Radiator painting

[dhbfaster]

I bought some of the Eastwood radiator paint...
Any thoughts on the best way to clean the radiator cooling fin area?
The small cooling blades seem really delicate.

[redfalken]

When I did mine, I first blew out what I could with an air hose. The I used a water hose with a nozzle to blast out all the bugs and road grime. Alternate front and back until you get out what you can.

Then it's just a matter of finding a brush that's stiff enough to get in between the fins but won't easily bend them. Brush left to right with some Simple Green and rinse. You may want to do that a few times from both sides. Then blast the excess water out with the air hose and set in the sun to dry.

That's about all you can do to prep those. I usually go along between the fins with a small flat screwdriver to carefully straighten any fins that are bent before painting. And I always keep the paint as thin as I can in the cooling fin area. I'm just guessing the heat would transfer better but it may not be an issue with a special radiator paint.

Or the easy way is to drop it off at the radiator shop, have them boil it out and pressure test. Make any repairs as needed, and you get a "free" paint job!

[dhbfaster]

Humm...the radiator shop idea actually doesn't sound too bad!

[dhbfaster]

Father's Day...and both my dad and my wife's dad (visiting for sons graduation this weekend) are telling me I better get my radiator totally cleaned and checked or just get a new one.
Anyone recommend a good radiator shop? The few I called a couple weeks ago either didn't work on old ones or they said there's high risk it wouldn't live through the cleaning process.
Or, anyone bought one of the replacement models out there that looks really stock? It's pretty difficult to tell from the online pics.

[Luva65wagon]

Don - Look at the top of the radiator first to see if you can find any Ford markings. If it is original - get it rebuilt. There are places who will do it (I've got to look through my notes, but I may have a contact) and if you have the top tank - use it on the rebuild. If it's already a replacement (no Ford markings), then there are a few on eBay for a couple hundred max... last time I looked.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...3&_sacat=33602

[dhbfaster]

Went home at lunch and found the markings in the attached pic.
It looks to me like the date code is May of 61 which would mean this is the original radiator. Any referrals to a good radiator shop would be most appreciated.