Brake line/Fuel line refinishing

[kenz240z]

When I detailed the components in the engine bay of my 240Z I wanted to refinish the brake hard lines, fuel lines, hood prop, throttle linkage, washer nozzles etc... to duplicate the original cadmium plating these parts had; however it seemed cost prohibitive to get all the pieces replated, especially since my car is a weekend driver and not a show car. I ended up using a product from Eastwood (www.eastwood.com) called Golden Cad System paint that does a pretty good job of duplicating the cadmium finish at a much lower cost. The Golden Cad System consists of three colors of paint: a golden base coat, a green zinc coat, and a red zinc coat.

I started by cleaning the parts thoroughly with paint thinner & steel wool. Once all the big chunks of crud were gone, I cleaned the parts again with wax & grease remover. That got them ready for the paint.

First, each part was sprayed with a gold colored base coat. Next was a light coat of the green zinc tint and finally a light coat of the red zinc tint. Each coat was allowed to dry according to directions before the next coat was applied.

All in all I am happy with the way the parts turned out. The parts look good and you can't really tell it's not really cadmium plated unless you look close. It definitely made a difference in how things look under the hood of my Z. :knockedou

Here are a few photos of the small brake lines that were refinished.

[2003z]

nice job! they look good

[Ed]

Looks good, I too thought about replating my lines. But after finding out that the platers tank was only 5' wide I realized that I wouldn't be able to replate all the lines. So I opted for the some paint instead. As long as the lines are removed and done correctly they look good.

[gogriz91]

How will the paint wear compared to plating?

[Jackhammer]

Thanks... Ken. Great Job. I ran into the same thing Ed did with the plater not having a big enough tank to handle the long brake and fuel hard lines. I ended up using VHT's silver caliper paint. It looks good and will hold up ...it just does not look like cad plate. I checked out the Eastwood sight. It contains a number of DIY products and systems that us restoration types look to outside sources for.

I am on the look out for an oven for Powder Coating. I just picked up 20 + parts from the powder coater and am not completely satisfied with the quality...ie the handling of the items after they finished has produced surface scratches that I will be having to deal with.

Thanks...

Jack

[ncz]

Kenny, the lines look great and that will really add to the look of the engine bay. I've wondered about that paint and how it looks afterward. Looks like it does quite well. I did mine with some "dull" aluminum colored paint and they came out pretty good, now just to get the engine bay finished!!!

[John Coffey]

Although they are not the original color, I've started using 90/10 tubing to make brake and clutch lines for the cars I'm working on. The stuff is really easy to work with and singe AN and double 45 flares are a easy. Also, these guys are a great source for metric brake fittings.

http://www.fedhillusa.com

[kenz240z]

Hi Pete, I think true cadmium plating would hold up a lot better that the paint, which can be nicked or chipped. Here's the information on the Golden Cad System paint, it says it withstands temperatures up to 250 degrees F.

http://www.eastwood.com/jump.jsp?itemID=728&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C389%2C390%2C397&KickerID=126&KICKER

For a show quality look in the engine bay I think true cad plating would look better.

John, those lines from FedHill look pretty good, have you got any pics of them in a Z?

Here's how things looked before I put the engine back in the car.

[xray]

Although they are not the original color, I've started using 90/10 tubing to make brake and clutch lines for the cars I'm working on. The stuff is really easy to work with and singe AN and double 45 flares are a easy. Also, these guys are a great source for metric brake fittings.

http://www.fedhillusa.com

John:

Thanks for that link! Looks like I may go that route for brakes and clutch...

Do they make fuel lines, too? My fuel supply line and air line look thicker than 1/4", more like 3/8 or so while the fuel return line looks like 3/16"...do you use a different vendor?

Thanks!

Steve

[xray]

Edit: Sheepish grin...just searched the site a little more...they stock the 5/16 and 3/8 stuff which looks like it might work. Got a little too excited, I guess...

[John Coffey]

I don't have pictures of an install on a 240Z. The customer picked up the car before I could take them. I will be doing another 240Z first quarter next year so I'll take pictures then.