes, inside of brackets, outside of brackets etc. and then thoroughly cleaning everything with laquer thinner, all navel jelly must be removed.

Then to get the steel back to its original fresh bare steel look it required buffing all of the bare metal with steel wool, first 00 and finally 0000. <<This brings the finish of the steel back to its somewhat shiney/satin look. <<Again, fully recleaning all metal with laquer thinner.

Ok, then there is the clear. I tried many clears, gloss (too glossy), Matte (took away the satin shiner look of the natural steel) and then satin. Satin from home Depot looked ok, but it was still not quite the "correct" look. It seemed to add a dull yellow clear coating to the steel. I finally ended up with the Bare Steel Diamond Clear spray from Eastwood. <<<<That is the ticket for the correct look!!

The clears.........

^^^Eastwood is it, if a person is going to get this anal with their axle restoration!

Ok, then the assy. line markings. In the "old days" Ford used Markal Paint Sticks for assy. line markings, now they use Markal Paint Markers. The colors that were used on my axle are shown below........

There are two yellows shown above, the samller one is a fine line marker, the other has a wider tip, both were used on my axle so to replicate the markings correctly, I needed both. All other marking colors were made with the wider tip paint markers.

The gold and yellow paint daub/dots on the pinion yoke.......those I had to make with paint.


For the machined surfaces on the center section I used a bare metal steel/silver paint and for the welds I used a brighter silver paint for the freshly welded look.


^^^^^^^^^All of this was VERY time consuming!!!!!!! First of all to identify what was needed to make it look right, and then getting it right. At one point I had fully painted both sides brackets inside and out, axle tubes everthing with a "bare steel silver". Then I realized that it looked "ok", but it looked "painted". These axles were not painted, so I had to completely clean everything, brackets inside and out, tubes, everything, all paint had to be removed if I had any thought of going with clear. <<And then start over with a different approach......making it look "right".

After all of the restoration, the easy part was test fitting and deciding on a cover.........

^^^^Also shown in the picture above, those cast iron harmonic weights, or whatever they are........I bead blaster the rust off of them, cleaned them with laquer thinner, and sprayed them with Eastwood Natural Cast Iron paint. <<It may have been called Cast Blast.




R

 

[2010KB]

^^^Thanks.......yes, it is all about the details.

All chemical for the rust removal. Using a grinder/wire brush would have scratched the metal, using a bead/sand blaster would have etched the metal. <<<All which would have ruined the ability to get back to the satin shiney look of the original metal.

I used the rust remover shown below......

^^^This leaves a dull finish on the metal, but the rust is removed. It takes several applications as you work though each area, axle tubes, inside of brackets, outside of brackets etc. and then thoroughly cleaning everything with laquer thinner, all navel jelly must be removed.

Then to get the steel back to its original fresh bare steel look it required buffing all of the bare metal with steel wool, first 00 and finally 0000. <<This brings the finish of the steel back to its somewhat shiney/satin look. <<Again, fully recleaning all metal with laquer thinner.

Ok, then there is the clear. I tried many clears, gloss (too glossy), Matte (took away the satin shiner look of the natural steel) and then satin. Satin from home Depot looked ok, but it was still not quite the "correct" look. It seemed to add a dull yellow clear coating to the steel. I finally ended up with the Bare Steel Diamond Clear spray from Eastwood. <<<<That is the ticket for the correct look!!

The clears.........

^^^Eastwood is it, if a person is going to get this anal with their axle restoration!

Ok, then the assy. line markings. In the "old days" Ford used Markal Paint Sticks for assy. line markings, now they use Markal Paint Markers. The colors that were used on my axle are shown below........

There are two yellows shown above, the samller one is a fine line marker, the other has a wider tip, both were used on my axle so to replicate the markings correctly, I needed both. All other marking colors were made with the wider tip paint markers.

The gold and yellow paint daub/dots on the pinion yoke.......those I had to make with paint.


For the machined surfaces on the center section I used a bare metal steel/silver paint and for the welds I used a brighter silver paint for the freshly welded look.


^^^^^^^^^All of this was VERY time consuming!!!!!!! First of all to identify what was needed to make it look right, and then getting it right. At one point I had fully painted both sides brackets inside and out, axle tubes everthing with a "bare steel silver". Then I realized that it looked "ok", but it looked "painted". These axles were not painted, so I had to completely clean everything, brackets inside and out, tubes, everything, all paint had to be removed if I had any thought of going with clear. <<And then start over with a different approach......making it look "right".

After all of the restoration, the easy part was test fitting and deciding on a cover.........

^^^^Also shown in the picture above, those cast iron harmonic weights, or whatever they are........I bead blaster the rust off of them, cleaned them with laquer thinner, and sprayed them with Eastwood Natural Cast Iron paint. <<It may have been called Cast Blast.


R

Thank you for all the great info and sharing. Appreciate the hard work. Eastwood makes or carry's a wide variety of paints, finishes etc. to get that "correct" look.

 

[railroad]

Just as an option, there are a couple of clear coatings on the market that may be of interest to those who want to pursue this. They are Sharkskin or it may be Sharkhide and the other is Nanoseal. Check Eastwood and Powder by the Pound for these products. They are a little more pricey that clear in a rattle can.

 

[Robert M]

Just as an option, there are a couple of clear coatings on the market that may be of interest to those who want to pursue this. They are Sharkskin or it may be Sharkhide and the other is Nanoseal. Check Eastwood and Powder by the Pound for these products. They are a little more pricey that clear in a rattle can.

^^^^^^They may also hold up better over the long run, than the spray can clear application.

Getting the rust removed before the metal pits is the biggest deal if clear is going to be the final finish, and once the time has been spent rust removing and prepping for clear, the rest is relatively easy.


R

 

[Sprayboy422]

I restored mine to the correct natural/bare metal finish including replicating all assy. line markings..........

Removal of the axle assy. is required to get rid of "all" rust. The rust on this axle was not covered with paint, it was completely removed and then a satin bare metal clear applied.........very time consuming, but when you look at it under the car, it looks "assy. line correct". If the rust starts to pit the metal surface, the option to use a clear becomes more limited because the metal surface will always appear pitted.

While de-rusting........Before

After with clear applied and correct assy. line markings replicated........

Mine was rusty, but I have seen worse........

After........

This assy. line marking......also shown in the two pictures above.....

This was the half way point in the axle restoration...........I was "burned-out" at this point, but I final got through this project.......and I was happy to be done!!

More Before............

After.........

R

wow lot of work but looks good!!