KNOWING what we Know now, I would just chalk it up to a lesson learned,run it as is,till its time for a rebuild. Then you can make her look good as new again, when she gets freshened up. Thats just me.YOU now have a one of a kind ,"poor mans"anodizing job.Tell people you wanted it to look like that..AT least, it`s not a fatal mistake, for your engine ... D.B.

Yeah, tell everybody that it's a "special" coating or treatment that will give you more power, make it last longer, and tell 'em you'll do theirs for a mild fee...

[b]PT:

The walnut shells remove no amount of metal, they just knock the oxides and other contaminants off. They wont deburr worth a crap. Purely for polishing.

Bill.

NOW you talkin PROP....DO enough of them, and you can buy that tumbler. JUST,reset the trend, "back" to natural looking ALUMINUM,and that, will pay for the walnut shells..LOL..I can see a career in the making.

It won't take too long for it to look like it did before anyway.

A few months back there was a fellow powder coating rc engines different colors similar to the os46 la.

Why not have it powder coated?? John Deere green would be nice. All kidding aside some sort of paint which could be oven baked on would work too and look pretty good. From a previous post I think Bill R did this to an engine or two martin

to pretty it up how about a ,flat BLACK BBQ paint ,or an engine enamal..Both formulated for high temp.I think you can get a natural aluminum color too..NOT very expensive either....DAVE B.

[b]Examples:

Some are oven baked enamel, some Imron, I've also used rattle cans. Done correctly they all hold up well.

Bill.

I was wondering about using a high temp paint too on the assumption it's fuel proof and thinking of an anthracite colouring like Irvine or Merco used on one of their specials. Give the ends of the fins a polish and it should look quite smart

SEE that looks nice, and He can leave it till the engine needs a tear down...

{b}HB 25S engines. I have two of them.

Bill.

I have painted two mufflers for O.S. Max .25 LA's with paint made for brake calipers (good to 900 degrees F) I found it in a rattle can by "VHT" in auto parts stores. I have about 2 gallons of fuel through one and it has help up without any problems at whatsoever.

Looks better than the LA factory finish martin

I am sorry that someone had a problem leading to this thread, but the thread has produced some really good ideas. I have a bunch of old worn out engines to experiment with. They may run no better, but I'll bet I can make them look good and/or make a lot of people ask questions about them!


jess

Demon Clean Engine cleaner was chemicaly developed not to etch any metal or turn any metal used in model engines black, regardless of how long it was left on the engine.
As far as I know, it is the only thing that has ever been on the market that works this way. Even anti freexe in a crockpot will turn an engine dark dingey gray if its done improperly.
I do not have a suggestion on how to chemicaly restore the looks of your engine since the surface was literaly etched. The tumbler method as described above may work.

Bill,

I've always wondered about using pot black as a base coat under enamel.

I'm glad you didn't take the freak comment in a negative way. It sounded that way to me. I've noticed your comments on chemistry in other threads and thought them appropriate.

[b]Barry:

If we are thinking about the same "Pot Black," also known as "Stove Polish," it doesn't adhere well, it's easily wiped off. This means the enamel over it would not be attached any better than the blacking under, and chip off easily.

Additionally, when "Stoving" an air cooled engine you need to keep the paint layer as thin as possible - when it gets thick it starts to be an insulation and you lose the advantage of the dark color's better radiation.

Bill.

FLAT black will pull heat out of a casting,and release it about the fastest.of all colors.A very light coat, of zinc chromate(you should almost be able to see the aluminum through it) primer,also in a spray bomb..will hold the top coat ,really well..THEN just enough finish to cover the primer..This is one of those cases, where more, is NOT, better... D.B.

[b]DB:

In another thread I mentioned that flat black was the best, but the matte finish is difficult to maintain. Gloss black is almost as good, so I've stayed with the gloss finishes.

Bill.

There is a lot of actual engine paints for the automotive builders(full scale) ,that he can use ,main thing is, to not pile, the finish on it ,and yes the gloss finishes, basically ,wipe clean with a rag..Flat colors will hold the, grunge, and grime, for sure.A more pourus texture to it(flat)..I`m sure he`s got ,some good options, to think over now, though..D.B.

blwblw,
This was way out of line and uncalled for. First of all, one of Webster's definitions of the word freak is "a person with a great enthusiasm or liking for a particular subject, interest, or activity (a baseball freak, etc.). That is exactly what I had in mind when I used the word. I'm glad Mr. Robison and most of the other readers saw it that way too.

As for my engine, it still runs good and looks much cleaner now. No need to trash it as some of you suggested. IMO, there's no need for painting or extra polishing, it will be well hidden inside my GP Gene Soucy Extra's beautiful red cowl.

[b]PC:

There is no need for your comment on Blwblw's choice of words, he's already been brought up on it, your comment sounds more like self-justification than a reprimand.

Personally, I think W8YE's suggestion was very good - any excuse to trash a late OS is a good one.

Have you noticed that all the engines OS has introduced in the last few years have been junk out of the box? The 91FX took a couple years of development after release before it was consistent. And the development was done at the expense of the early buyers. The FS 70 Surpass w/pump has been all but withdrawn from the market after its initial hoopla, and the FL-70 has yet to please more than a few of its users.

There was one exception to the run of junk, that was the 46 AX. It has done well from the start. Now if OS would make their other engines as reliable, a good start would be trashing their ABN and going back to ABC. And bring their prices down to match the market...

Bill.

WR, I didn't intend to sound self-justified or reprimand anybody. I just wanted to set the record straight since he kept on bringing this up (check his last post). As for OS engines, I have several of them and except for the .91FX, I have no complaints whatsoever. I know, everybody is entitled to his/her own opinion, but when I started this thread, that's not exactly what I had in mind.

[b]PC:

I'll apologise to you; in that last I went further than I should have also.

But OS' recent products have not been up to the standard they set thirty years ago when Shigeo Ozawa still ran the company.

Bill.