Was the 72 Cutlass air cleaner the same low-gloss as the brackets and radiator support or was it glossier?
My current air cleaner is probably 60% gloss while the rest is 20%. I am wondering if it was repainted or not and want to repaint it correctly.

 

It should be gloss

 

Hey Rob,

I'm not 100% sure on the correct air cleaner color, but the air cleaner i got from oldspackrat seemed to be in between flat and gloss so i went with a can of high-temp engine paint. It looks really nice and i think that's pretty close to alot of engine pictures that i've seen.

Anyone have a picture of an original 72 cutlass engine bay?

Cheers,

Tony

 

Tony, I remember that picture. Looks great - like a 30% gloss or so. Kinda like some of my old snorkle paint.
A picture of an original will give the best answer. Mine looks to have been repainted but the inside color looks original and 60% gloss.



This of course could be subject to whatever paint the air cleaner assembly line had at the time.

 

Hmmmm, i would guess your air cleaner base looks pretty original, or did you or the previous owner put the GM Parts sticker on?

I also find that semi gloss paint looks pretty good in contrast to a really nice paint job. But yeah, i think a Low mileage olds from 72 would definitely be the answer to this one.

I havn't put any stickers on my air cleaner yet (although i do have them), so if the correct paint is different then satin-gloss, i'll probably repaint mine as well.

Cheers,

Tony

 

Tony, I put that new GM parts sticker on, but OVER the existing original tattered one!
Inside the housing is an inked stamping, so the original paint must have been glossy.
Some previous owner spot sprayed it in flat black - luckily it comes off easily.
One bad thing is that he painted over much of the rare white-striped vacuum hose leading to the snorkle flapper!!

Here are some pics from a 72 Olds 4 door that was claimed to have only 10k original miles. Many little items can be seen in these pics that support it. HOWEVER, the air cleaner itself looks a bit funky!




My conclusion is 60% semi-gloss black. Eastwood's chassis black or POR15 chassiscote black are very close matches.

 

Pictures??

 

Here's some pics from an OEM OAI air cleaner assy I recently bought - looks to be the original paint on the outside, and definately is on the inside (date code is still there on TOP of the original paint) but someone has tried to "dress up" the flapper motor...

Looks to me to be at least a 60% glossy finish

 

Another 60% gloss confirmation - Thanks!
I will be stripping mine down and repainting it in the next few weeks, if we EVER get any daylight temperatures below 90 and low humidity...

 

Here are a couple pics of Teepo's air cleaner. It's never been repainted as far as I know. Still has the original sticker on it. It's a thin coat - not heavy. It's not a real glossy glossy black either.

hoodpadengineoutsidepics002.jpg

Enginepics008.jpg

 

And another 60%'er! Nice engine by Sandy.
Now is that DUST on your A/C box??? Need to get cleaning!

 

Sandy! That's an awesomely clean engine bay. I aspire to someday soon having an engine bay that i could feel safe cooking a potato in :P

So, now the question, where the heck do i find 60% engine paint!

Cheers,

Tony

 

I assume '72 would be the same as '71. My '71 air cleaner is original and is 60% also.

 

A clean engine bay is good for keeping pizza warm on the way home from the shop. Don't ask how I came to this conclusion...

Eastwood's chassis black or POR15 chassiscote black are very close matches, as I had them side by side this weekend. Both are tough paints, which are great for the air cleaner, as it is often the tool and bolt catcher during maintanence...

 

Awesome!

Yeah. i put my air cleaner on the car, bolted down the wing nut and it already completely scratched up the paint underneath wing nut. So would this chassis black/POR15 avoid this?

Cheers,

Tony

 

.....bolted down the wing nut and it already completely scratched up the paint underneath wing nut.

That happened to Teepo's when I put on that Rocket emblem wing nut. I just lightly touched up the scratch with a little brush..... can't tell!

 

After enough removals, all paint will scratch off from under the nut.

 

Man, same thing happened on my valve covers. Painted those bolt heads by sticking each one into an egg carton devider and they totally stripped the heck outta the paint on the valve covers...

 

Gotta touch 'em up with a brush after they are installed. Mine will be the same way, I'm sure...

 

Hey all,

Here's an update on the condition of my engine bay, i'm slowly getting there! and yes, perhaps you guys make a good point. My radiator top plate seems to be a type of glossy finish, and the air cleaner kind of clashes with it a little bit..

Was the top plate, air cleaner, and front end above the grilles all painted the same POR 15 type of finish??

Cheers,

Tony

 

Eastwood Underhood Black might be a good choice, their Chassis Black is pretty thick, and the air cleaners were shot with more of a detail paint.

 

Cannot say for sure...

On my 72, the radiator support and top plate is about a 20% gloss, just like the alternator brackets.
The air cleaner is about a 60% gloss, and the firewall is about a 5% gloss (almost flat).
Yes, they do all kinda clash, but mine came out of the factory like that.
I am repainting everything they way they were.

Of course the choice of paint used on the parts probably varied depending on the supply availability at the factory. A shortage of 20% and an abundance of 60% would most likey not constitute a line-down situation at the factories.

Underhood black is only a 20% gloss, while the chassis black is about 60%ish.
I have parts sprayed in both and compared to the original air cleaner paint. Chassis black is much closer to factory gloss.
One good thing about the chassis black is that it is thicker and tougher and will stand up to tools and parts being tossed upon it without damage.


On a side note, I realized that the big iron A/C compressor brackets were flat black and I painted them 20%. Oh, well......

 

Yah, I know the original gloss was 60%, just never liked paint that because of thickness, masks some of the finer details..

 

Oh Man, i painted my alternator brackets gold... heh.. It was kind of hard to see what was original on my car since the previous owner sprayed Orange and Purple on the engine bay... i think he was a little nutty to say the least..

i also need to repaint my oil filler tube, it looks kinda ratty being half orange and gold.

Hey, do you guys suggest trying to take out the tube? or just wire brushing it and paint on there. I've heard some stories of people finding it hard to take out.

Here's a picture i took last night,

Cheers,

Tony

 

I would just wirebrush the fill tube in place - thats my plan anyway. With my luck I would bust it trying to remove it.

And this reason is why I would not use POR15, unless it was thinned out and sprayed.
I will go for the Eastwood Chassis black and report back the results. I might get to this the next weekend...

 

Hi Rob,

Any results to share? I have the same dilemma in selected proper paint for the cleaner.

Thanks

 

Unfortunately, I have not touched the air cleaner yet.
It has been way too hot for me to get out there and strip the thing. I will need to easy off it and or wirebrush it, as I do not feel like taking one item to the sandblaster.
It is supposed to cool off to 100 by this coming weekend, so maybe next week will work.
I will certainly post the results here.

 

Any ideas on where I can get the replacement stickers for the Olds Rocket 455 for the air cleaner??

 

The parts place
Fusick
OPGI

 

Perfect - thanks!

 

Here is the outcome...
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post327116

 

I have used a very thin rubber "O" ring under the nut to keep from scratching the paint. You just want the wing nut to be snug, but not very tight, since if it is tight, when the engine gets hot, and the metal expands, the carburetor top section will have a tendency to warp.

Osborn Reproductions, Inc. is a GM licensed reproducer of most of the stickers that are sold. You can purchase from them directly, or see them at Spring & Fall Carlisle meets. Their website isn't the most up to date, but they offer great telephone service. http://www.osborn-reproduction.com/

 

Cool! Good info, I'll try a Teflon Or hard plastic o-ring. Guess I'd better repaint the air cleaner first, heh.

By the way, for anyone that has tried to print their own engine decals on sticker paper, it totally doesn't work. They get all messed up and dirty after a few weeks. I guess it's better to buy a good repro and be done with it.

 

I have a 71 442. All original. Currently restoring. When I cleaned ALL the paint layers off the air cleaner, the last coat I discovered, was painted the same blue as the engine, not black.
AL

 

Wow - wonder if that was a mistake that was repainted?
I stripped mine and it was all black - no primer or anything.
Good info to know...

 

Speaking of air cleaner paint!

Tony's air cleaner? DONE!

 

Nice, Tony - what paint did you use?

 

Hey rob,

Duplicolor engine gloss black, I tested the satin too. But this one came out more to the finish I had been hoping. You guys can get duplicolor down south right??

 

Looks good. Yes, Duplicolor is sold here. Oreillys has it. In fact I need to get some more of their wheel paint to finish painting some Ford rally wheels when it warms up!

 

Thanks for everyones input. All I've seen is black. Anyhow sent the question to Patton Glade for his opinion.